Latham – “keep leveling old growth”
When Mark Latham’s travels took him to Gippsland in February he was quizzed by students about his forthcoming trip to Tasmania. His reply was that he would keep logging old growth: “Well in Tasmania we wouldn’t want to see an end to logging in the old growth forests and I don’t think Bob Brown himself would want that (?!) because that would effectively close down the arts and crafts industry in Tasmania, it’s more about how you do it and getting the balance right between environment and employment”.
With all five Federal seats in Tassie being safely held by Labor, Mark Latham doesn’t feel the need to worry too much. On a recent visit to Tasmania, he said he might consider stopping old growth logging in another six years and that loggers jobs were sacred. Why is it that no other industry has guaranteed job security – be it manufacturing, primary industries, IT personnel working for Telstra, the airlines etc? But if you want a career chainsawing 500 year old myrtle trees and tossing them in the the frickin’ chipper, well then, your job is sacrosanct!
God, we hate Labor! Problem is the Libs are worse.