PRIMARY Industries and Regional Development Minister Tim Whetstone has claimed the State Government has successfully delivered a positive forestry inquiry despite rejecting a similar push one month ago.
But Labor MLC Clare Scriven has slammed the “number of backflips” the government has done on the issue, including tabling amendments to the motion to establish their own terms of reference before scrapping the idea.
In a statement, Mr Whetstone said the government had worked with the crossbench to deliver a “positive” inquiry, saying Ms Scriven “did not take seriously the concerns of the sector about the negative wording”.
“This is not the inquiry as originally proposed by Labor,” he said.
“It is now something the government can support, which acknowledges the concern of many in the industry.”
His comments were supported by MacKillop MP Nick McBride, who said forestry sector representatives had identified concerns with Labor’s “negative attitude” towards the forestry industry.
“I advocated for a more positive approach because I want a select committee that brings the sector together, not an inquiry that divides the industry,” Mr McBride said.
Ms Scriven struck out at Mr Whetstone, saying he publicly opposed the motion and “did everything he could to have it defeated”.
“It is obviously ridiculous for him to then claim the Liberals have somehow delivered an inquiry, after voting it down in the lower house,” she said.
“The Liberals then saw they did not have enough support in the Upper House to crush my inquiry, so have flip-flopped again.”
Ms Scriven said the inquiry would provide greater transparency for the industry and would help the industry work closer.
“The community does not want the Marshall Liberal Government playing these silly games about such as important industry,” she said.
“I hope they will instead work collaboratively with the Opposition and crossbench over the coming months to look at how future policy can support the industry.”
