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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Hon Jim Bacon
MHA<BR>Premier and Minister for State Development<BR>Level 11, Executive
Building<BR>15 Murray Street<BR>Hobart Tasmania 7000<BR><BR>Dear
Premier Bacon,<BR><BR>Apparently your government is at the forefront of
international <BR>conservation efforts - some 40% of Tasmania being represented
<BR>in our reserve system. I'm sure you know that many types of
<BR>reserves allow for harvesting of natural resources - this hardly
<BR>constitutes conservation.<BR><BR>Boasting of Tasmania's conservation record
in response to the <BR>public forest debate is a distortion of the truth.
The truth is that <BR>your government perpetuates ecological vandalism of some
of <BR>our most precious natural assets - rainforests and old-growth
<BR>forests. It is small wonder that Tasmanians continue to leave <BR>this
state, disgraced and embarrassed by short-sighted <BR>government
policies.<BR><BR>Contrary to your government's well massaged media unit's
<BR>manipulation of fact, your forest protection policies are
<BR>second-rate. Consider the following:<BR><BR>* Western
Australia easily exceeds Tasmania's protection of <BR>old-growth forests.
Logging in all of WA's old-growth forests has <BR>ceased and they are now in the
process of being protected in <BR>national parks. This has been achieved
by an ALP state <BR>government that realised how farcical the RFA process has
<BR>been.</FONT></FONT></DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3>
<DIV><BR>* Meanwhile, in May of this year New Zealand transferred all of
<BR>its West Coast forest estate from Timberlands (their equivalent <BR>of
Forestry Tas) to the NZ Department of Conservation. These <BR>temperate
rainforests are now managed for conservation rather <BR>than timber
harvesting.</DIV>
<DIV><BR>* Also last month, Peru created a 1,353,000ha rainforest
<BR>national park. The Tarkine Wilderness Area recognised by the
<BR>Australian Heritage Commission is 1,000,000ha smaller, but <BR>large areas
of its old-growth rainforest remain unprotected and <BR>may be logged as of next
year.</DIV>
<DIV><BR>* In April of this year the Canadian province of British Colombia
<BR>protected more than 600,000ha of its temperate rainforest.<BR><BR>What is
the ALP's rationale for not protecting 100% of <BR>Tasmania's old-growth
forests? Why doesn't the ALP support <BR>the creation of a Tarkine World
Heritage Area? <BR><BR>In responding please avoid using any semblance of
economic <BR>rationale. I'm sure we progressed well beyond that when
<BR>whaling and CFCs were banned in the 1970s and 1980s, and <BR>when it was
agreed this year that persistent organic pollutants <BR>be banned and WA's
old-growth forests be protected.<BR><BR>I look forward very much to your
reply.</FONT><BR></DIV></FONT>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Brenda Rosser</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>16/17 Alanvale Road</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>ALANVALE 7248</FONT></DIV>
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