Topic:Forestry, Logging and Timber Industry
The decision to sell Rushy Lagoon to a UK investment firm has been decried as a "betrayal of Tasmanian agriculture". (ABC News: Mitchell Woolnough)
A parliamentary committee proposed by the Tasmanian government and supported by four independents, will examine aspects of the sale of the state's largest farm to a UK investment firm.
Gresham House has plans to turn 9,000 hectares of the almost 22,000 hectare property into a pine plantation.
Primary Industries Minister Gavin Pearce says questions about the sale remain, including whether federal government policies are "inadvertently favouring carbon credit outcomes over ongoing fibre and food production".
The sale of Tasmania's largest farm to a UK investment firm will be probed by a state parliamentary committee.
Rushy Lagoon, a 21,745-hectare property in the state's north-east was sold to Gresham House after the sale was vetted by the Foreign Investment Review Board and approved by federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers last month.
Gresham House plans to plant about 12 million radiata pine seedlings across 9,000 hectares of the farm over the next five years.
It is also considering cropping and leasing out parts of the farm for grazing, tourism and mountain biking.
There has been community outcry about the sale, mainly over the pine plantation plans.
Gresham House plans to plant about 12 million radiata pine seedlings across the farm over the next five years. (ABC News: Mitchell Woolnough)
Advocacy body TasFarmers described Mr Chalmers' decision as a "betrayal of Tasmanian agriculture".
The Tasmanian government has been vocal in its opposition to the sale and proposed the parliamentary inquiry.
Primary Industries Minister Gavin Pearce told parliament yesterday that significant questions remained, including whether federal government policies were "inadvertently favouring carbon credit outcomes over ongoing fibre and food production".
He said the inquiry was "not about relegating a decision".