Time for a Little Treemail

Tuesday, 27th March, 2007  - Richard Farmer 
If Kevin Rudd does become Prime Minister at the end of this year it is a fair bet that from 1 July 2008 he will find himself having to deal with a Senate in which the Greens hold the balance of power. The likelihood of that Senate outcome, in fact, has increased considerably with the decision by the Opposition Leader to back away from the pro-trees policy of his predecessor Mark Latham.
Whereas Mr Latham opted to lock up substantial areas of old-growth forests in Tasmania, Mr Rudd, according to this morning’s Australian, supports the existing Tasmanian Community Forest Agreement, announced in May 2005 by John Howard. Mr Rudd, writes Steve Lewis, has committed to consulting with unions, industry and the state Government on a "sustainable" forestry plan.
Which translated means that the Greens alone will be campaigning this year as the protector of old growth forests. That should enable them to maximise their own Senate vote and put them in the position where they can do a bit of trading if and when there is ever a Labor Government. So while Labor’s policy might change, the Latham proposal might end up being the political reality.

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