Call for Rushy reversal by opposition leader

Opposition leader Angus Taylor was joined by Liberal senators Wendy Askew and Richard Colbeck in Scottsdale this morning to lend weight to ongoing protests from north-east farmers and the wider agriculture community against a land use change at Rushy Lagoon.

Tasmania’s biggest farm, near Cape Portland on the state’s far north-east tip, is just weeks away from settlement with new owners, Tasmania Natural Asset Trust (TNAT).

It’s a deal aided by $77.8 million in taxpayer-backed funds, consisting of $69 million through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), which covered nearly half of the total transaction costs and $8.8 million awarded as a federal Support Plantation Establishment Program Grant to help develop a forest carbon pine plantation.

It’s been a bitter pill to swallow for local residents and farmers who are deeply concerned about the Federal Government’s approval process, the loss of productive farmland to grow food and the attribution of grant money before TNAT received a title.

Mr Taylor said he agrees with local sentiment, stating that Rushy Lagoon has fed Australians for generations and has sustained families and created jobs. 

“It isn't just a piece of land. It is part of Tasmania's agricultural heritage, and part of Australia's food future,” he said.

“Under Labor, we've reached the extraordinary position where Australian taxpayers are helping fund the sale of that productive farmland to a company so it can be planted with pine trees to generate carbon credits.

“That isn't common sense … and it is certainly not in Australia's national interest.”

He echoed the call from peak body TasFarmers for Agriculture Minister Julie Collins to step in and prevent the sale from going through.

He also said that Labor Senator Helen Polley should be talking to Ms Collins about “fixing this mess”.

“Minister Julie Collins has the power to veto access to carbon credits for this purchaser,” Mr Taylor said. 

“This is a Government that is asleep at the wheel when it comes to the industries that count in northern Tasmania, and it's asleep at the wheel when it comes to the economic crisis and energy crisis this country is facing.” 

Meanwhile Mrs Polley has accused Mr Taylor of rejecting investment in Northern Tasmania supported by a policy he backed and developed as a Minister.
“As a Minister in the former Federal Coalition Government, the Opposition Leader signed off on the plantation forestry method that is supporting investment in Northern Tasmania,” she said.

“In July 2020 Angus Taylor prioritised North Tasmania as one of five regional forestry hubs for accessing the plantation forestry method.
“He also encouraged the Clean Energy Investment Corporation to invest in the land sector when he submitted Australia's first net zero plan under the Paris Agreement in 2021.
“Angus Taylor once backed the investment and job opportunities that forestry brings, why is he now attacking it?”

TNAT and its manager, Gresham House, estimate that 190 new jobs will be created over the 30-year life of the Rushy Lagoon project and that shifting about half of the 22,000ha property to plantation forestry will provide a major net benefit to local employment, a claim that is heavily disputed by farming groups.

TNAT and the Timber, Furnishing and Textiles Union (TFTU) have stated that planting 12 million pine trees will guarantee long-term resource security for Tasmanian sawmills.
TNAT’s Tasmanian asset manager Jonno Craven indicated that because the property will maintain a scaled-back beef cattle operation alongside the new pines, agricultural work will continue, plus it is looking at adding new income and employment streams to the site, including cropping, agri-tourism and mountain biking.

TasFarmers CEO Nathan Calman believes there will only be a handful of jobs created after the initial planting of seedlings, which has also raised eyebrows due to being purchased and delivered on-site months before the sale was approved.

“At a time when northern Tasmania has lost 41 jobs at Boag’s and 250 jobs at Liberty Bell Bay, why is Federal labor locking up Rushy Lagoon to limit employment to five full time jobs on Tasmania’s largest farm,” Mr Calman said. 

“The region needs jobs now more than ever and with the correct management Rushy Lagoon could employ more than 100 full time new workers.

"Senator Helen Polley says this investment will create jobs, but where is the evidence? We have not seen credible figures showing how many jobs would be created, where they would be based, how long they would last, or whether they would even go to Tasmanians.

He has also been critical of what he considers a lack of transparency around the decision, saying “Tasmanian farmers expect decisions involving $69 million of taxpayers’ money to be made through a fair and transparent process - not behind closed doors and justified by vague assurances”.

"This process has been shrouded in secrecy from the beginning. It has created an unfair playing field for other local buyers who were prepared to purchase the property and keep it in agricultural production.

Senator Colbeck said that a lot of questions remain about how funding was allocated before approval to purchase the property.

“In any other circumstance an applicant would have to demonstrate title to the property - that’s usually a condition of a grant and I’ve asked the minister for details around that.

“Why are you giving a grant to a company for a property that they don’t own?”

Mr Colbeck believes the government’s assessment criteria should be released publicly.

A government spokesperson said that on May 19, Ms Collins announced 16 new grants through the $73 million Support Plantation Establishment program, including a grant to the Tasmanian Natural Asset Trust.

“The Support Plantation Establishment program requires grantees to demonstrate they have long-term access to land, and is conditional on the applicant maintaining a recognised interest in the site.

 “The Tasmanian Natural Asset Trust has not received any grant funding from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.”

TNAT will answer questions directly from the public when it conducts information sessions about the Rushy Lagoon Project at the Gladstone Hall, 1 Carr St, on Saturday, July 25, 10am-3pm (1 Carr St, Gladstone) and again on Sunday, July 26 at the Scottsdale Recreation Ground, 49B George St, 10am-3pm.

The drop-in sessions will be hosted by Tasmanian Asset Manager Jonathan Craven, Gresham House Forestry Consultant Brent Donaldson and plantation asset manager Delta Forestry.