Guy Barnett

THE State Government has claimed a boom in forestry jobs with the release of a survey which counts park rangers as “forestry sector” workers. The State of the Forests 2017 booklet was launched on Monday by the independent Forest Practices Authority.It claimed: “Tasmanian forest industry employment has increased by approximately 1000 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees since November 2013 to over 3600.” The figure is only slightly higher than the figure of 3410 published in the FPA’s last State of the Forests report in 2012 — and starkly at odds with Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showing a steep decline in employment in the sector. Resources Minister Guy Barnett said the report showed a dramatic rebound of the industry under the Liberals. “The Hodgman Government’s number one priority is jobs, and the report states that forest industry employment has increased by approximately 1000 full-time equivalent employees since November 2013,” he said.