
The Tourism Industry Council Tasmania (TICT) is to be congratulated!
They understand the lessons of the last 30 years and the damage that a highly politicised forest industry has done to the economy of Tasmania.
They don’t want that to continue, especially if it directly threatens an important tourism brand/image.
In their submission to the Draft Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA) Management Plan the TICT makes explicitly clear their concerns about the economic, social and political risks of opening up large areas of the World Heritage Area to special timbers logging.
http://www.tict.com.au/tourism-industry-news/striking-a-balance-in-tasmanias-wilderness-world-heritage-areas
Page 14 of the TICT submission gives a nod of appreciation to the historic importance of the special timbers sector “as an important part of the Tasmanian retail tourism sector, and the contribution it makes to the Tasmanian visitor experience.”
The TICT also “supports a vibrant, sustainable and responsible specialty timber sector in Tasmania.”
But the TICT soundly rejects any notion that “vibrant, sustainable and responsible” equates to logging the World Heritage Area, threatening the image and integrity of the Tasmanian Wilderness brand, or casting Tasmania into another bitter decade of political and community conflict.
The “TICT does not support further extraction of timber from the TWWHA beyond the practices already permitted under the current Management Plan,” ie. Huon pine salvage on Macquarie Harbour.
The public-native-forest-dependent special timbers industry has never been sustainable. It has never had a business plan. Since 2010 it has been explicitly managed by Forestry Tasmania as a non-profit, non-commercial activity with significant costs being deliberately made against the Tasmanian taxpayer. Teachers, nurses and other front-line public services are being cut back whilst the special timbers industry enjoys preferential treatment.
Post-TCA the future of the public-native-forest-dependent special timbers industry is largely unknown except:
- It will continue to be taxpayer subsidised;
- It will continue to be highly politicised;
- It will involve logging the TWWHA;
- It will not gain FSC Certification;
- A new special timbers strategy (not a business plan) will not be available until 2017;
With all of these current uncertainties and the lessons of the last 30 years the TICT is perfectly correct in wanting to avoid another damaging conflict around public native forest management; especially when it directly threatens our tourism image.
And as someone trying to establish a commercially focused, profitable, farm-based special timbers business the proposed logging of the World Heritage Area represents a direct threat to my business.
It is well past time for the forest industry to be run on a proper commercial basis in Tasmania.
The next step
The next step in the development of the [TWWHA Management] Plan is the consideration of the representations. To provide for transparency and accountability in finalising management plans the Act establishes a process for review of public representations involving the Tasmanian Planning Commission (TPC). The Director of National Parks and Wildlife (the Director) will review all representations received and prepare a report which includes a summary of all representations, the Director’s opinion on the merit of each representation and whether modification of the management plan is required.
The Director will forward copies of all representations received, together with the Director’s report, to the TPC who will advertise the representations and the Director’s report for public viewing. The TPC may hold hearings on the representations. The TPC will review the representations and the Director’s report and the results of any public hearings held and will prepare a report to the Minister. The TPC’s report to the Minister will be published.
http://www.planning.tas.gov.au/
Deloraine Stringfest & World Heritage Area logging
This was going to happen sooner or later. But the Deloraine Stringfest is now becoming associated with Tasmanian State Government forest policy and the logging of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA). This is courtesy of the Premier Will Hodgman and his press release associated with the recent launch of the 2015 Stringfest.
http://www.premier.tas.gov.au/releases/stringfest_showcases_tasmanian_timbers
We want to ensure craftsmen like Daniel can continue to create instruments from Tasmanian timbers, which is why we are committed to rebuilding the forest industry.
As many people know, State forest policy now includes the planned logging of special timbers including Tasmanian tonewoods from the TWWHA. See my recent blog:
https://blackwoodgrowers.com.au/2015/02/10/draft-twwha-management-plan-representation/
and
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-15/world-heritage-areas-to-be-opened-up-to-tourism-projects-under-/6018508
Daniel Brauchli certainly doesn’t support current Government forest policy, but the Premier seems happy to risk damaging the reputations of our craftpersons and artists.
The proposed logging of the TWWHA will become yet another divisive and destructive episode in the long running Tasmanian forestry wars.
Last year at Stringfest 2014 the elephant in the room was the ongoing supply of tonewoods to sustain the festival. That elephant was a mere calf.
This year the elephant has grown considerably into a cow elephant. The prospect of the Festival becoming associated with the logging of tonewoods from the TWWHA will see the elephant become a rampaging bull. It will destroy the Festival.
The Deloraine Stringfest depends on attracting major performing artists. Once the Festival becomes associated with TWWHA tonewoods, no major (and many minor) artists will want to be associated with the Festival.
End of Festival!
By all means please come along and enjoy the 2015 Deloraine Festival, but spot the elephant hiding in the room, or wandering the streets of Deloraine with deliberate intent.
It may even be hiding behind me. Come and look!
The Deloraine Stringfest is a fantastic festival, but given the highly politicised and conflict-driven nature of forestry in Tasmania, the future of Stringfest hangs in the balance.
Stringfest has now become a political weapon. The reputations of those associated with the Festival are now at risk.
Say “No” to World Heritage tonewoods!
[Come along and talk to me about conflict-free, farm-grown Tasmanian blackwood.]
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Posted in Commentary, Politics, Stringfest, Tonewood
Tagged Daniel Brauchli, Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, TWWHA, Will Hodgman, World Heritage Area logging