THE Legislative Council could effectively destroy the forest peace process if proposed amendments to the Tasmanian Forests Agreement Bill are approved.
Rumney independent MLC Tony Mulder said he intends to propose an increase to the minimum sawlog quota, taking it from the 137,000 cubic metres listed in the Tasmanian Forests Agreement to the 155,000 cubic metres listed in the earlier intergovernmental agreement between the state and federal governments.
Other MLCs said they may support an increase, claiming the quota in the agreement could not sustain the industry in the long term or allow for future growth.
The signatories have consistently said that any change to the sawlog quota or the reserves would be a deal-breaker.
Wilderness Society Tasmania campaign manager Vica Bayley said ``if they change it, it's not the agreement that we have spent two to three years trying to come to, so we may not support it''.
The sawlog increase is one of a raft of changes that may be proposed when the Legislative Council votes on the bill next week.
The signatories and the government have said they would support amendments that were consistent with the substance or the spirit of the agreement.
Opposition forestry spokesman Peter Gutwein said the select committee report, tabled yesterday, was an ``encyclopaedia of reasons for the deal to be thrown out''.
