While the forest industry might hope that business is open, shifts in the wood market suggest otherwise. Ta Ann Truths/Flickr

Ripping up the forestry deal won’t guarantee Tasmanian timber boom

There are many jubilant Tasmanians this week celebrating the death of the Tasmanian Forests Agreement now that the forest industry has endorsed the government’s mandate to tear up the deal. I am not one…
Whose opinion of this forest is most important? The Tasmanian Forests Agreement has decided. Sarah Caulfield

Tasmanian Forests Agreement: deeply flawed, worth backing

On April 30 2013, Tasmania’s Parliament passed the Tasmanian Forests Agreement, with the aim of ending one of the world’s longest-running forestry conflicts. The deal “locks up” a further half-million…
Tasmanians are pretty happy with their lot in life: isn’t that worth more than growth for growth’s sake? Georgie Sharp

No basket‑case: Tasmania on the bumpy road to economic sustainability

Is Tasmania at a tipping point? Over the next two weeks The Conversation, in conjunction with Griffith REVIEW and the University of Tasmania, is publishing a series of provocations. Our authors ask where…
Sure, the Tasmanian Forests Agreement isn’t perfect, but do you have a more sustainable way to stop the forest wars? Matthew Newton/AAP

Give sustainability a chance: Tasmanian Forests Agreement in perspective

The signatories to the Tasmanian Forests Agreement (TFA) have spent more than two years trying to square the circle of forest conflict in Tasmania. The deal they brokered deserves prima facie respect…
The banks have pulled the plug on loss-making company Gunns after it announced a $904 million loss. Image from www.shutterstock.com

Timber giant Gunns felled by the ‘perfect storm’

Forestry company Gunns has been entered into voluntary administration after posting a $904 million loss today. Tough economic conditions, including a high Australian dollar and falling woodchip prices…
Negotiations are easier if activists are left out, but the results won’t last. Rainforest Action Network

An agreement no one agrees on: Tasmanian forest solution in crisis

The Tasmanian forests agreement is hanging by a thread. Political parties have reverted to their old adversarial ways, people who should be getting a say have been excluded from the process, and the large…
In the game of economic and environmental chess, Gunns’s position is looking precarious. ChessAmmo.com

Gunns heading for its Tasmanian endgame

In chess, the endgame takes place when only a handful of pieces are left on the board. In close games, the players must select the best move available to avoid being checkmated. Gunns – Tasmania’s “forest…
The trees are falling, but is anyone listening? NatureNut3/flickr

The Tasmanian Forest Agreement: too close to collapse?

Political scientists now commonly distinguish between ‘government’ and ‘governance’. The former refers to a hierarchical institution while the latter captures the idea of a general process of social steering…
Will the prematurely released Agreement bring peace in Tasmania’s forest wars? Rainforest Action Network/flickr

Deal or no deal? Reflections on Tasmania’s forest agreement

A great deal of head scratching will take place in Canberra and Hobart in the coming days as politicians and bureaucrats try to make sense of last week’s Signatories Agreement for Tasmania’s forests. Premature…
What all the fighting is for. epidemiks/Flickr

Is the Tasmanian forest agreement collapsing?

On 18 May 2011, The Wilderness Society suspended its participation in Tasmania’s forest peace talks. Is this the beginning of the end for these negotiations? Perhaps, but only because the solution emerging…

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