"The government and opposition can hold themselves responsible for decimating the timber industry," said Mark Banasiak, MLC of the Shooters, Fisher and Farmers Party.

"The dual consent bill is not a koala bill. Robust protections for koalas exist in the codes that govern forestry, with a 20% reduction in harvestable land.

"The Government failed to articulate what removing dual consent means, and Labor failed to do their research. 

"The removal of dual consent means that approvals for native forestry will not be duplicated at a local government level. 

"Local councils do not have the expertise to authorise private native forestry, and the duplication is long and expensive. 

"Councils are opposed to this bill claiming concerns on the impact to roads, yet most applications are rejected based on environmental reasons, despite the lack of expertise.

"Playing politics with the timber industry instead of taking action means we won't have a timber industry in 12 months," said Mr Banasiak.