Issue 151

6477

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issue 151 | 15.11.10 | Page 1

Greens forest grab would send timber industry to Amazon Policies could kill off 70,000 jobs in Victoria

THE determination by the Greens to set up Victoria’s native timber industry for destruction will only shift forestry from our backyard to the Amazon, the chief executive of VAFI Philip Dalidakis says.

Mr Dalidakis said the Greens policy to end the sustainable harvesting of native forests, announced at its national conference in Launceston, would decimate the timber industry and sound the death knell for more than 70,000 jobs.

The industry in Victoria directly

Philip Dalidakis .. Greens policy nothing to do with protecting the environment.

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Howard: the old-growth campaign in Tasmania

employs around 24,000 people and indirectly supports another 50,000 jobs.

“The Greens policy announcement is all about Nimby politics and winning votes, and has nothing to do with protecting the environment,” Mr Dalidakis said.

“While people still want to buy paper and timber products, and while wood is still the most economically and environmentally sustainable building product available, the Cont Page 4

issue 151 | 15.11.10 | Page 1

industry news

Labor must reveal Making secret forest talks an with Green groups impact ..

The Victorian Association of Forest Industries, representing the interests of the Victorian timber Industry

Victorian Association of Forest Industries Level 2, 2 Market Street Melbourne 3000 Tel: +61 3 9611 9000 Fax: +61 3 9611 9011 Email: info@vafi.org.au Web: www.vafi.org.au

Page 2 | issue 151 | 15.11.10

LABOR must reveal details of secret forestry talks with the Greens, says Coalition spokesman for forestry Senator Richard Colbeck Revelations of secret talks between the Gillard Labor Government and the Greens over the shutting down of native forest logging undermine long term bipartisan support of Australia’s forest industry and forest workers, he says.

The talks reportedly surround the extension of a proposed shut down of native forest logging in Tasmania to all other parts of Australia.

Speaking at the Greens’ national conference in Launceston, leader Bob Brown said: “I’ve been talking to the federal government about this for several months now”.

Senator Colbeck has demanded that senior government ministers including prime minister Julia Gillard, environment minister Tony Burke and forestry minister Joe Ludwig reveal details of these secret talks.

“Prime Minister Gillard has a duty to be open with Australia’s forestry workers about her government’s secret talks with

the Greens over the industry’s future,” Senator Colbeck said. ”In September, after forming government, the PM said ‘let’s draw back the curtains and let the sun shine in; let our parliament be more open than it ever was before’.

“But this sunshine obviously doesn’t extend to tens of thousands of forestry workers who are left in the dark.

“The industry and its tens of thousands of workers have enjoyed bipartisan support for some years now.

“There is no justification for the cessation of native forest logging across Australia.

“The science is very clear on maintaining a sustainable harvest regime in native forests.

In fact, if you want to store more carbon, you should have longterm rotation management regimes in native forests; if you want to protect and maintain biodiversity, you should have long-term rotation management regimes in native forests; and if you want to mitigate against catastrophic bushfires you should have long-term rotation management regimes in native forests.”

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Angry forum attacks plan to sell off timber THE Opposition in South Australia says a strong attendance at a forum in Mount Gambier will send a strong message to the government that the region will not stand for a sell-off of its timber.

Hundreds of people packed the venue and spilled into outside

areas for the first public meeting about the government’s plan to sell more than a century of South Australian timber.

Stakeholders say private investors would not be obliged to process the timber in the state’s south-east, which could force a closure of mills.

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industry news

Whittling away at $20m promise for contractors Exit assistance only for Tasmania

THE federal Treasury has confirmed there will be no assistance for Tasmania’s forest contractors or their employees who choose to stay in the industry.

The long-overdue $20 million promised by the Gillard Labor Government to help forest contractors will only be for those exiting the industry altogether.

The Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook 2010-11 released by the Treasurer Wayne Swan states: “The funding will be used to provide exit assistance in the form of grants to eligible contracting businesses as well as assistance to help ensure that employees receive their full

Missing out .. government grants will not be provided to assist ongoing contracting businesses.

entitlements”.

Coalition spokesperson for forestry Senator Richard Colbeck said the statement suggested Labor was either failing to listen to forest contractors or had a broader

agenda to shut down the industry in partnership with the Greens.

Greens leader Bob Brown has called for a national agreement to end logging of native forests, similar to the deal recently signed in Tasmania.

