Timber

Vic Jurskis. The facts haven’t deterred the ecowarriors of North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) from trying to hasten the demise of the sustainable, renewable, solar-powered native timber industry. They don’t care about habitat for people, other than themselves. They’ve launched an application for an injunction to ‘save’ the overcrowded koalas that are breeding more rapidly than ever on all the soft new growth resprouting after the Black Summer holocaust that they helped to create.

The state government decision to close the native forest timber industry culminates eight years of mismanagement that turned VicForests from a profitable business into a loss maker, an analysis by a Traralgon consultant has found ... Mr Cameron said Australian hardwood sawn timber mill gate revenue sold for 3.5 times the price of Australian softwood sawn timber, and contributed to much greater value-adding and job creation than softwood.

The state government has been accused of using a landmark Victorian climate report, which was written without any input from forestry researchers or the forest industry, to prematurely close the native forestry industry. These forestry groups resent the lack of consultation and have attacked the intellectual content of the report ... The report was written without any contribution from leading forestry experts – Forestry Australia, which represents forest scientists, forest managers and timber growers; Forest & Wood Products Australia, the sector’s chief research and marketing arm; the Victorian Forest Products Association; and leading forestry academics.

The future of Victoria's forests has been captured by political ideology and complex legalities rather than being determined by science and professional expertise, according to Forestry Australia ... "The problem is, there has been no universally accepted definition or clarity regarding how key components of the [precautionary] principle should be interpreted or applied in practice," Forestry Australia said.

The Glenreagh Timber Festival is back on Saturday July 29, from 9am – 4.30pm at the Glenreagh Recreational Reserve. Step back in time and discover the rich history of Glenreagh, nestled in the stunning Gumbaynggirr country.

VFPA welcomes the Federal Government’s announcement to reverse the highly contested rainfall regulation, known as ‘water rule’, under the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) ... The announcement means the Australian Government will permanently remove this perverse rule from the Carbon Farming Initiative Regulation from 1 June 2024.  

Ecology, community and renewable timber were on the agenda last week as the NSW Minister for Agriculture, The Hon. Tara Moriarty MLC spent time in Bagawa State Forest near Coffs Harbour.  Minister Moriarty said the field visit provided a deeper understanding of how State forests are managed to balance multiple uses and objectives.  

It’s not only the timber industry that’s in decline, the government’s forestry agency, the Forest Products Commission (FPC) is also sinking fast. The WA 2023-24 Budget Papers indicate that this commercial business is failing under the Labor Government. It is predicted to continue to make losses in coming years.

Blanket bans of native forest harvesting will not improve our carbon balance or recover biodiversity according to the professional association for forest scientists, growers and managers, Forestry Australia. President Dr Michelle Freeman said the consensus position of independent scientific experts, forest managers and researchers  is that active management of forests is required to maintain forest health, mitigate fire risk, conserve biodiversity and maximise carbon outcomes.

Questioning by the WA Opposition’s Mia Davies has revealed that the Forest Products Commission is not planning on issuing any timber contracts from 1 January 2024 until an indeterminant time in the future ... “It is a clear tactic to force businesses out of the sector”, said David Utting, convenor of the Sustainable Forest Industries Roundtable.

David Landini. The closure of the Victorian native timber harvesting industry has not occurred due to legal threats; it has occurred due to the Green orientation of the Victorian urban population and this population’s insurmountable political power ... There are more Green voters in Victoria, mostly in the urban areas, than the total number of voters in the 10 marked electorates.

The State Government’s decision earlier this week to end the native forestry industry effective January 2024 came as a shock to the whole sector, clearly with zero consultation with any forestry industry representatives. Timber Towns Victoria calls the decision ‘reckless’ and ‘irresponsible’, condemning the decision.

‘Branching Out”, the latest report on the NSW native forestry by the Blueprint Institute, was released on 26 April and put into the media with the subeditorial line “Report outlines economic benefit of ending native forest logging’ ... The Report should be marked ‘draft’ given its deficiencies - and that is being generous.

The Andrews Government has announced the cessation of native forestry at the end of 2023, despite promises in 2019 to phase out native timber logging by 2030. The native timber industry represents a large segment of the state’s overall timber industry, creating 2,500 jobs and generating more than $770 million in revenue annually ... The Government will establish an advisory panel to consider and make recommendations on which forests to lock up as National Parks.

The decision by the Victorian government to bring forward the end of native forest logging to January 2024 has been met with differing reactions ... "There are very few production systems on the globe that offer stronger sustainability credentials than well managed native forests. In fact, we know that well managed native forests can actually provide superior biodiversity, fire and climate outcomes": President of Forestry Australia, Dr Michelle Freeman ... On the other side of the coin, the Victorian National Parks Association ...

"In three years, we haven’t seen any evidence or sign that the Premier ever had plans to deliver on his promises to support the native timber industry with new pine plantations or any form of alternative supply. Now the livelihoods of hundreds of locals are shattered in an instant without a single word from the Premier or his government": Cr Ian Bye, Wellington Shire Council Mayor

On 23 May 2023, the Premier Daniel Andrews said: “We’re doing everything we promised Victorians we’d do – and we’re not wasting a moment getting on with it”. What he perhaps should have said was: “We promised some things – we even promised to govern for all Victorians – but we will deliver only some things, dump plenty of others, and govern for a few.” For me there’s only one headline from this budget: Victoria is broke.

Today’s announcement to bring forward the end of native forestry by six years is a devastating blow for thousands of regional Victorian families. It is estimated that native forestry provides 5000 direct jobs and many more indirect jobs providing the lifeblood for regional communities such as Orbost, which stands to lose 37 per cent of its workers.

The Victorian Government is stepping in to deliver certainty for timber workers, sawmill operators and their communities, with an expanded transition support package as part of the Victorian Budget 2023/24. This package removes the uncertainty that has been caused by ongoing court and litigation process and increasingly severe bushfires, with an additional $200 million in support for workers and their families to transition away from native timber logging earlier than planned – by 1 January 2024.

"Australia is the sixth most forested country in the world but is a net importer of timber products. The current approach is not working if we want to continue to provide local timber products to support affordable housing and flow-on benefits to meet society’s needs. We are in effect, exporting our forest management challenges to other nations, when we have high environmental standards and highly skilled professionals and scientists to appropriately manage our resources locally": Dr Michelle Freeman, President of Forestry Australia.