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March 26th, 2013 
Peter Nolan
Updated
There have been heated scenes in State Parliament as MPs debated Tasmania’s forest peace deal legislation.
Legislative Councillors accused the State Government of being “lazy” for taking a hands-off approach, criticising a section of the bill outlining a “vision for Tasmania’s forests”.
Labor’s Craig Farrell confirmed the vision statement was written by the peace deal signatories, not the Government, saying it was included as a “point of reference”.
It prompted an outburst from the member for Windemere, Ivan Dean.
“This is baloney, there is another word for it and that word begins with bull,” he said.
Huon MLC Paul Harriss went further.
“It confirms the laziness of this Government,” he said.
Nelson MLC Jim Wilkinson suggested the legislation was a first for Australia.
“It is a joke and a farce and it’s hard to sit through it and hard to think that we’re sitting here endeavouring to legislate, not for what members of the Government are saying, but what signatories around the table have been saying about our future,” he said.
The document calls for a protected area estate that is valued for its permanent protection and a vibrant forest sector.
Mr Harriss, called on the Government to outline its own vision.
“Everything which is set out in here has nothing of the fingerprints of the Government upon it,” he said.
“They are in my judgement nothing but mealy-mouth, undeliverable statements.”
Hobart MLC Rob Valentine reminded Legislative Councillors that they had asked for the information.
But MLCs voted to have the vision statement removed from the legislation.
Later in the proceedings, Rumney MLC Tony Mulder told the Upper House there was an issue with the drafting of his amendment.
“There are a couple of shall we say drafting misunderstandings, which means the one that’s been circulated doesn’t quite reflect the intent of my motion, so that to be corrected and reprinted actually requires a bit of time overnight,” he said.
Debate on the legislation will resume on Wednesday morning.
Topics:
forestry,
timber,
states-and-territories,
state-parliament,
tas,
hobart-7000,
launceston-7250
First posted
Source Article from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-26/mlcs-object-to-forest-vision-statement/4596020
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