Continuing on from my previous blog:
and the invitation from Minister Paul Harriss to participate in the Special Species Timber Management Plan, I was contacted by Mr Blair Freeman from the consulting firm Indufor. We ended up talking for about an hour over the phone.
Here are some brief comments:
A survey form was sent out by Indufor to selected members of the special timbers industry to provide critical information with regard to industry preferences, demand for wood, drivers of demand and sensitivity of customers to market change.
SST Market Demand Survey Sawmillers
My one comment about the survey form was the obvious omission from the survey of any opportunity for stakeholders to make comments on strategic, political or policy issues. If special timbers stakeholders had any questions or concerns about any of these issues then the Minister and the Special Timbers Sub-Committee of the Ministerial Advisory Council are just not interested!
If logging the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area at taxpayers’ expense is of any concern to stakeholders the Minister Paul Harriss doesn’t want to know about it!
So much for accurate and relevant information!
Given that just about all of my comments relate directly to strategic, political and policy issues around special timbers I found the survey form frustrating. Luckily Mr. Freeman anticipated my frustration and instead we opened up the conversation to address broader issues.
I see my business as being in direct competition with the Government/Forestry Tasmania. And I’m not short of criticism of my competitor.
Putting aside for one moment the political/policy issues, the one primary objective of the proposed Special Species Timber Management Plan should be to clearly demonstrate that growing and harvesting special timbers is profitable within normal competitive, transparent market processes.
The primary purpose of the Plan should not be to demonstrate the existence of a resource, nor of demand, nor analyse current employment or the characteristics of the special timbers marketplace. These issues are completely irrelevant without the fundamental commercial foundation of tree-growing profitability.
Value-adding begins in the forest or plantation and not at the sawmill or the furniture factory.
As far as I’m aware no study is being conducted into the profitability of growing special timbers as input into the proposed management plan. Using the “horse and cart” analogy, this proposed Management Plan will say much about the cart and tell us nothing at all about the horse! Just like the 2010 Special Timbers Strategy.
Mr Freeman indicated in our conversation an awareness of the politically-charged nature of their assignment, and Indufors limited ability to influence the outcome. Why they chose to take the job in the first place is an interesting question.
As I say on (too?) many occasions I think Tasmanian blackwood has a great future as an iconic profitable, farm-based industry; but not until we get the politics and ideology out and get the policy settings working properly.
Thanks to Mr. Blair Freeman for his time and interest. Good luck!
Only another 2 years before the Management Plan is completed/released.
Stay tuned!
Tasmanian Blackwood Growers Cooperative 
FT closer to closure
The ministerial statement on the future of Forestry Tasmania today was a de facto announcement of the appointment of an Administrator.
Expressions of interest are to be invited for some of FT’s assets, mainly the hardwood plantations, which hopefully will be enough to cover the costs of Administration.
FT will then almost certainly be wound up.
http://www.tasfintalk.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/ft-closer-to-closure.html
I was going to write my own response to Wednesdays announcements by Resources Minister Paul Harriss but John Lawrence beat me to it and with much greater depth and understanding.
http://www.premier.tas.gov.au/releases/securing_the_future_of_forestry_tasmania http://www.premier.tas.gov.au/releases/ministerial_statement_review_of_forestry_tasmania
Thank you John. And I fully agree with his analysis.
Please read John Lawrence’s analysis and response to yesterdays announcements.
Remember that Forestry Tasmania is the largest grower/supplier of Tasmanian blackwood timber to the market. When FT goes the blackwood industry will have some tough times adjusting.
I will leave you with John’s closing statement:
Minister Harriss hasn’t produced a plan. Rather a plea. Help me.
After all the talk about growing the industry when the figures suggested growing the industry will grow the losses has left him with the credibility of miracle cancer survivor Belle Gibson and the strategic smarts of Colonel Custer.
One good reason for maintaining FT for a while longer is that sale of assets will be more easily effected by a GBE.
When Minister Harriss talks about finding a way to fund a transition, he is referring to the transition from Administration to Liquidation.
Nothing else is likely at this stage.
PS. This is not to say it will be the end of the forest industry. Quite the opposite.
I believe the best option now available is to recognise that the future of the industry is with private forest growers and farmers. It already is! Most wood now grown and sold in Australia comes from private forest growers. This is even now true in Tasmania. The future is already here.
The sooner we move on and get the conflict and politics out of the industry the better it will be for everyone, including blackwood growers.
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Posted in Commentary, Forestry Tasmania, Politics