Speaking at the federal Greens conference in Launceston, Senator Brown said the federal government should initiate similar talks at a national level.

“While it is just the first step, the historic agreement in Tasmania marks significant progress towards protecting this nation’s magnificent forests and wildlife,” he said. “There is now a clear role for the federal government to begin similar processes.”

Senator Colbeck said the $20 million for forest contractors must not just be for exiting contractors, but must also help ongoing contracting businesses to help stabilise and restructure their operations.

“By providing assistance to exiting contractors and their employees only the government does nothing to support an ongoing and sustainable forestry industry,” Senator Colbeck said.

“The reality is there are

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Cont Page 6

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issue 151 | 15.11.10 | Page 3

industry news

Cynical and hypocritical campaign and no real solution to the problem From Page 1

Australian community will need to source wood products from somewhere.

“If they don’t come from Victoria, there is a strong chance the timber will come from the rainforests of Sumatra, which is the home of the endangered Orang-utan; or Brazil, where the Amazon is slowly being destroyed at the expense of its countless endangered species and indigenous peoples.”

Mr Dalidakis said Australia, one of the most forested countries in the world, was already running a $2.1 billion trade deficit in forest products with these and other countries. The Greens policy would just make the imbalance greater.

Mr Dalidakis also criticised the

Lisa Marty .. government decisions have damaged industry.

Greens of running a cynical and hypocritical campaign, without offering any real solutions to the problems of ensuring the sustainable use of Victoria’s forests.

“The Greens answer is

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plantations, which they believe the industry can transition into immediately,” he said.

“However, current plantationgrown timbers cannot replace the timber from native forests and any attempt to establish plantations to just replace the sawlog quality timber from the Melbourne catchment would need an additional 21,000 ha of land in East Gippsland, $170 million of investment, and at least 30 years for the trees to grow.

“At the same time, however, they are fighting against the development of new plantations, with Greens Senator Christine Milne claiming plantations are destroying communities.

As recently as October 24, the Victorian Greens’ website featured policies aimed at ending managed investment schemes for plantation development and closing plantations in water catchment areas.

“It’s time the Greens grew up and started developing real policies with real environmental outcomes, and stopped making others pay for their policies that will only shift forestry from our backyard to the Amazon.”

Meanwhile, the Victorian Association of Forest Industries has supported the central message of a report

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Christine Milne .. plantations destroying communities

Page 4 | issue 151 | 15.11.10

commissioned by Timber Communities Australia which outlines the impact of state government decisions on forest industries.

VAFI deputy chief executive Lisa Marty says successive governments have made a number of decisions to reduce native timber production without considering the possible consequences on forest industries and the jobs they create.

“This report outlines the damage government decisions have had on the industry in the past,” Ms Marty said.

“These decisions have directly affected thousands of people due to mill closures and thousands more have been hit by the subsequent job losses as other businesses in regional areas have been forced to close.”

Ms Marty said that while the industry was a major employer in regional areas, it also provided a wide range of job opportunities for people in Melbourne’s suburbs.

“The forest industry is a 21st century business that not only involves harvesting timber, but includes a wide range of valueadding activities,” she said.

“It uses innovative manufacturing processes to make products we take for granted, such as high-strength support beams for homes, paper, flooring and staircases, and fine quality furniture.

“This kind of work employs nearly 15,000 people and makes up 63% of the industry’s directly employed workforce.

“By continuing to reduce the amount of timber the industry can harvest without reducing the public’s appetite for forest products, the government is effectively outsourcing employment opportunities from Victoria to other countries.”

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events

WHAT’S ON?

NOVEMBER 2010

15: Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia annual general meeting and conference.

Gold Coast International Hotel. Tel: (07) 3250 3700.

16: Melbourne. 17: Sydney. 18: Brisbane. University of Tasmania Master Class 1. Timber and Sustainability: Concepts and Marketing. Tailored specifically for businesses that produce, supply or sell timber and timber components to the construction and building design industry. Contact UTAS Centre for Sustainable Architecture.

Tel: (03) 6324 4470. Email: info. csaw@utas.edu.au 17: FSC Australia national standards workshop and annual dinner and awards night. Atlantic Function Centre, Melbourne Docklands. Unique opportunity to mix with people working in the FSC system, to hear about progress with FSC, to introduce new people to the FSC system and, to reward companies and businesses that have committed to promoting responsible forest management.

