`At last something to be proud of. Last week Australia hosted an international conference to progress the plan to assist the poorer nations to phase out logging their native forests. Sir Nicholas Stern, in his landmark report, estimated that it would cost $15 billion every year to halve this deforestation and it is generally agreed that such extreme measures are necessary to slow down global warming. Australia has already pledged $200 million to this worthy cause.
Shame about Tasmania. Shame that we don’t qualify as a poor nation. Both our government and opposition consider it is essential for our economic and employment interests to expand the woodchip industry from our own Tasmanian forests.
‘This is carbon trading gone mad.
‘Perhaps we could just put the $200 million dollars into our own little island, protect our own forests and reduce our own carbon emissions. On the other hand, that might upset vested interests, I mean, the economy.’
by Giovanni Ebono, Letters, The Byron Shire Echo, 31 July 2007