Well thank you very much for those kind words of introduction. Paul Lennon, the Premier of Tasmania, my Ministerial colleagues Ian Macdonald and Eric Abetz, Michael Ferguson, the Federal Member for Bass, Mark Baker, the Federal Members for Braddon, Rene Hidding, the Leader of the Opposition in Tasmania, Bryan Green, the Minister responsible for timber issues and related matters in the Tasmanian Government, Jill who has been kind enough to introduce me, Trevor Richardson and Barry Chipman of the Timber Communities, and Michael O'Connor of the forestry division of the CFMEU.
Jill is right, I will never forget that meeting in the Albert Hall on the 6th of October last year. I went for my regular morning walk this morning and I walked past the Albert Hall from the Grand Chancellor hotel. It was quieter this morning than it had been on the 6th of October... but I thought of that meeting and I recalled the commitments that I made to the thousands of people who were gathered there, worrying about the future. And the central commitment I made was based upon the belief I have long held that it is never fair to ask a small section of the Australian people to carry the burden and the cost of implementing something that the overwhelming majority of the rest of the community want. And that was really what was at stake then, what has been at stake in the months that have gone by. Everybody wants to preserve our environment. This idea that the extreme greens have a mortgage on concern and compassion for the forests or for the environment of this country has always been offensive to me. And it ought to be offensive to all right thinking Australians.
We all recognise the challenge of greenhouse gas emissions, we all recognise the need to do something about water which is the great conservation challenge of our age - we all recognise the need to have good environmental incomes. But what I have always held to, my Government has held to, and I know all of you held to over the years, is the unshakable belief that in achieving the goals of a better environment we shouldn't throw on the scrapheap vulnerable, isolated, regional communities, their families and the people who owe their livelihoods whether as small businessmen or as employees owe their livelihoods to the activities of those communities. And that is why I presented then a policy which had as its central goal the preservation of jobs and investment in the industry and the hope of more employment and more investment which security and continuity and stability and predictability could provide.
I said then in the policy we released that we needed to sit down and discuss the matter with the Tasmanian Government. The Tasmanian Government has always been central to a resolution of this issue. Property rights are governed by state governments - federal governments play another role. And it's always been necessary to have cooperation between the two levels of government to achieve a sensible outcome. And I want to acknowledge the constructive way in which Paul Lennon and his Government have approached this issue. Cooperative federalism has been seen on display in relation to this issue. We have seen governments sitting down and working through this issue. I also want to acknowledge the constructive approach taken by Rene Hidding and his colleagues in the state opposition here in Tasmania. I recall as I came here on Thursday night I had a lengthy discussion with Rene about the elements of the agreement, and he indicated the broad support, indeed the strong support of the state opposition here in Tasmania. And that is important because it is necessary you know on certain central issues of great public moment that political differences be put aside.
I will work with anybody of any political persuasion to preserve the jobs of working men and women in this country. I will always work to preserve a good investment climate for small business. I'm the son of a small businessman, I've always believed that the heart and soul of the future of this country is the capacity of people to start with nothing and by working their insides out to build something for their lives and leave it behind to their children. And your communities are built on small businessmen and women's efforts. And I felt last year that all of those efforts needed and deserved support. It's taken us a number of months, I don't apologise for that, I don't mind that, the important thing is that as the months went by the jobs were still preserved - we were getting the detail right. We have got the detail right and it's involved consultation with your communities. And there'll be consultation into the future. We don't end our consultation with your communities now that an agreement has been achieved. And can I also say that the Premier and I have agreed that there'll be consultation with the farmers and graziers of this state regarding the implementation of those aspects of the agreement that affect land owners. Consultation between governments and stakeholders is always necessary, not only to reach an agreement in the first instance but also to make sure that it is implemented in a sensitive and intelligent fashion.
I want to especially thank the contribution made by the forestry division of the CFMEU - by Michael O'Connor and his colleagues. They brought to these negotiations one thing, and that is a concern to protect the interests of their members. And that is the right of any trade union in this country, and I will always respect that. I'm known not always to agree with the goals of the trade union movement in this country. But where our goals are the same and were our goals are Australia's goals I will work with them, as I believe men and women of good will in the trade union movement will work with me. Because when you are talking about the livelihoods of communities and the job prospects of the people of those communities and their children, and as I watched the presentation at the beginning of this meeting I was reminded that this is not only an industry with a very proud past, it's an industry that also has a great future. It's got people who've devoted their lives to it and they want their children hopefully to have the opportunity of carrying on what they have done.