Dinner bookings and sponsorship inquiries: Adam on (03) 8636 2661 or email info@fscaustralia.org 17-19: ForestTECH 2010 Tools & Technologies to Improve Forest Planning & Operations, Rotorua,NZ. Tools and technologies to improve forest planning and operations. Rotorua, NZ. www.foresttechevents.com 17-19: Japan Home and Building Show 2010.

Contact: John Gore at jlg@ eurofair.co.nz 19: JazCorp timber event for architects, designers, builders and the timber industry. Perth Hyatt Regency Hotel. Cost :$60

members; $150 non members.

Display opportunities available at $500 (exc gst). Tel: 1300 667 709. Mob: 0403 315 286. Email: timberwa@jazcorpaustralia.com.au

APRIL

22-24: ForestTECH 2010 Tools & Technologies to Improve Forest Planning & Operations, Albury, NSW. Tools and technologies to improve forest planning and operations. Albury, NSW. www. foresttechevents.com

MAY

22-26: PMA market group outward mission to India.

23: Engineered Timber Products: Building an Innovative, Sustainable Future. Understand how engineered timber products enable you to do more with less. Victoria Park Function Venue, Herston, Brisbane 3.306 pm. To register visit www. timberqueensland.com.au/events

DECEMBER 2010 1: AFCA annual general meeting, Melbourne. Preceded by board of directors meeting.

9-10: Bioenergy Australia 2010 conference, Sydney. Preceding technical tour December 8. Visit: www.bioenergyaustralia.org

2011 FEBRUARY

2-4: ATFA Flooring and Finishes Expo. Sydney Exhibition Centre. Contact: Australilan Timber Flooring Association (07) 5492 8696. Visit: www. flooringandfinishes.com.au 14-18: Wood Science Course, University of Melbourne and CSIRO, Melbourne. Contact Silvia Pongracic on 0418 764 954 or visit www.gottsteintrust.org

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8: South Eastern Australia 2011 Farm Forestry and Firewood Expo. City of Greater Bendigo’s Huntly plantation, north of Bendigo.

25: Institute of Foresters of Australia (IFA) and New Zealand Institute of Forestry Conference (ANZIF 2011). Auckland NZ. Theme: ‘Pacific Forestry’. Visist:: www.anzifconference.co.nz 30-June 3: LIGNA Hannover Wood Fair.

25-June 4: LIGNA industry tour (Germany, Italy, Austria).

SEPTEMBER 5-7: NZ Forest Industries Expo 2011. Venue: Rotorua Energy Events Centre, Rotorua. Forest industry leaders and companies from across the world are booking their tickets to participate in the expo (FI2011) in and make the most of the 2011 Rugby World Cup while they’re there. Exhibition sites have already been booked by a number of NZ and Australian companies, and inquiries being received from Canada, China, Vietnam and Austria. The expo will showcase the best that Rotorua, the wider Bay of Plenty region and the rest of New Zealand has to offer when it comes to forestry and wood products. Contact: Dell Bawden. Tel: +64 73627865. Mob: +64 274745485. Email: office@bawden.co.nz Website site: fi2010.co.nz

2012 MARCH

29-31: AUStTimber. Mount Gambier, SA. Visit: www. austimber2012.com.au

SUSTAINABLE. RESPONSIBLE. The National Association of Forest Industries (NAFI) is striving for an ecologically sustainable Australian society achieved through dynamic, internationally competitive forest industries.

NAFI’s mission is to represent the interests of members by promoting the environmental sustainability and the prosperity of Australian forest industries.

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Fax: (02) 6285 3855 Web: www.nafi.com.au

issue 151 | 15.11.10 | Page 5

industry news

Jobs dwindling in Tas. forest sector From Page 3

productive and efficient operators, contractors who want to and should remain in the industry. But they must be assisted through these hard times which are not of their own making.

“During the election campaign Labor made the statement, ‘“Labor matches Coalition forestry commitment’.

“A $20 million exit package does nothing of the sort,” Senator Colbeck said.

The Treasury announcement follows concern the promised $20 million will become much less following a government decision to subject the funds to GST, administration costs and income/company taxes.

“It seems forest contractors will actually receive much less than the promised $20 million once the Gillard government takes out chunks to fund its ailing budget,” Senator Colbeck said.

