STATEMENTS BY SENATORS

Senator DOWLING (Tasmania) (13:50): As you know too well, Acting Deputy President Polley, investment in Tasmania is something the Rockliff Liberal government and their federal colleagues claim to support right up until somebody actually invests. At Rushy Lagoon, a $142 million project will combine farming and forestry, support more than 190 jobs and produce local timber to build Australian homes.

And the Rockliff government's response? A parliamentary inquiry! Because why welcome 190 jobs when you can welcome months of committee hearings?

Rushy Lagoon has already been foreign owned for 30 years and for sale for a decade. The land proposed for forestry is classified by Rockliff's own government as class 5 and 6—certainly not prime agricultural land. Nearly 22,000 hectares of farmland is not disappearing; only 9,000, or about 41 per cent, is proposed for softwood plantations.

The remainder will include new agriculture and critical land restoration. The Liberals also claim that taxpayers are 'bankrolling' this sale. What they of course omit is that the Clean Energy Finance Corporation's $69 million is an equity investment expected to earn a commercial return.

The other $73 million is private investment, something Tasmania desperately needs. And what is the alternative? Nothing—no alternative investor, no alternative project and nothing waiting in the wings.

They're comparing a $142 million investment to a mythical investment that's yet to reveal itself. They claim to support forestry, investment and jobs, but when all three arrive they kick investors in the teeth. Prospective investors will now ask, 'If I invest in Tasmania, am I next?' Northern Tasmania needs jobs and investments, not committees with clipboards and red tape.

The Tasmanian Liberals should stop manufacturing uncertainty and start backing Tasmania.