Tony Burke Australia’s New Forestry Minister

18 April 2008
A former active member of the Wilderness Society who campaigned on environmental issues such as preserving the Daintree rainforest has gained the cabinet-level portfolio of forestry, including agriculture and fisheries, in the Rudd line-up announced on 29 November.
Tony Burke, 38, who has degrees in Art and Law from the University of Sydney, and is a former national president of Australian Young Labor, replaces previous Shadow Forestry Minister Senator Kerry O’Brien in the portfolio. Senator O’Brien from Tasmania is one of three shadow ministers dropped from the federal cabinet.
The chief executive of the National Association of Forest Industries Catherine Murphy said Mr Burke was a capable new minister who demonstrated significant abilities as Shadow Minister for Immigration.
“Forestry has proven to be an important portfolio in recent years with many changes occurring in the forest industry,” Mrs Murphy said. The changing agricultural landscape has seen new tree plantations established and our native forests have reached new heights in sustainable forest management.”
Penny Wong, a Labor Senator for South Australia, takes over climate change from Peter Garrett, who will retain the environment portfolio.
The full ministry will meet in Canberra on 3 December after being sworn in by the Governor-General Michael Jeffery.
The federal coalition has chosen outgoing Defence Minister Dr Brendan Nelson, 49, as leader over Malcolm Turnbull, outgoing Minister for the Environment.
Catherine Murphy said she looked forward to working with Dr Nelson in ensuring the interests of the forest industry, and the communities it supports, are represented.
“As a former resident of Tasmania, Dr Nelson understands the issues surrounding the forest industry and the value of the industry to regional communities,” she said.

Logging Gets Green Light in Tasmania

Forestry Tasmania has won its appeal against a Federal Court decision that banned logging in the Wielangta forest. The State Government-owned business appealed against the result of a case brought by Australian Greens leader Bob Brown.
In December last year, Federal Court Justice Shane Marshall ruled Forestry Tasmania's logging operations in the Wielangta state forest near Orford had breached the Regional Forest Agreement. Marshall said logging was likely to have a "significant impact" on three endangered species that lived in the forest – the Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle, the broad-toothed stag beetle and the swift parrot.

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