‘The reality is there are productive and efficient operators, contractors who want to and should remain in the industry’ – Senator Richard Colbeck “The delay in making the funding available, a decision to massively tax the funds, and now a confirmation of no funding for any ongoing operators once again demonstrates how forestry minister Joe Ludwig and the Gillard government don’t understand the industry.”

Tasmanian Labor Premier David Bartlett has criticised the Gillard Labor government over its twomonth delay in distributing promised emergency funds to Tasmania’s forest contractors and their employees.

Forest contractors and their representative organisations

Page 6 | issue 151 | 15.11.10

Richard Colbeck .. nothing to support an ongoing and sustainable forest industry.

are just as furious with the Gillard Government about the long delays, threatening mass protests at Parliament House, Canberra.

“The Gillard Government clearly doesn’t understand the dire situation for forest contractors and their employees in Tasmania,” Senator Colbeck said.

“Minister Ludwig claims consultation has held up the program, yet forest contractors advise me they have provided the government with everything they needed some time ago.”

The Tasmanian Forest Contractors Association says just under 7000 people were employed in the state’s forest industry in 2008.

“Last month the figure was around 4650,” executive officer Ed Vincent said.

About 400 jobs had been lost in the harvesting and haulage sector in the past two years.

He attributed the impact on forest jobs to a number of issues, including the collapse of management investment schemes, closure of Gunns’ mills, job losses in the paper industry at Burnie and Wesley Vale, the collapse of the Japanese market for native forest wood fibre and high exchange rates.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

AFS achieves SDO accreditation with flying colours for another three years UNDER rigorous analysis, Australian Forestry Standard Ltd has achieved accredited status as a standards development oganisation for a further three years.

AFS Ltd is one of only five SDOs recognised by the Accreditation Board for Standards Development Organisations (ABSDO).

ABSDO was established by the membership council of Standards Australia to encourage other organisations to produce their own Australian standards. Initially established as the Standards Accreditation Board (SAB) in 1995, ABSDO was reconstituted in 2007 as the result of a research report conducted by the Productivity Commission Chief executive of Standards Australia Colin Blair said AFSL should be congratulated on its proactive approach to implementing a recognisable management system in support if its commitment to demonstrate compliance to the ABSDO requirements.

“It was recognised that in some cases the AFSL management system contains requirements that exceed those specified by ABSDO.” Chief executive Kayt Watts said AFSL took its responsibilities as an accredited standards development organisation seriously.

Accreditation for the development of Australian standards is a rigorous process; continued compliance to the criteria is reviewed under close scrutiny. Full re-accreditation audits are held every three years, with surveillance auditing at sixmonthly or yearly periods.

Four of the five SDOs in Australia have specific accreditation regarding their scope for standards development, management and revision, with the fifth being Standards

Australia which manages all other Australian standards.

There can be no overlap or duplication for the development of Australian standards and in the scope of forestry management and wood and wood products chain of custody.

AFSL is the only accredited organisation that can develop and manage Australian standards for the forest and wood products industries.

“There is only one, and can only

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be one, Australian standard for sustainable forest management – and there is only one Australian standard for wood and wood products chain of custody,” Kayt Watts said.

“Under the auspices of AFSL, the five yearly revision for both standards commenced this year and there is much to be Cont Page 9 Kayt Watts .. taking standards development responsibilities seriously.

issue 151 | 15.11.10 | Page 7

abare report

Domestic demand for sawn wood reflects recovery in housing sector THE value of sawn wood imports increased by 6% to almost $430 million and the volume increased by 19% to 748,000 cub m in 2009-10, according to a new ABAREBRS report.

The Australian Forest and Wood Products Statistics show an increase in domestic demand for sawn wood in line with the recovery in housing activity.

New Zealand, the largest supplier of sawn softwood to Australia, accounted for the largest increase in sawn wood imports in 2009–10. There were also significant increases in the volume of imports from Estonia, Lithuania and Sweden.

While import prices from New Zealand rose slightly, the unit price of imports from most other countries fell, partly reflecting the 17% appreciation of the Australian dollar against the US dollar in 2009-10.

The value of forest product exports decreased by 3.6% to $2.26 billion in 2008–09. This was a result of the continuing decline in the value of woodchip exports, which has fallen by 14% from almost $1 billion in 2008–09 to $856 million in 2009-10, following a fall of 7% in 2008–09. The value of log exports increased by 36% to $138 million, exceeding the value of sawn wood exports, while veneer exports and paper and paperboard exports increased by 21% and 7% respectively in the year.