So yesterday the Premier and I signed an agreement that was a great fillip for the forest industries. It was certainly a huge win for the workers in the industry and in so many ways it was a triumph for Tasmania's future because I agree with the Premier, this does represent a way forward, a way to end, except in the minds of the irreconcilably acrimonious and never to be satisfied environmentalists, it does represent a way forward, it does strike a balance. When you are protecting up 90 per cent of the Tarkine, and you are doing the other things that the Premier outlined and I won't go over them again because they'll be very familiar to all of you in this gathering. When you are delivering incentives to the industry, when you are unveiling a package of $251 million dollars, contributed to by both Governments, you are talking about a watershed in the life the forest industry in Tasmania, but also the life of the forest industry all around Australia, cause I know this conference brings together not only many Tasmanians, but also communities from all around Australia and I am familiar with so many of them and many of my colleagues have spoken to me about the strength and the vibrancy of timber communities around Australia in Victoria, in the Eden Monaro area of New South Wales, of the northern rivers area of New South Wales, of Wester Australia, of the Gippsland area and so forth and you all gather here today, and I am delighted that it's occurred the day after the Premier and I have signed the agreement. We chose an appropriate place to do it and on display as we signed the Agreement, were some of the areas that are going to be protected and I am so very honoured to have been part of what believe, and I share the view of Paul Lennon on this - what I believe to be an historic way forward and one that in except in the minds of the unreasonable as I'd said, it does end the acrimony and the bitterness and does demonstrate to Australia, there can be a balance.
My friends, my fellow Australians, this Agreement has come at the end of a very important week for our nation. It's always important, the week in which a Federal Budget is brought down. Without going into any of the detailed political debates that inevitably surround the Federal Budget, I think it can be said without argument, that this nation at the present time is experiencing a great level of national prosperity and that national prosperity is being shared all around the country. We have the lowest unemployment for thirty years, we have very low inflation, we have historically low interest rates, we have very high levels of business investment, we have a fiscal position which is the envy of the western world and in the Budget we were able to provide across the board taxation relief. But the important thing about the Budget, as is always the most important thing about the Budget, is what it says about the future. So what it said about the future was that despite our great strength and great prosperity, there were structural challenges that the Australian economy had that need to be faced, one of them of course is the ageing of our population and the need to make sure that our health and other related services consumed increasingly by people as they age, is maintained on a sustainable basis. The need to provide for the future by putting away some of the surpluses of today to meet the liabilities of tomorrow and that is what the Future Fund is all about. Just as we have tried to do with your community, and that is to plan for the future, to deliver to the future, so it is on a national level, that the Budget represented our attempt to do that. Can I, my friends, conclude by saying that I am very, very pleased to have had the opportunity of playing part in delivering security and piece of mind to a hard working group of Australian men and women - you deserve no less. As communities you have suffered unfair criticism and ridicule, you have been unfairly described as enemies of the environment when you are nothing of the kind. You have been expected by some in our community, including some in the political arena, to carry a disproportionately heavy burden, in order to achieve a national goal which gives many people a warm feeling without involving any measurable costs. Now that was an outcome that I never believed was fair and reasonable, much in all as I wanted the goals of so many people around Australia in relation to the environment realised. We have not allowed that to happen, we have delivered on a commitment that I made to the people of the timber industry, here in Tasmania on the 6th October last year and even more importantly, that we have done it in partnership with the State government. We have done it partnership across the political divide in Australia and we have done it with the good will and the cooperation of so many people in the community. That is an ideal Australian solution. If only we can solve all of our problems with that degree of cooperation and good will, the future can be even greater and more productive and encouraging than the present.
My fellow Australians, thank you for inviting me here today. I wish the timber communities of Australia great, good fortune. I think you have a bright future ahead of you and that is overwhelmingly due to the fact that you are hard working, committed Australians wanting nothing more than a fair go and an opportunity to get on with your businesses and to get on with your lives and to leave something worthwhile and useful for your children and that is what you've endeavoured to do, thank you very much and good luck.
[ends]