STATE officials were in Canberra yesterday to work out how an extra $11.5 million could be found within the $276 million federal- state forestry agreement.
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The cash will go to Forestry Tasmania and must be found after a payout offer to Gunns was doubled to $23 million.
The $34.5 million eliminates the possibility of legal action involving those entities that could hold up the agreement touted to save the forestry industry and protect more of the environment.
Premier Lara Giddings said yesterday there was no deadline for finding the money but "it is our hope that the final arrangements will be known soon".
She has ruled out touching $45 million set aside to compensate forest contractors put out of work.
That leaves dipping into a $20 million upfront payment for regional development, $25 million for employment and training support for workers, $15 million compensation for sawmillers, $7 million upfront to manage extra reserves or $5 million for public relations.
Deputy Premier Bryan Green said he hoped that would be the last taxpayers' money used to help the forestry industry.
"We see a sustainable industy going forward, and yes I'd hope this is the last time we have to work with the industry to enable it to restructure," he said.
Despite the agreement specifying a single Commonwealth dollar won't go towards progressing Gunns' Bell Bay pulp mill, Mr Green admitted he had no control over how the company used its $23 million.
Opposition Leader Will Hodgman said Ms Giddings had chosen to sign a deal where "Gunns has got a gun to your head and the Greens have got a gun to your head and Lara Giddings is too weak to do anything about it".
He said Tasmanians wouldn't accept government money being spent on a private company when the state was cutting its health, education and police budgets.
Mr Green said it was ridiculous for Mr Hodgman to saying paying Gunns was taking money from public services.
"Will Hodgman is playing Tasmanians for fools by attempting to claim that Commonwealth money, which is directly tied to the agreement, could be used to pay for state government services," he said.
"This settlement has absolutely no impact on the state budget and the money ... could not have been used for a completely unrelated purpose."
Federal Environnment Minister Tony Burke said the Commonwealth was happy to help decide where the cash was found, but reaching an agreement with Gunns and Forestry Tasmania was a matter for the state.
Forest Industries Association of Tasmania chief executive Terry Edwards said people should be told where the $11.5 million would come from as a matter of urgency.