The volume of woodchip exports decreased by 8.3% to 4.8 million bone dry tonnes. The total value of woodchip exports fell by 14% because of falls in the unit price of broadleaved woodchip exports to China and Chinese Taipei and a large fall in the coniferous woodchip price.

While the price of broadleaved woodchip exports to Japan increased by 1.6% in the year,

Page 8 | issue 151 | 15.11.10

Housing activity .. one of the key indicators of domestic demand for structural wood products.

the volume exported to Japan fell by 7.8%, and the volume exported to China declined by 8.6%. Significantly, there was a 96% decline in the volume of broadleaved woodchips exported to Korea, with the value of these exports declining from $33 million in 2008–09 to $0.5 million.

The ABARE statistic report also includes an update of the production and consumption volumes for wood-based panels and trade in forest products for 2009–10.

Housing activity is one of the key indicators of domestic demand for structural wood products in Australia; after declining by 17% in 2008–09, total dwelling commencements rebounded strongly in 2009– 10, increasing by more than 25%.This will have a positive effect on demand for woodbased panels and sawn wood in Australia.

Weak demand in some of Australia’s major export markets continues to mitigate strong domestic demand conditions.

The value of Australia’s forest product exports fell by 3.6% to

$2.3 billion in 2009–10, driven mainly by a 14% drop in the value of woodchip exports, while wood-based panel exports also declined by 14%.

Australia’s woodchip exports have declined in each of the past two years, falling from $1.07 billion in 2007–08 to $856 million in 2009-10. The principal factor in this decline is

lower demand from Japanese paper producers, which remain the largest users of Australian woodchips.

The value of round wood exports increased by more than 36% in the year to around $138 million, representing almost 1.4 million cub m of logs. A significant proportion of these exports were coniferous logs exported to China.

The value of paper and paperboard exports also increased strongly, rising by around 7% to reach almost $650 million.

There was an overall rise in the import volumes of most forest products, with the exception of market pulp. However, the value of forest products imports fell by 5.8% to $4.2 billion in 200910. The fall was mainly a result of lower import unit values for most forest commodities, in particular, an 11% cent decline in the unit price of printing and writing paper imports led to a 7.7% decline in the value of imports, to $1.4 billion in 200910.

Eucalypts adapt well in new climate study A TEAM of researchers including Dr Craig Barton from Industry and Investment NSW and Jann Conroy and Burhan Amiji from the University of Western Sydney, is revealing how native forests will react to climate change.

The quest to discover how native trees respond to climate change is showing they are true ‘Aussie battlers’, with a capacity to conserve their resources and use less water as they continue to grow.

The knowledge gained from the project will underpin environmental and catchment

management strategies for the 21st century.

It’s a world ‘first’, recently described to the International Union of Forest Research Organisations (IUFRO).

The researchers are growing eucalyptus trees in high-tech chambers, subjecting them to elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) levels and drought conditions.

Three years in, with phase two just starting, research scientist, Dr Barton, says the team is uncovering promising data about the potential of forests to adapt.

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industry news

Accreditation for the development of Australian standards is a rigorous process.

Five new directors elected at AFS Melbourne meeting From Page 7

done, including addressing new and emerging issues such as methods to support efficient, cost effective and sustainable small scale farm forestry, addressing carbon farming, indigenous forest ownership and management, plantation activities, legality of source and possible improvements to the social and labour standards criterion.”

Ms Watts said the obligations of AFSL as a standards development organisation were clearly based. They required AFSL to establish arm’s length, inclusive, transparent and exhaustive processes for the development and review of Australian standards.

It was the role of a representative and inclusive standards reference committee to develop or review the relevant Australian standards separately from AFSL. “In our view, this separation reflects best practice governance and is more likely to lead to quality outcomes than less rigorous approaches,” Ms Watts said.

Elections were held at the Australian Forestry Standard annual general meeting in Melbourne on November 5 to fill five vacant director positions.

Timber & Forestry e-news is the most authoritative and quickest deliverer of news and special features to the forest and forest products industries in Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region.

Weekly distribution is over 6,400 copies, delivered every Monday. Advertising rates are the most competitive of any industry magazine in the region.

