https://www.theaustralian.com.au/special-reports/more-trees-will-grow-jobs-economy/news-story/8b4fd3b46144584213fd106525ee0d6e
That’s forest industry speak for “hand over the taxpayers money now” and more political protection and subsidies please.
This is a typical piece of forest industry windy hyperbole; full of bluster, promise, and foreboding. I’ve been reading this kind of rubbish all my long forestry career.
The forest industry cannot convince Australian farmers to include commercial treegrowing in their business models.
Why?
Because the forest industry in Australia has zero commercial credibility!
So who then is the audience for this article?
None other than Governments and politicians of course.
This article is not written for the farming community.
As usual the forest industry talks about growing demand and supply shortages but fails to talk about markets, costs, prices and profits.
Forest policy in Australia has always been about loggers, sawmillers and processors – regional jobs.
Forest policy in Australia has never, ever been about profitable tree growers.
This article talks about regional jobs and communities, and deliberately avoids any mention of profitable tree growers.
Saving regional jobs – ie. Welfare forestry – is a major focus of the forest industry.
But welfare forestry is a dead end; a road to failure.
The only truism in this article is “we need to grow the plantation estate significantly and strategically”.
If forestry markets are so positive as this article wants us to believe, then why isn’t the marketplace responding and farmers planting trees? Surely that is the way markets work is it not? More demand triggers higher prices triggers more supply etc, etc.. Classic economics!!
But Australia does not have a forestry market. There is no relationship in Australia between wood supply, demand, price, cost and profit. None!
And that is the result of deliberate industry and Government policy.
The end result is that the forest industry has no commercial credibility and farmers don’t plant trees.
And the forest industry has no clue whatsoever how to fix this problem except write blustering rubbish like this.
“Let’s fast track that plan!”
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/special-reports/more-trees-will-grow-jobs-economy/news-story/8b4fd3b46144584213fd106525ee0d6e
That’s forest industry speak for “hand over the taxpayers money now” and more political protection and subsidies please.
This is a typical piece of forest industry windy hyperbole; full of bluster, promise, and foreboding. I’ve been reading this kind of rubbish all my long forestry career.
The forest industry cannot convince Australian farmers to include commercial treegrowing in their business models.
Why?
Because the forest industry in Australia has zero commercial credibility!
So who then is the audience for this article?
None other than Governments and politicians of course.
This article is not written for the farming community.
As usual the forest industry talks about growing demand and supply shortages but fails to talk about markets, costs, prices and profits.
Forest policy in Australia has always been about loggers, sawmillers and processors – regional jobs.
Forest policy in Australia has never, ever been about profitable tree growers.
This article talks about regional jobs and communities, and deliberately avoids any mention of profitable tree growers.
Saving regional jobs – ie. Welfare forestry – is a major focus of the forest industry.
But welfare forestry is a dead end; a road to failure.
The only truism in this article is “we need to grow the plantation estate significantly and strategically”.
If forestry markets are so positive as this article wants us to believe, then why isn’t the marketplace responding and farmers planting trees? Surely that is the way markets work is it not? More demand triggers higher prices triggers more supply etc, etc.. Classic economics!!
But Australia does not have a forestry market. There is no relationship in Australia between wood supply, demand, price, cost and profit. None!
And that is the result of deliberate industry and Government policy.
The end result is that the forest industry has no commercial credibility and farmers don’t plant trees.
And the forest industry has no clue whatsoever how to fix this problem except write blustering rubbish like this.
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