Brown to stop meeting with PM over logging

Greens leader Bob Brown has called off routine meetings with Prime Minister Julia Gillard because he’s outraged logging is still occurring in some of Tasmania’s protected forests.

Senator Brown has been meeting with Ms Gillard once a week when parliament is in session and once a fortnight when parliament isn’t sitting since the 2010 election.

That arrangement formed part of the agreement between the two parties when the Greens decided to back Labor to form minority government.

Tasmanian Premier Lara Giddings and Ms Gillard signed off on an environmental deal in August that included the protection of 430,000 hectares of native forests and $45 million to help struggling contractors leave the industry.

But Senator Brown says Ms Gillard has not kept her word because logging is still happening in some protected areas.

He said on Wednesday that more than 10 sq km of the forests had been flattened by Forestry Tasmania.

The logging amounts to one per cent of the protected area and is occurring to fulfil existing contracts.

Senator Brown likened the effect on the forests to part of a Beethoven recording being removed.

“Less than one per cent of world heritage value – one per cent of a Beethoven record – makes quite a mess of the whole delivery, if you like,” he told ABC Radio.

While he has vowed to scrap his routine meetings with Ms Gillard the Greens leader said he would still meet her to discuss “important matters.”

“It’s a very important stand for leading politicians to keep their word on the environment of Australia,” he said.

“I’m open to talk with the PM about any important matter but the routine meetings that we’ve been having need to wait upon the important matters that I’m talking about.”

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