The only basis for a successful forest industry is profitable private tree growers.
And once again the Federal Government and the Australian forest industry have failed to deliver.
Last week the Federal Government launched another plan for the Australian forest industry:
http://www.agriculture.gov.au/forestry
Yet another opportunity for Australian taxpayers to give generously to the tune of $20 million over the next 4 years with more to come.
But wait! There is a Federal election due before November 2019.
Surely this is coincidence!
Another forest industry plan so close to an election. Is that pork I smell cooking?
Apologies for my cynicism but I’ve seen this so many times before.
Forest industry plans have a short shelf life in Australia. The Use By Date generally coincides with the next election/change of Government.
The Plan is 15 pages long, 15 pages of marketing and spin with very little substance. Just reading the 2 page Preface tells me that I’ve read all this many times before.
If this Plan was an investment prospectus it would be in the bin within the hour.
The Preface tells me:
- Its all political;
- Its all about the sawmillers/wood processors;
- It even mentions “resource security” which is just another term for industry subsidy.
- Competitive markets, log prices, market transparency are not discussed at all!
- It tells me that Farmers will play a vital role. Farmers beware!!! Here’s a typical quote: Working with farmers to secure a long-term ‘wood bank’ for the forest industries’ future…. That’s it! Farmers role is to help subsidise the forest industry.
- Does the Plan discuss profitable tree growing? Not at all!
The Plan has 15 Actions listed under 4 headings. Every one of the Actions is what the Government/taxpayer is going to do for the wood processors. Not one of the Actions concerns what the forest industry will do for itself.
There is no Implementation Plan. How, who and when are these Actions going to be fulfilled? Based in past industry plans I assume few if any of the Actions will see the light of day.
The word “export” is completely absent from the Plan. Access to log export markets is an essential part of the future of any viable profitable forest industry.
The Plan fails to address the many distortions and blockages in forestry markets in Australia (like Government control and manipulation of log prices). One major issue here is the management and performance of the various State forest agencies. All these agencies MUST be made fully commercial and profitable, or they must be must be shut down.
Many reports have been written highlighting the issues preventing investment in tree planting in Australia. This Plan ignores these issues entirely!
As I said in my previous blog forest policy should not be about sawmillers/wood processors. That is the wrong focus. Good forest policy should be about profitable private tree growers. Once tree growing is demonstrably profitable then the investment in processing will follow.
This Plan is all about sawmillers/processors.
The political and industry spin doctors really had fun with this statement:
The National Farmers Federation’s support for the inclusion of farm forestry tree plantings as a supplement to primary agricultural purposes confirms that farmers are poised to support a bigger part of tree growing in our landscape.
The National Farmers Federation (NFF) has only recently decided that forestry might be a primary industry. To date their interest and commitment has been minimal. They have no policies or farm forestry programs.
The one single positive I can say about the Plan is that it has a stronger emphasis on farm forestry than previous plans, but not in a way I find encouraging.
If you have 30 minutes and want some light entertainment download the Plan and have a read. Then tell me what you think!
Will this Plan ignite the forest industry in Australia?
Or will it join the dozens of previous forest industry plans collecting dust on library shelves around the country?
Cheers!
The Australian Wooden Boat Festival
An item in the Tasmanian weekend press reminded me that Tasmania’s biggest wood-based festival is returning in 2019.
The Australian Wooden Boat Festival (AWBF) has become a major event on many boat/yacht owners calenders.
https://www.australianwoodenboatfestival.com.au/
What began in 1994 has now become a major national and international festival.
For a small island State at the bottom of the world a wooden boat festival makes perfect sense for Tasmania, with its dual heritage of boats and forests.
The problem is, like so many other wood-based festivals, the AWBF is completely silent on the issue of where the wood comes from.
https://blackwoodgrowers.com.au/2018/02/13/all-about-the-wood-nothing-about-the-growers/
https://blackwoodgrowers.com.au/2018/02/19/maleny-wood-expo/
Tasmania has a heritage of renowned boating timbers such as King billy pine, Huon pine and Celery top pine. The problem is that these timbers come from very slow growing trees from ancient rainforests that are now mostly gone or are in conservation reserves.
Some Huon pine and Celery top pine continues to come from hydro lake salvage, but this is a finite resource.
Last year the Tasmanian government enacted a management plan that allows the harvesting of rainforest timbers from conservation reserves that were established specifically to protect rainforest under the Tasmanian Regional Forestry Agreement:
https://blackwoodgrowers.com.au/2017/10/23/tasmanian-rainforest-plunder/
Given Tasmania’s decades long forestry wars, hosting a major wood based festival is a significant achievement. The AWBF could easily have become the focus for community conflict over the management of our public native forests.
This could still happen given current Government policy.
Given the context perhaps the AWBF Committee believes that having no policies on timber sourcing and forest management is the safest strategy.
When skating (sailing?) on thin ice it’s best to be cautious!
Also no doubt the wooden boating community is itself deeply divided over timber sourcing and forest management issues. Attempting to develop policies around these issues could tear the wooden boating community asunder. Goodbye AWBF!
But avoiding these issues is not a sustainable strategy. Sooner or later the matter will come to a head. A community demonstration at the AWBF around Government policy and rainforest logging may be all that is needed to precipitate a policy crisis.
Supporting the continued taxpayer-funded plunder of Tasmania’s rainforest and oldgrowth forest is not an option for the AWBF.
Given its enormous popularity the AWBF could become a powerful positive force for good forest management.
What is the future of boating timbers?
I’m no expert.
Many people rate Cupressus macrocarpa and related species as good for boat building. These are fast growing species ideal for the Tasmanian climate. The AWBF could develop policies that support farmers growing boating timbers.
They could be local Tasmanian growers or they could come from overseas.
The point is that the AWBF would have a positive vision for its future.
The AWBF currently has its head in the sand (sawdust?) on timber sourcing and forest management.
But it can’t last forever!!
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