Howard's forest hypocrisy - but Rudd no better

The Prime Minister's $200million plan to help reduce forest fires in South East Asia is offset by his $100million pledge to those logging and burning the world's tallest hardwood forests in South-Eastern Australia in Tasmania and Victoria, Greens Leader Bob Brown said today.

"We welcome Mr Howard responding to Sir Nicholas Stern's call for action against burning of forests in Southeast Asia. But it is rank hypocrisy from the Prime Minister to have personally signed-off Regional Forest Agreements in Australia promoting the aerial fire-bombing of logged ancient forests in Australia, injecting millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

"Yesterday, 14 of these so-called regeneration burns were lit in Tasmania, using napalm-like incendiaries dropped from helicopters. Hundreds more will go up this Autumn to facilitate Gunns' export woodchip industry. These cause a devastating impact on the atmosphere and on rare and endangered species' habitats."

Labor's Kevin Rudd and Peter Garrett back the same process.

"It makes no economic sense to be getting $10-12 a tonne royalty for Gunns to destroy these forests, the Southern Hemisphere's biggest living terrestrial carbon banks, when Sir Nicholas Stern estimates the price of carbon at $110 per tonne - ten times more," Senator Brown said.

"In Tasmania trees dwarfing the Sydney Opera House or Parliament House's flagpole are being blown up, then burnt in these deliberately-lit conflagrations to make way for tax-subsidised carbon-poor plantations boosted by Mr Costello's managed investment schemes as well the $100million Community Forest Agreement," Senator Brown said.

"Malcolm Turnbull says forests are the lungs of the Earth. His government is logging and burning the lungs of Australia," Senator Brown said.

In the Tasmanian forests both parties currently share the shame of supporting ongoing destruction of old growth and rain forests.