Forestry Tasmania must face reality

by Richard Denniss in The Australian Financial Review

Share

Originally published in The Australian Financial Review on August 20, 2012

Imagine if a company lost money selling something that it never paid for. Now imagine that company was owned by a state government. In an environment in which state governments and oppositions are either crying poor or crying waste you might imagine that such expensive mismanagement would create a bit of political heat. But the usual rules of politics don’t seem to apply to this particular government business enterprise. It might be because we are talking about such a long history of public support. It might be because we are talking about the logging industry. But whatever the explanation, the fact remains that Forestry Tasmania, which is 100 per cent owned by the Tasmanian taxpayer, has lost nearly half a billion dollars in the past two years.

Related documents

Attachment

Between the Lines Newsletter

The biggest stories and the best analysis from the team at the Australia Institute, delivered to your inbox every fortnight.

You might also like

For a robust democracy, we need a working anti-corruption system and truth in political advertising

by Evie Simpson in The Mercury

Transparency, integrity and accountability were buzzwords of the 2024 state election, yet Tasmanians went to the polls without knowing where their politicians get their money, without laws requiring truth in political advertising, and without an anti-corruption body that is fit for purpose.

Overdue report delivers scathing assessment of Tasmanian Government’s environmental record 

The State of the Environment Report released today shows that Tasmania’s unique environmental assets have been severely impacted by years of neglect from the state government, the Australia Institute has said. Key Findings: The Tasmanian Government has released the first State of the Environment Report in 15 years. The report shows that the Government has