Australia: South-west Liberal MP to make last native forests available because eco-tourism failed

Western Australia’s peak environmental lobby has criticised moves by a
south-west Liberal MP to make more native forests available. The
Liberal Member for Murray-Wellington, Murray Cowper, wants his party
to ‘unlock’ the state’s forests in order to improve job opportunities.

Mr Cowper says the Gallop government failed to deliver the eco-tourism
jobs it promised when it introduced its old-growth forest policy. The
vice-president of the Conservation Council of WA, Beth Schultz,
disagrees, saying the Gallop government responded to community concern
when it moved to protect the forest. “To increase the level of logging
in the forest would be disastrous – it would be disastrous for carbon
storage, for the fauna habitats,” she said. “These forests are now a
refuge for birds and animals that were once far more widespread.
They’re surviving in the forest, just hanging on, and increased
logging would drive them to extinction.”
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/12/16/2447432.htm

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