Tasmania agrees forestry peace deal
23 November 2012An agreement between the timber industry and environmentalists in Tasmania is set to end a 30-year dispute between the two parties.
About 10 of the state's industry and environmental groups have signed an agreement to reserve more than 500,000ha of the state's forest and reduce the volume of sawlogs available for loggers to about 140,000m3.
Around 400,000ha of forest is to be placed into reserves immediately, and another 108,000ha a year later.
Premier Lara Giddings welcomed the agreement but opposition leader Will Hodgman called the deal a disaster. It would reduce forestry to a cottage industry, he said.
