Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Innovation) | Hansard source

I thank Senator Hanson for that question. Rushy Lagoon will remain a working property with agriculture continuing alongside new plantation forestry—an industry that this government supports—and environmental restoration. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania uses a land capability classification system to assess land for agricultural uses. Class 1 is the best. Class 7 is the poorest country. The state policy for protection of Agricultural Land seeks to protect prime agricultural land from conversion to non-agricultural uses. It achieves this by setting constraints as to how prime land can be used. The Tasmanian government classifies Rushy Lagoon's lands as generally class five and class six, and they are not considered prime agricultural land. But this is not a choice between farming and forestry. Both are important industries that this project will support.