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HEAD OFFICE Custom Publishing Group Unit 2- 3986 Pacific Highway Loganholme 4129 Qld, Australia PUBLISHER Dennis Macready admin@industryenews.com.au CONSULTING EDITOR Jim Bowden Tel: +61 7 3256 1779 Mob: 0401 312 087 cancon@bigpond.net.au

David Pollard .. new AFS director representing government members.

Retiring directors were Kathryn Adams, David Fisken and Warwick Ragg of Australian Forest Growers.

In addition, there were two existing vacancies in the forest and wood products and employee representative organisation membership classes. Elected new directors were David Pollard, chief executive of VicForests (government member), Jodie Mason of the Institute of Foresters of Australia (general member), Travis Wacey, CFMEU (employee organisation), and Ian Tyson of Carter Holt Harvey Woodproducts Australia and Wayne Hammond of WA Plantation Resources (forest and wood products sector membersr).

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ADVERTISING Tel: +61 7 3256 1779 cancon@bigpond.net.au PRODUCTION MANAGER Leigh Macready production@industryenews.com.au

Opinions expressed on Timber & Forestry e news are not necessarily the opinions of the editor, publisher or staff. We do not accept responsibility for any damage resulting from inaccuracies in editorial or advertising.

The Publisher is therefore indemnified against all actions, suits, claims or damages resulting from content on this e news. Content cannot be reproduced without the prior consent of the Publisher- Custom Publishing Group.

issue 151 | 15.11.10 | Page 9

INDUSTRY NEWS

Imports play critical role as demand grows for structural timber products TIMBER imports continue to be an increasingly critical ingredient in Australia’s house construction industry.

Technical manager for the Australian Timber Importers Federation John Halkett says that ‘flat’ domestic production in categories like structural pine and hardwood boards has sharpened the focus on the importance of a strong timber importing sector to enable the country to work its way out of a substantial housing shortage.

He points to the recently published issue of Australian forest and wood products statistics by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Bureau of Rural Sciences that sets out timber production and consumption trends for timber and wood-based products for 2009-10.

The report says housing activity is one of the key indicators of domestic demand for structural timber products in Australia. After declining by 17% in 2008-09, total dwelling commencements rebounded strongly in 2009-10, increasing by more than 25%. This has had a major impact on demand for timber products in Australia.

John Halkett .. timber imports key ingredient in house construction industry

The report confirms that demand for structural timber products improved markedly over 2009-10, in response to increased building activity in all states and territories, following low housing activity in 200809.

“In 2009-10, total dwelling commencements rose by 25% to 165 000 units, with the largest percentage rises in the ACT and Western Australia.

New South Wales and Victoria also recorded strong housing growth,” the report says.

The report points out that while the overall value of imported forest products fell by 5.8% to $4.2 billion in 2009-10 relative to the previous year mainly

because of the decrease in the value imported panels, paper and paperboard, and pulp, the value of timber product imports rose notably in the year.

The value of timber imports increased by 6% to almost $430 million and the volume went up by 19% to 748 000 cub m in 2009-10.

“This indicates an increase in domestic demand for timber in line with the recovery in housing activity,” the report says.

New Zealand, the largest supplier of pine timber products to Australia, accounted for the largest increase in imports. However, there was also a significant increase in the volume of imports from Europe.

Mr Halkett said that with the outlook for expanded domestic production of solid timber products and for plantation expansion not looking too promising, the timber importing sector would have an increasingly significant role to play.

“If Australia is going to deal not only with its housing construction backlog, but with new housing starts that are predicted to exceed 180,000 dwellings a year, timber

importers will be key players,” Mr Halkett said.

The ABARE report says weak demand in some of Australia’s major export markets continues to mitigate strong domestic demand conditions. The value of Australia’s forest product exports fell by 3.6% to $2.3 billion in 2009–10, driven mainly by a 14% drop in the value of woodchip exports, while wood-based panel exports also declined by 14%. * See imported sawn wood values increase, Page 8.

Hopes for FEA plantation deal GROWERS and creditors caught up in the collapsed Forest Enterprises Australia (FEA) Plantations will be presented with a number of proposals to ensure that their trees don’t become worthless.

While administrators BRI Ferrier are still waiting for a Supreme Court ruling over who owns the plantations’ leases – the growers or FEA – it will present the plan at a creditors/growers meeting to be held in Melbourne later this month to harvest the trees.

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Page 10 | issue 151 | 15.11.10

Contact Alan Jones Email: alan.jones@premier.austbrokers.com (Licence No. 238123)

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industry news

Forestry workers need assistance for restructuring A THIRD of Tasmania’s forest workers lost their jobs in the downturn of the past two years.

