Ric Sinclair has been appointed as Chair of ForestrySA, succeeding June Roache, who has served as Chair of South Australia’s government-owned forest manager since 2018.
“It is a great honour to be appointed Chair of ForestrySA for a 3-year term, and my thanks to Minister Clare Scriven for her support,” said Sinclair, who from 2008 until 2021 served as the long-time CEO of Forest Wood Products Australia (FWPA). “I was appointed to the Board over two and a half years ago, and I have learned so much from our Chair, June Roache, who will continue with the Board as a non-executive director.”
Sinclair, who was instrumental in establishing FWPA’s long-running social license partnership with Planet Ark and the award-winning WoodSolutions programme, will take over from Roache, who has increased ForestrySA’s net asset position and returned a dividend to the government.
ForestrySA, trading as the South Australian Forestry Corporation, was established on 1 January 2001 and operates under the Public Corporations Act 1993 and the South Australian Forestry Corporation Act 2000. Its Charter sets out government priorities for both commercial and recreational forest management.
Today, ForestrySA oversees 10,500 hectares of plantation pine in the Mount Lofty Ranges—supplying logs for regional domestic markets and select exports—and more than 16,000 hectares of native forest across the Mount Lofty Ranges and Limestone Coast (Green Triangle). These support conservation, recreation, and eco-tourism whilst adhering to a certified Forest Management System under Responsible Wood’s Australian Forestry Standard.
