Judging by the tone of the article, it appears the journalist is suggesting that there should not be any form of interstate or foreign investment in Tasmania.

This is a bizarre proposition, especially from The Examiner, which has a proud history of supporting interstate and overseas investment in Tasmania.

I also point out that the biggest forestry company operating in Tasmania, Forico, is part of an international company with its Australian headquarters in Sydney.

Having said that, local jobs are our priority and of course our buy local policy, which in the December quarter saw 83 per cent of open source contracts go to Tasmanian companies, will apply.

I AM surprised that so much media attention has been given to the establishment of a Tasmania branch of the Australia Institute.

We encourage free speech and debate of ideas, but politically funded groups should be honest with the public and reveal their agenda.

The proposed director Leeane Minshull says: “we don’t have a political interest, we don’t have a particular agenda”.

What absolute nonsense.

Any quick research would reveal Ms Minshull is a former head-of-office for Greens leader Cassy O’Connor and that the Australia Institute is simply a left-wing lobby group headed out of Canberra by Bob Brown’s and Christine Milne’s former chief-of-staff Ben O’Quist.

Deputy director, Ebony Bennett, was national campaign director for the Australian Greens 2010 federal election campaign.

Voters and journalists should not be fooled by this group suddenly moving into Tasmania with a fancy name 12 months before an election, it will be just another Green front group attacking regional jobs and trying to lock up more of Tasmania at a time when this state is starting to boom again under a majority Hodgman Liberal government.