A report by the Cooperative Research Centre for Forestry found that workers across all sectors of the Tasmanian industry were affected, with 2310 jobs lost since 2008.

The report’s author, Dr Jacki Schirmer, says it highlights the critical need for immediate assistance and longerterm support for forestry communities, while the industry tries to restructure itself.

“This sort of work can support looking at which communities are hardest hit and working with communities to say, what sort of things can you do to help [them] adapt?” she said.

“In which communities are workers able to find alternative employment and in which are the workers having to leave to find jobs?

“We have to do that so assistance can be targeted much better.”

The federal forestry binister Joe Ludwig says a $20 million assistance package for the Tasmanian forest industry should hit the ground before Christmas.

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SenatorJoe Ludwig .. announcements in coming weeks.

The long-awaited package was promised by both sides during the federal election campaign, and Tasmanian forest contractors have expressed dismay that it’s taking so long to be rolled out.

They’d also become concerned that the $20 million would be for exit grants only, but Mr Ludwig says that’s not the case.

“Details of the type of assistance the government will provide, and the eligibility criteria, and how it will be provided will be announced in the coming weeks,” he said.

“What I can say is that it will be about both industry assistance and exit assistance.”

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Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia Douglas Head, director of Australian Solar Timbers at Kempsey, NSW, addresses guests at the official opening of the sawmill’s new $3.5 million hardwood flooring line while federal forestry minister Senator Joe Ludwig (centre) and Rob Oakeshott, MP Lyne, look on.

(See story T&F enews issue 148). Picture by Macleay Argus.

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Plywood House, 3 Dunlop Street, Newstead 4006, Queensland, Australia Tel: 61 7 3250 3700 Fax: 61 7 3252 4769 Email: inbox@ewp.asn.au Web: www.ewp.asn.au

* Independently tested to the highest standard; guaranteed to comply with Australian standards; certified under JAS-ANZ accredited product certification scheme; guaranteed to be safe and to carry the designated design load; complies with the Building Code of Australia; meets safety and quality requirements accepted by unions; meets all Workplace Health & Safety requirements.

issue 151 | 15.11.10 | Page 11

RECOLLECTIONS

Howard: the election campaign for old-growth forests and timber jobs “IT had proved much harder to wear a green sleeve with a blue collar than Mark Latham ever imagined.”

The comment by John Howard in his newly-released autobiography, Lazarus Rising, takes us back to the events of 2004 when the former prime minister’s support for continued logging of old-growth native forests in Tasmania helped return the Coalition government.

This chapter on an historic turning point in public opinion is timely in view of events unfolding now over moves to exit old-growth forest logging in Tasmania (see story, Page 3).

In the middle of that election year, Howard was grappling with the government preelection economic statement – whether or not to include expenditure of $830 million to remove, completely, all remaining old-growth forests in Tasmania from future logging.

The plan involved repudiation of the regional forest agreement (RFA), concluded with the Tasmanian government in November 1997, and the loss of hundreds of jobs in the timber industry.

The impact on small communities heavily dependent on forestry would be significant.

“Compensation was to be generous, with assistance in tourism and plantation reafforestation,” Howard says.

“To its protagonists, and there were quite a few, it was a big bold environmental initiative which would dramatically reposition the Coalition on the environment, win votes on the mainland of Australia and, because of the generosity of the proposed compensation, not damage the government in Tasmanian electorates. To them it was win-win.”

“Saving old-growth forests was still the iconic green issue. It was a classic case of elite urban opinion being ingratiated at the expense potentially of other people’s jobs in faraway parts of the country’ The Opposition leader Mark Latham had been sending strong signals all year that for the election he would do something big on old-growth forests.

John Howard continues: “Complete with leather jacket, and accompanied by Greens leader Bob Brown, he had stood on an old tree stump in a Tasmanian forest. They had both gazed into the distance.

As far as the eye could see there was a steady flow of Green preferences to the Labor Party.

“Saving old-growth forests was still the iconic green issue.

It was a classic case of elite urban opinion being ingratiated at the expense potentially of other people’s jobs in faraway parts of the country.

“In any event, they could get other jobs in new-growth industries like tourism, so everyone came out on top, according to this view.

“The difficulties involved in retraining a 50-year-old timber worker for something entirely different rarely occurred to tertiary-educated city dwellers.”

