All political parties are being urged to throw their support behind the Tasmania’s sustainable forestry industry, ahead of the upcoming federal election.

Speaking at the launch of the Tasmanian Forest Products Association’s (TFPA) Election Priorities, TFPA Independent Chair, Sarah Courtney said the forest industry is vital for the state’s economic, social and environmental success.

“Over 5,500 Tasmanians are employed directly and indirectly by the Tasmanian forestry industry,” Ms Courtney said.

“The Tasmanian forestry industry is vital to secure our rural communities, for our economic prosperity and to help meet the state’s ambitious climate change targets.

“In the coming weeks, the TFPA will be reviewing the promises made by all parties and candidates and assessing them against the election policy platform that we’ve launched today.

“Our priorities list outlines the key election policies needed to ensure that our sustainable industry can continue to thrive in years to come,” Ms Courtney said.

The TFPA election policy platform focuses on three key priorities. They are:

• An ongoing commitment to the Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement (RFA);
• The modernisation of the Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme (TFES); and
• A $4 million public awareness campaign outlining the value of Tasmanian timber (as part of AFPA’s $20 million public education campaign policy request).

“We’re pleased that both major parties have already committed in this campaign to supporting the TFES in the coming years, and we will continue to work with both to ensure that the scheme offers the best outcomes for Tasmanian forestry businesses,” Ms Courtney said.

“We look forward to working with all political parties to ensure that their commitments will guarantee the Tasmanian forestry industry can continue being successful and sustainable for many years to come.”

The TFPA federal election priorities sit under the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) 2025 Policy Platform, which you can view by clicking here.