The Bligh government has sweetened the sale of Forestry Plantations Queensland with 33 000 hectares of free-hold land.
The Bligh government has now sold Forestry Plantations Queensland, along with some 33 000 hectares of Queensland land, without admitting to voters it had originally lied about the sale of this land.
A brochure about asset sales distributed by the Bligh government in 2009 claimed that it was a “myth” that forestry land would be sold. The Bligh government said that only the business (the trees) was for sale. Now the truth is revealed: the Bligh government intentionally mislead Queenslanders about the sale of land.
The sale of the land also has serious implications for sustainability and urban growth. The free-hold land sold is mostly between the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane and is an important security against urban sprawl.
“Future security from urban sprawl and sustainable planning is unknown now, because of the uncertainty created through the sale of this land,” said Ms Simpson.
Ms Simpson has said that Queensland is not for sale under the LNP; the sale of important assets is not in the best interest of Queensland for the long-term.