$200 million to countries that illegally log
Prime Minister Howard’s $200 million offer in March 2007 to slow logging in South East Asia was hypocrisy in neon lights. Certainly, forests are being destroyed in South East Asia, but whether you call forest logging legal or illegal, it has the same impact on carbon emissions. While John Howard handed out money, he should have acted on forest destruction in his own back yard. Australia’s Regional Forest Agreements cost at least $300M to stage manage the appearance of agreements ten years ago. This gave legal rights to mutilate our own forests, primarily for woodchips, for the next 20 years. The states then went about their destructive business as usual.
Here are just three samples of Howard Hypocrisy:
1) The millions in Australian subsidies and packages that assist logging and burning of Australia’s forests will help reduce any gains made overseas.
2) Minister Turnbull, who proudly made the announcement, was exposed as having been a director of a smash and grab Hong Kong-listed company, Axiom Forest Resources, which logged the Solomons in the early 90s.
3) Howard refuses to crack down on suspected illegal timber imports. His reasoning was that it could damage the other countrys economy.