The NSW government has appointed Peter Duncan AM to lead a new Forestry Industry Action Plan and has vowed to tap “into the knowledge of families, businesses and communities” in developing the plan. The appointment comes as the Minns Government balances its electoral commitment to establish a Koala Park while keeping its $2.9 billion hardwood timber industry alive.
Announced by Penny Sharpe, NSW’s powerful environment minister, and Tara Moriarty, NSW’s minister for agriculture and the regions, Mr Duncan will chair an independent forestry panel, including Professor Mary O’Kane AC and the Hon. Mick Veitch:
The panel will be tasked with consulting with a broad range of stakeholders and reporting to the government on the best options to balance sustainable timber supplies and our environmental commitments. Stakeholders (involved in the panel) will include representatives from the timber industry, forest growers, environment groups, unions, Aboriginal communities, local government, business, related industries, tourism, scientific experts and the Commonwealth Government.
Statement attributed to NSW Minister for Environment, Minister for Heritage and Minister for Energy and Climate Ch Change Penny Sharpe and Tara Moriarty, Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Western NSW and Minister for the Regions.
This morning, Wood Central spoke to Maree McCaskill, the CEO of Timber NSW, who represents more than 8,900 workers in forestry operations, mills, transport, and logistics services across regional and rural NSW:
“For too long, successive governments have handed a timber or forest industry plan to the industry without any consultation with those businesses and people who effectively live and breathe it every day,” Ms McCaskill said, adding that “the Minns government is demonstrating a willingness to listen and consult with those most impacted by any change, and we welcome that opportunity.”
This is echoed by Steve Dobbyns, the Executive Officer for Forest and Wood Communities Australia—a grassroots community initiative representing the interests of 22,000 regional and rural jobs across NSW’s forest products industry:
“The new Action Plan (is) a commitment to “a sustainable timber industry” that dovetails with the recently announced NSW Labor Party policy for the “sustainable use of NSW forests” and to “develop an industry plan that facilitates regional job growth and vibrant, sustainable communities.”
“Rural businesses and communities have long been frustrated with decisions about regional jobs and rural industries being made by city-based bureaucrats pushing their agendas,” Mr Dobbyns said.
“We are pleased to see that the independent expert panel has been tasked with ensuring that all the community is listened to, not just a vocal minority and that the future management of our forests is shaped by rigorous scientific evidence rather than selected opinions.”
“With more than 22,000 jobs linked to our sustainable forest industry in NSW, it is critical for our State’s future prosperity to get this Action Plan right. As a stark reminder, we need to look at the travesty inflicted on rural communities in Victoria and Western Australia, where rural communities were sacrificed for inner city votes, and both States are now importing timber from countries with often questionable environmental credentials.”
According to Ms McCaskill, Timber NSW’s supply chain is responsible for providing the majority of hardwood products produced in NSW:
From flooring, decking, cladding, and appearance grade joinery to mining and transport timbers, we call out the false economy of pressuring the government to swap domestic timber harvested from 0.3% of available forests each year for imported timber from environmentally unregulated countries, often using child labour.
Maree McCaskill, CEO of Timber NSW which covers the North and South Coast, Eden region, Riverina, and
Western division of New South Wales.
Wood Central can reveal the Plan will address the following areas:
- Sustainability of current and future forestry operations in NSW;
- Environmental and cultural values of forests, including threatened species;
- Community demand for timber products, particularly as relates to NSW housing, construction, mining, transport and retail;
- The future of softwood and hardwood plantations and the continuation of Private Native Forestry in helping meet timber supply needs;
- The role of State Forests in maximising the delivery of a range of environmental, economic and social outcomes;
- Opportunities to realise carbon and biodiversity benefits and support carbon and biodiversity markets, mitigate and adapt to climate change risks, and
- Greenhouse gas emission impacts of different uses of forests and assessment of climate change risks to forests.
“The former Coalition Government neglected to plan for the future of this industry, so the NSW Government is taking action to give certainty to communities, workers and industry,” according to a statement attributed to Minister Sharp and Minister Moriarty. “To stay informed on the Independent Forestry Panel, please register your interest on the NSW website.“
