More than 80,000 Australians could find themselves unemployed thanks to Labor’s green tinge fixation on decimating the nation’s native timber industry.

Witnesses at Friday’s Senate Inquiry hearing into the Environment Protection Reform Bill told Senators the newly minted changes to the Environmental Protection Biodiversity & Conservation Act (EPBC) and concerns around an EU Free Trade Agreement had resulted in a loss of investment confidence with jobs now on the line.

“There was an industry meeting earlier this week whereby someone advised that he had put on hold all investment in forestry activities until there is confidence about the new regulatory environment,” Australian Forest Products Association Chief Executive Officer, Diana Hallam told the inquiry.

Nationals Senator for New South Wales, and Shadow Minister for Fisheries and Forestry, Water, and Emergency Management said the haste to deliver legislative change was devoid of common sense and was already having irreversible impact on the industry.

“Across Australia there are hundreds of small communities that rely on the forestry sector to keep cash in local economies,” Cadell said.

“These changes were rolled out with ill consideration and with disregard for the impact they would have on regional communities.

Warrick Ragg of National Farmers’ Federation said the Department had failed to engage with the sector before adding further green tape.

“It probably needs putting on record that this wasn’t something the department had prepared for, the implementation phase wasn’t discussed in the lead up to the legislation being passed,” Ragg said.

“One of our members accessed Commonwealth mapping, was told he had a paddock tree, went out and it was a water tank.”

Cadell said he feared businesses would simply shut up shop in the face of the regulatory burden.

“People in industry are telling me they don’t know where to go and what to trust,” Cadell said.

“The information they have been granted access to is inaccurate and the compliance bills are adding up into the tens of thousands of dollars.”

Stuart Coppock of Timber NSW described the unknown as a “maelstrom”.

“We’re heading into a maelstrom of legal nonsense … literally no man’s land.”

The Environment and Communications Legislation Committee is due to hand down its report on the Environment Protection Reform Bill by March 24.