New polling commissioned by the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) in the NSW Mid-North Coast based federal electorate of Cowper shows voters are strongly supportive of the region's sustainable native forestry and recognise the importance of the industry for local communities, the economy and environment in the area, Chief Executive Officer of AFPA, Diana Hallam said today.
Importantly, more than half of those surveyed who said they'd vote for Teal-Independent Caz Heise said they wanted the industry maintained in the region - despite the candidate's public commitment that she wants to shut the industry down.
Other key results from the UComms commissioned poll of 726 residents in Cowper over the 14th and 15th of April, include:
- More than 70 per cent of respondents either 'strongly agree' or 'agree' that the NSW Mid-North Coast should maintain a sustainable native forestry industry
- 3 in 4 respondents believe state forests in the region should be maintained for recreational uses, like camping, horse riding and dog walking, over conversion to national park
- 95 per cent of respondents either 'strongly agree' or 'agree' that timber and timber products should be labelled with their country of origin
- Almost 60 per cent of respondents disagreed that forestry plantations should be subject to any special new taxes
- Teal-Independent Caz Heise is ahead in the seat over the Nationals' Pat Conaghan, with a 53-47 two-party preferred result returned in the poll
- Almost 8 percent of voters are still undecided as to which candidate or party will receive their first preference vote
"Voters in Cowper need to be aware, if they vote for Caz Heise, they're voting for a candidate that wants to shut native forestry down, a decision that would devastate the Mid-North Coast of NSW. Furthermore, according to our polling, Caz Heise's position on native forestry is the opposite of what the majority of her own voters want," Diana Hallam said.
The NSW native forest industry is responsible for almost 9,000 full-time local jobs, many of which are located in Cowper. It also delivers almost $3 billion in gross revenue and adds more than $1 billion to NSW's gross value add.
"This polling is also a message to other Teals and industry opponents contesting the Federal Election that native forestry cannot just be crossed out with the flick of a pen. You're dealing with people's lives here and without native forestry, the economic and community devastation would be far reaching in places that have built themselves on the sector over decades, some places longer than that," Diana Hallam concluded.
