Opposition Leader Mark Latham has pledged that protecting the jobs of timber workers would be a non-negotiable stance for a federal Labor government, despite pressure from environmental groups to end logging of old-growth forests in Tasmania.

In a blow to the Australian Greens, Mr Latham said it would be against Labor’s principles even to think about sacrificing timber workers’ jobs in regional communities where there was a risk unemployment would become entrenched.

He also ruled out pushing for any changes to the regional forest agreement between Tasmania and the commonwealth which sets out the ground rules for logging and forest protection in the southern state.

In a move that could help Labor maintain its grip on all five federal lower house seats in Tasmania at the next election, Mr Latham used the first full day of his trip to the state to reassure the timber industry and unions.
He also directly rejected one or the economic arguments of the environmental movement in the Tasmanian forests debate, namely that it would be in the country’s long-term interests to wind down employment in logging because that would boost growth and jobs in the tourism industry.

“We’ve got to be careful about saying we can phase down the forestry jobs and people will get a job in tourism,” Mr Latham said on ABC Radio in Hobart during the second day of his three-day visit.

“Experience tells us that if a mature-aged worker with one set of skills loses a job, it is incredibly hard to move to another industry at that age.
“This is why I say it is not social justice to be putting people on the dole queue, it’s just not on.”

Questioned by a talkback caller who favoured reducing old-growth logging because of the longer term benefits to the environment, Mr Latham said unemployment had long-term costs, too,
., A worker who is thrown on to the dole queue, can’t get a job at age 52 or 53,” he said. “Unemployment gets into the family, gets into the community, gets into the next generation of young people.
“I’ve seen communities that end up with unemployment that. passes from generation to generation and that long-term view of poverty, I can tell you it’s no good. . . and it’s an un-Labor thing to do.”
Mr Latham toured Gunns Limited’s veneer plant and Norske Skog’s paper mill at Boyer, north of Hobart.

He also visited the Tahune Forest AirWalk in the Huon Valley, which he praised as an example of how the forestry industry, tourism and forests could co-exist.

Today Mr Latham and Greens leader Bob Brown will visit the contentious old-growth forest in the Styx Valley, which conservationists want protected from logging