DEAR News Of The Area,

TIMBER industry reps are once again trotting out the usual spurious figures and questionable claims about the cost and threat of the Great Koala National Park to the timber industry; just as they did in 2019 with their Ernst and Young study which used a worst case scenario involving the shut down of the entire industry on the north coast.

Despite being caught and called out in several areas; including illegal harvesting operations; industry proponents continue to rely on questionable koala song meter studies, ignore warnings from ecologists about loss of biodiversity; from fire scientists about risky harvesting practices; play victim when they lose major contracts for hardwood power poles when the industry has been well aware of the flammability, toxicity and end of life disposal issues with CCA treated poles; and continue to bang on about Australia having to import inferior and suspect hardwood from overseas, while we are exporting ours!

There should be no need for an industry shut down, but the industry needs to act smarter if it wants the thinking and paying public on board.

Just like the slowly dying thermal coal industry the true cost of the GKNP will be far greater than an industry bail out.

Restoring our trashed native forests will cost billions and take years.

Regards,
Dave WOOD,
Boambee East.