A MAJOR signatory to the state's forestry industry statement of principles started advising its members yesterday that it would not sign the agreement released last week.
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Timber Communities Australia Tasmanian manager Barry Chipman said late yesterday that the decision had been made after a massive response from members.
The agreement, the result of months of negotiations based on the statement of principles, was released by facilitator Bill Kelty.
"We are not saying that we are walking away from the forest talks and that we won't sign an agreement in the future, but my board can't sign it at the moment," Mr Chipman said.
He refused to say which areas of the agreement caused problems for his group.
"We are in the process of conveying that information to both governments, so it would be inappropriate (to comment) at the moment," he said.
"But what I can say is that one of the matters that is important to us is the pulp mill."
Mr Chipman said that Timber Communities' two goals for the forest talks was to achieve certainty for the state's timber families and peace in the forests.
"Neither of those have been achieved so far," he said.
He said that members would be notified of the decision over the next few days.