Labor has stormed to victory in the federal election and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will lead a government with a vastly increased majority following a disastrous night for the Coalition and Peter Dutton.
In an emotional victory speech, Anthony Albanese said serving as prime minister was the great honour of his life.
“And it is with a deep sense of humility and a profound sense of responsibility that the first thing that I do tonight is to say thank you to the people of Australia for the chance to continue to serve the best nation on earth.”
He told supporters work would start “tomorrow”, with “new hope, new confidence and new determination.” This is a time of profound opportunity for our nation,” he said.
“We have everything we need to seize this moment, and make it our own, but we must do it together, all of us, because for Australia to realise our full potential, for our nation to be the very best, every Australian must have the opportunity to be the best, to serve our Australian values. — to be their best. We must value every Australian and Labor will govern for every Australian.”
According to latest count, Albanese has secured 89 seats (an increase of 14 seats), with the Liberal-National coalition languishing at just 40 seats – meaning Labor will easily be able to govern in its own right.
Today, the peak body for the 24 billion dollar Australian forest products supply chain, the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA), congratulated Albanese and all members and senators of the new 48th Parliament.
“We congratulate Prime Minister Albanese on Labor’s election victory and increased majority, and we’ll now get down to business working with the new Government on a range of issues impacting forestry and the supply chain. We also welcome all the new and re-elected MPs and Senators of the new 48th Parliament and will continue our tradition of advocacy with them,” Diana Hallam, CEO of the peak body said.
“We are eager to get straight to business with the new Government on policies announced during the campaign including the new ReMade in Australia brand and housing sector initiatives, and the soon-to-be-released Timber Fibre Strategy developed during the first term of Government by the Strategic Forest and Renewable Materials Partnership.
“Our sector faces many challenges, from long-term timber and wood-fibre supply to immediate construction market issues, ensuring we have a skilled workforce geared to needs, illegal imports, social licence to operate and making sure Australians understand the importance of what the sector does. AFPA will continue lead advocacy for the supply chain, addressing these issues in Canberra,” Ms Hallam said.
“Forestry and the supply chain directly employs 80,000 Australians, indirectly another 100,000 and creates essential products for our everyday lives, while fighting climate change. AFPA will ensure it gets the attention the sector deserves in Canberra.”
Where does the government stand on the Nature Positive Laws?
One of the issues facing the new government is the Nature Positive Laws, which Albanese shelved late last year. The laws that could allow Australia to establish a national environmental watchdog could have major implications for the country’s 10 regional forestry agreements (RFA).
“I can’t see that it has a path to success. So at this stage, I can say that we won’t be proceeding with it this term. There simply isn’t a [Senate] majority, as there wasn’t last year,” the Prime Minister told The Conversation in February. “Does the Environment and Protection Act need revision from where it was last century? Quite clearly it does. Everyone says that that’s the case. It’s a matter of working to, in a practical way, a commonsense reform that delivers something that supports industry.”
In December, the Greens gave the Albanese government a 14-day ultimatum to restart talks on Australia’s Nature Positive Laws in exchange for “stronger action to protect native forests and critical habitat from logging and deforestation.”
- To learn more about the Nature Positive Bill and it’s impact on Australian forestry, click here for Wood Central’s special feature.
