Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Darren Chester has slammed the ABC for its ‘one-sided coverage’ of the Australian timber industry.
Mr Chester said the Four Corners program, which aired on Monday night, was another example of biased reporting focused on environmental activism.
“From the first sentence of the program, it was obvious the ABC wasn’t going to be interested in presenting a balanced view of our world-class and environmentally sustainable native hardwood timber industry,” Mr Chester said.
“There was no attempt to include the views of some of Australia’s leading forest scientists who support the hardwood timber industry, as the ABC dragged out the same old activists.
“Instead of objective reporting, we were exposed to taxpayer-funded propaganda for the Labor-Greens, who have demonstrated complete and utter contempt for the forest industry in Australia for several decades.
“Driven by his desperate need to secure Green preferences in the city, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has sold out blue-collar workers in regional communities.
“Thousands of jobs have already been lost, communities have been destroyed, and the regions are less safe because we have lost the equipment and the skilled workforce which we’ve always relied on during major bushfire events.
“We’ve already seen the Labor Party in Victoria, Western Australia, and New South Wales capitulate to the Greens and the Federal Government’s EPBC Act changes just make it harder to source Australian-grown fibre and result in more imported timber products.”
Australian Forest Products Association CEO Richard Hyett said the Four Corners program was not interested in accurately reflecting the latest science, environmental credentials, and economic importance of Australia’s innovative forestry industry.
“The story was not balanced, accurate or fair, and blatantly prioritised activism over credible journalism,” Mr Hyett said.
“The program ignored the evidence supporting Australia’s world-leading forest management systems and failed to present a balanced assessment of a sustainable industry that provides renewable products, regional jobs and significant environmental benefits.”
Mr Chester said the ABC had completely ignored the consequences of Labor Party policies to shut down the native timber industry.
“When it comes to timber, governments have two choices. You either harvest your own in an environmentally sustainable manner or you take someone else’s,” Mr Chester said.
“Australia has a trade deficit in timber products, and our dependence on countries like Brazil and Indonesia will only grow in the future if we shut down our own industry.
“It’s an insult to hard-working Australians in the timber industry throughout regional Australia that our national broadcaster shows no regard for the social and economic consequences of Labor-Greens policies which target the timber industry.”
