Lets dive into the real cost of substitution of hardwood uses In short, what is best for balancing the environment and the economy?
The NSW National Party and Forest Corporation of NSW have one thing in common: They will not defend their patch. Although they are truly separate entities, their corporate behaviours are surprisingly similar.
This week, Endeavour Energy announced it will be replacing its hardwood utility poles, which were obtained essentially from the Forestry Corporation of NSW through intermediary wholesalers.
FCNSW is an interesting case. It is a State-owned Corporation which means it must run as a commercial corporation.
Sue Higgins MLC, on 18 June in the NSW Parliament, asked the NSW State Treasurer questions about the finances of FCNSW.
The thrust of her question is that FCNSW is a broken financial model.
His reply was mostly about carbon sequestrations, NSW State Forests and a new business model.
Did FCNSW respond about its current business model and the dividend reduction paid to the NSW State Government? No.
In fairness to FCNSW, the rumour is that the NSW Government has told the corporation, not a government agency, that it cannot defend itself publicly.
There is recent evidence of this when FCNSW had to shut down most of the NSW hardwood timber industry due to the NSW EPA seemingly illegally issuing documentation that altered the approval for forestry operations. (see the story of Mark Banasiak MLC question and note in the NSW Parliament 18 June 2024 covered by Wood Central).
The rumour was it was the Minister for Agriculture’s office who was issuing the wording of public commentary on the issue, not the FCNSW public relations division. This Minister is not a shareholder of the corporation, and it should be the board and the CEO running the corporation under the law, not the Minister’s office.
Against this background, the FCNSW Hardwood Division wants to show that substituting timber poles for utilities is commercial nonsense. They have the expertise to do this. Have they? No. Has the Minister’s office frightened them again?
What would they be frightened of? The NSW Budget does not pay the salaries of the FCNSW employees. But maybe they are hopeful they will return to the cosy existence of the NSW Public Service from whence they all came in 2012 should the hardwood division be closed.
Between the Minister’s office and self interest, there might be an explanation why FCNSW is silent, every silent.
Now the National Parliamentary Party one would be working overtime for its constituents on the NSW North Coast who are directly and indirectly engaged in the hardwood industry.
Dougald Saunders, Member for Dubbo, and former NSW Minister for Forestry in the last Coalition Government, got vocal, at last, over the Essential Energy announcement.
Saunders has earned the nickname “do nothing Dugald” since being the Leader of the Parliamentary Party.
This nickname is reflected in the corridor commentary he only made a noise because the Telegraph ran the Endeavour Energy story. His noise was the usual political huffing and puffing and what was missing was the substance of the argument. The one that FCNSW will not tackle publicly.
This issue is that the NSW Government, the ideological environmentalists in the Departments, the environmental not-for-profits, the National Party Parliamentary Party and the NSW Opposition will not research what is the real accounting and full cost of the substitution effect. In short, what is best in the balance of the environment and the economy.
What is the actual cost timber in a zero-carbon environment of substituting treated fiberglass poles over sustainable and replaceable? These figures have been compiled by both the retailers of fiberglass poles and retailers of treated hardwood poles. The fibreglass poles are only one substitute, there is cement poles and steel poles. They are in the business of staying profitable.
The timber pole retailers know what the utility consumers have as needs. They know how long a pole will last. They know the costs of substitution from cement, fiberglass and steel. But the silence is loud.
The environmentalists are not stupid. They are very well resourced, in the multi millions of dollars (information available in the public domain). All they argue is biodiversity which is not as clearly supported by the science and the facts as they would like.
They never mention the positive substitution costs of cement, steel or fiberglass. Why? Are the facts against them? Is this what Minister Sharpe is currently contracting out a “carbon policy” when the NSW Government already has research into carbon sequestration.
Research confirmed at the Commonwealth level. Both items of research involve field work. Another inconvenient piece of science so let us make up another piece of research based on desk top modelling.
What all this points to is FCNSW apparent incompetency, the Opposition’s political inability to run an issue and the Government’s ideological agenda regardless of what might be the facts.
Native forestry is a window onto the bigger net-zero cost debate. The fact that all sides of the political debate cannot provide actual incurred costs to date together with an estimate of future costs of the transition to renewables is exactly the same issue in the substitution cost of native hardwood.
No one does the detailed work. It is all about ideology or just spin. No one has a clean face. Will this change? Might forestry in NSW be the first exemption. Do not hold your breath.
