By Tim Morgan From abc au

The sale of 29,000 hectares of hardwood plantations is a great outcome for Tasmania, the Government says, but Labor, the Greens and environmental groups are not sold.

Resources Minister Guy Barnett spruiked the $60.7 million sale to Reliance Forest Fibre, as a deal that will allow Sustainable Timber Tasmania to become debt-free and commercially viable while also promoting local jobs.

Forestry administration in Tasmania

Forestry Tasmania has had a controversial history. Take a look back at how the organisation formed.
Mr Barnett told Parliament the announcement was consistent with the government’s “plans for a sustainable future which will deliver confidence and growth and opportunity for Tasmania’s forest industry.”

“The transaction will result in diversification of ownership in the forestry sector, bringing global expertise in capital to Tasmania … creating more jobs,” he said.

The Government described Reliance Forest Fibre as a “new enterprise owned by investment funds advised by Global Forest Partners (GFP) LP”.

“Global Forest Partners is an international forest investment advisory firm with approximately 700,000 ha of timberland across the globe under management, valued at around $3.7 billion,” it said.

But the Greens said Reliance Forest Fibre was only registered in July, with ASIC documents showing it’s holding company Global Forest Partners LP has links offshore.

“Their parent company is based in a tax haven in the Cayman Islands, so there are legitimate questions to be asked about this company,” Greens Leader Cassy O’Connor said.

Ms O’Connor pointed to a 2012 letter from the Auditor-General conservatively estimated the 29,000 hectares to be worth at least $101 million.

“The Tasmanian people have been ripped off,” she said.

“It’s an absolute betrayal of the Premier’s promise to the Tasmanian people that his government wouldn’t privatise public assets.”
The Labor Opposition said Tasmanian’s could have reasonably expected the plantations to sell for close to $200 million.

The Wilderness Society also said taxpayers had been dudded.

“Flogging off publicly owned plantations at a massive loss to subsidise unviable native forest logging operations is a desperate last-ditch effort to hide the ongoing failures of Premier (Will) Hodgman’s chaotic approach to forestry,” Vica Bayley of the Wilderness Society said.

Deal above-board, Liberals say

While this is GFP’s first venture into Tasmania, the international timber giant has operated in Australia since 1999.

The US-owned multinational corporation currently managed funds that hold about 150,000 planted hectares on mainland Australia.

Health Minister Michael Ferguson said there shouldn’t be any doubt over the buyer.

“The Greens are fruiting this up, it’s silly, where the parent of parent company is based is irrelevant,” Mr Ferguson said.
“This is a robust deal, the money is real money and it’s an investment in our state and it means that jobs will remain in our state.

“This has been an appropriately arms-length negotiation and process.”

He said the majority of the proceeds from the sale would go to paying down Sustainable Timber Tasmania’s debt, with around $15 million to be spent on the health system.

“We’ll continue to do our work to employ more staff and to open more resources including beds, so we can meet demand and give Tasmanians the health system we know they deserve,” Mr Ferguson said.

The company issued a statement late on Thursday reaffirming its commitment to employing local management and contractors.

The statement also said the new enterprise was committed to sound environmental management and will seek independent forest management certification.

IMAGE: Tasmanian hardwood plantation forest
PHOTO: The Greens have pointed to Global Forest Partners LP’s links to the Cayman Islands. (ABC News: Gregor Salmon)

For more on this story go to: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-15/tasmanian-61m-plantation-deal-with-global-forest-partners/8946988