Last week, the High Court of Australia shot down an attempt by green groups to decimate local communities across regional NSW by forcing an end to sustainable native logging in that state.
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While not directly affecting Tasmania, the decision exposes the latest tactic of green groups - using vexatious legal cases as warfare, or "lawfare", to shut down our respected industry.
The courts made it clear they are aware of their tactics and that their plans are doomed to fail.
In Tasmania, our forestry industry is legal, respected across all sides of politics and an important part in growing our state's economy and environmental credentials.
We have bipartisan support from both sides of politics. In response to the High Court's decision, Labor's Federal Forestry Minister, Murray Watt, has backed our industry, saying "our Government, the Albanese Government, has always said that we support a sustainable forestry industry in our country".
Liberal Senator for Tasmania Jonno Duniam has also backed our industry, saying "native forestry is sustainable and should continue".
Tasmanian forestry is also essential for our state to meet its lofty environmental goals. It's well known that sustainable regrowth forestry is key to sequestering carbon.
In fact, in its Fourth Assessment the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said: "A sustainable forest management strategy aimed at maintaining or increasing forest carbon stocks, while producing an annual sustained yield of timber, fibre or energy from the forest, will generate the largest sustained mitigation benefit."
When the world leaders fighting climate change are willing to back forestry, it seems the extreme green groups are either unaware of the science, or conveniently ignoring it.
But more than just positive environmental outcomes, the forestry industry is key to our economic success and keeping our rural communities alive.
Forestry creates jobs, especially outside our metropolitan regions. In fact, over 5,000 people in Tasmania are employed by forestry either directly or indirectly. And that doesn't include the thousands of workers who can support themselves in our forestry communities.
By being against forestry, these extreme groups are admitting they are against building a stronger Tasmania, protecting our sovereign capability and locking up carbon in the most efficient way. It's pleasing to see the legal system has highlighted their inconvenient truth.
Nick Steel is Chief Executive Officer of the Tasmanian Forest Products Association.
