The Alliance said today's announcement to log the beach forests has no credibility given the trail of secrets and lies that run from timberlands to the heart of government.

'Tony Ryall and Jenny Shipley have misused their ministerial offices to support logging of native forests,' Alliance Leader Jim Anderton said.

'However rather than conduct a full investigation into Timberlands abuse of PR money the Prime Minister and State Owned Enterprise Minister have not deviated from the PR script crafted for them by Timberlands PR bosses.

'The scheme is not sustainable. The Landcare Research report on the proposals found that Timberlands inaccurate forest models created 'an illusion of sustainability,' 'A group of 18 expert ecologists said that 'Timberlands has no idea of the loss of forest wildlife that will be caused'.

'Logging in the manner proposed by Timberlands is unlikely to be economic at the best of times.

'The demolition of Timberlands credibility means that time is ! running out for native forest logging. The urgent challenge facing the West Coast is to back investment in new, job-rich, high technology industries.

'A well-run regional development programme with venture capital investment reflecting a close partnership between the government and the private sector could provide thousands of new jobs on the Coast.Two 'Tait Electronics' type companies on the West Coast would be vastly better for coasters and New Zealand than any number of Timberland type extraction industries will ever be,' Jim Anderton said.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>