Just six of every 10,000 trees are harvested from Australian native forests, and despite the media coverage, all must be regenerated by law. That is according to the National Farmers Federation (NFF), which has warned that high demand for Australian (and global) floorboards, staircases, and furniture means that a decision to end the country’s native forest industry will lead to a surge in imports from countries with weaker environmental regulations.
It comes as the NFF has “vehemently opposed” the Greens’ proposal to remove continuing use provisions and ban native forestry as quid pro quo in exchange for passing the Albanese Government’s Nature Positive bills. Yesterday, NFF’s Deputy CEO Charlie Thomas slammed it as a dangerous overreach that threatened the viability of Australian agriculture:
“This ill-conceived plan from the Greens demonstrates a profound lack of understanding about landscape management and the realities of farming in Australia. Removing the continuing use provisions would bring agriculture to a grinding halt, subjecting every routine farm action to a complex and lengthy approval process.”
Charlie Thomas, Deputy CEO of the National Farmers Federation in response to the Greens proposal to exit native forest logging.
According to the NFF, the Greens proposal would create an unworkable regulatory burden for farmers, ignore the existing robust state-level regulations on land management, and overwhelm the Commonwealth’s capacity to process assessments and approvals.
“The Greens’ attempt to strike down an entire industry through hasty amendments is just irresponsible politicking,” Mr Thomas said. “Regional Forest Agreements result from careful, comprehensive processes that balance conservation with sustainable resource use.”
In a strongly worded rebuff, the NFF said the proposal would:
- Disregard the role of active forest management in maintaining forest health, achieving climate outcomes and managing fuel loads; threaten Australia’s timber self-sufficiency, which is already under pressure; and,
- Contradict the Government’s repeated commitment to support the forestry sector and the jobs it creates.
“Every farmer should be alarmed that these proposals are even being floated,” Mr Thomas warned. “This is not a matter to be resolved through press releases at dawn. It requires thorough engagement with affected sectors and comprehensive analysis.”
The NFF is now calling on the Albanese Government to categorically reject the Greens’ proposal and reaffirm its commitment to sustainable agriculture and forestry practices: “We urge Minister Plibersek to hold the line and honour the Government’s obligations to our sectors. Australian agriculture’s future and national food security depend on sensible, workable environmental regulations.”
- To learn more about the Greens’ proposal to exit native logging and save Australia’s Nature Positive Laws, click here for Wood Central’s special feature.
