Forest sustainability has taken on different meanings in Western Australia, depending on the audience. In one corner, the Minister for Forestry Jackie Jarvis has repeatedly claimed the closure of the native forest industry was necessary because it was unsustainable. In the other corner is her own agency, FPC, overseeing harvesting operations in the jarrah and karri forests, which have been independently certified as sustainable.
Both can’t be right, can they?
When Premier Mark McGowan announced an end to ‘commercial harvesting’ on September 8, 2021, under the smokescreen of climate change, the Minister for Environment admitted there were no reports to demonstrate this link and the government’s alternative facts have been shown to be populist opinions.
Despite this lack of scientific evidence, Jackie Jarvis continues spout the same talking points. The FPC has followed suit and mouthed the government line. However, their actions are very different.
Through all the anti-forestry propaganda, the FPC’s operations in the native forest have maintained their certification to the Sustainable Forest Management standard AS4708. They continue to hold this certification three years after we were told the operations weren’t sustainable.
When confronted in parliament with the FPC’s double standard, the Minister failed to respond to the substance of the questions:
Her answers fail to acknowledge the conflict between the political positioning and the day-to-day behaviour of her agency.
Responsible Wood oversee the implementation of this standard and ensure that there are independent auditors to check the FPC’s performance. By maintaining certification, the FPC is confirming the results of the certification that there is sound scientific evidence that WA forests are being sustainably managed.
If the FPC didn’t believe that was the case, they should have handed the certificate back in 2021.
Instead, the FPC have continued to have forest harvesting audited – in December 2021, February 2023 and August 2023 – confirming that they conform to AS 4708. These audits include a recertification in 2022 which gave the FPC the opportunity to remove native forests from the Defined Forest Area. It did not and certification continues until June 2025.
Under Standard 4708 sustainability needs to be based on science and includes maintaining, enhancing or restoring ecological processes, carbon, nutrient and water cycles and the biodiversity of forest ecosystems. Forest Monitoring under the acclaimed Forestcheck program has shown this to be the case since the 1990’s.
It is clear the left and right side of government don’t know what the other is doing. Independent Auditors for Responsible Wood say the forests have been sustainably managed for timber production based on systematic assessment against defined criteria. Jackie Jarvis says they aren’t based on ….. the politics?
The FPC sits is precariously astride a barbed wire fence. First, it must support the integrity of the Sustainable Forest Management standard, but as a servant of the Government, it has to publicly support the Minister’s position.
This certification fiasco follows Jackie Jarvis’s confession of being confused over the publication of forestry data, which she has subsequently confirmed will now remain hidden from public view.
This lack of transparency and accountability is totally contrary to the requirements of AS 4708 and pledges of open government. As can been seen from the audit findings the FPC does not deal with stakeholder complaints appropriately, another symptom of the secrecy surrounding the mismanagement of the forest industry.
- Please note: Wood Central does not take a stance on the debate over the future of Australia’s native forests. It will, however, publish an editorial that is in the public interest from time to time, which will be fact-checked before publishing. Wood Central invites all sides to contribute to the platform.
