PRIME Minister Tony Abbott and Tasmanian Opposition Leader Will Hodgman misunderstand the forest industry and market if they think tearing up the peace deal will help regrow it, an industry leader has said.
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Forest Industries Association of Tasmania chief executive Terry Edwards said that markets would not buy from controversial areas, and he was certain any areas delisted as World Heritage Areas would be classed as controversial.
``Why would you wish to destabilise the market?'' Mr Edwards asked.
He said he had written to Mr Abbott several weeks ago to express his concerns with the plan to tear up the deal and to outline the ramifications it may have, but did not get a reply.
``It appears a decision has been made already with no engagement from industry,'' Mr Edwards said.
The letter from Mr Abbott to Mr Hodgman said that the federal government would write to the World Heritage Committee next month to ask for 170,000 hectares of World Heritage Area to be delisted.
Acting opposition leader Jeremy Rockliff said regional and rural communities had been consulted.
``We talked to rural and regional communities, we talked to the people of Tasmania, and they are sick and tired of the Labor Green government doing them over and shutting down such valuable industries,'' Mr Rockliff said.
``What the people of Tasmania want is governments that stand up for industry.''
But Mr Edwards said the Liberals had not engaged directly with industry, and it was clear that markets did not want the deal thrown away, and would not buy from areas that were disputed.