Howard says more than in many other policy areas, the environment was susceptible to the politics of symbolism.

“Feel-good politics were at a premium here; saving whales and preserving endangered species, while meritorious in themselves, returned a doubly handsome dividend in the realm of the warm inner glow.

“When it came to the aspirations of environmentalists, oldgrowth forests were of the same genre.

“The big difference was that there was a cost on the other side; saving whales did not involve Australian jobs. Saving old-growth forests might well do so. The Labor Party was to learn that to its electoral expense at the election of 2004.”

Howard says most of his senior colleagues and staff favoured embracing the $830 million plan.

“One exception was the minister responsible for forests Senator Ian Macdonald, who was from North Queensland. He thought that the policy document was good but that the politics were all wrong. He was right.”

At this time, there was heavy traffic through Howard’s office – various interest groups, including the CFMEU forestry division’s Arthur Sinodinos and Michael O’Connor.

Howard says that to go with the supergreen option in Tasmania Cont Page 13

Players in the 2004 Tasmanian forest industry episode

Mark Latham

Paul Lennon

Page 12 | issue 151 | 15.11.10

Ian Macdonald

Bob Brown

Michael O’Connor

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RECOLLECTIONS

Howard favoured preserving old-growth forests, but not at the expense of throwing timber workers on the scrapheap From Page 12

would be to betray the ‘Howard battlers’ in timber communities there and elsewhere.

“How could I explain to them such a sudden policy reversal?

For eight years I had been a prime minister who had put jobs ahead of pandering to noisy minority groups for political advantage.

“Now I was chasing Green preferences in the leafy suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne.

That would have been an oversimplification and not completely accurate, but it is how they would have felt.

“That was the real reason I did not put that $830 million into the pre-election economic statement.”

Latham and Howard played a cat and mouse game. On September 3, campaigning for Larry Anthony in Murwillumbah, Howard said he was in favour of preserving old-growth forests, but not at the expense of throwing timber workers on the unemployment scrapheap.

His response kept open the possibility that the Coalition would move on old-growth forests, but it gave his opponent no clues as to how or when.

“By Sunday, October 3, just six days before polling, Latham had, as I predicted, run out of time,” Howard recalls.

“His nerve broke and the next day he suddenly altered his travel plans and headed for Tasmania to announce a plan to buy out the old-growth forests and implement the full green agenda. Bob Brown had got his way. In fact, he had had his way for quite a long time on this issue; only now it was to be out in the open.”

The Opposition leader could not have handled this issue more

Protecting forest jobs .. John Howard believed locking up all of the old-growth forest areas had lethal implications for jobs.”

clumsily. He had completely ignored the Labor Premier in Tasmania Paul Lennon was a passionate supporter of the timber industry and its workers.

‘Workers in the industry, who had rallied outside Lennon’s office, were ignored, literally, as Latham snuck out the back door and headed for the aiport and a speedy return to the mainland’ Lennon was not given the details of the Latham takeover until they met the next day in Hobart.

“He was livid at what he was told,” Howard writes. “Workers in the industry, who had rallied outside Lennon’s office, were ignored, literally, as Latham snuck out the back door and headed for the airport and a speedy return to the mainland.”

Howard says the Coalition’s

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policy had to be carefully handled.

“We had to state a policy, and that policy could not completely ignore old-growth forests. Yet, obviously, it had to stop short of locking up all of the oldgrowth areas, with the lethal implications that had for jobs.”

Howard had a well-developed idea of what the policy would be when he flew to Launceston the following day.

The industry and unions had organised a big rally in City Park and many of those attending had drifted to the nearby Albert Hall to hear speeches from industry and union leaders.

Howard met industry and union leaders and representatives of the timber communities for an hour or more at the Grand Chancellor Hotel, within easy walking distance of the Albert Hall. He settled on a policy that he would announce at the nearby hall.

“The next hour was one of the more remarkable in my political

career,” Howard remembers.

“It was the most adrenalinecharged moment of the 2004 campaign for me, and the impact of that meeting reverberated around the nation.”

The hall was overflowing with some 2000 people when Howard arrived. He said his government would honour the RFA. This struck an instant chord. The RFA had provided stability to the industry. It enshrined longterm commitments from both federal and state governments.

These agreements were seen as pragmatic compromises between the various competing interests. Latham had been extremely stupid to repudiate the Tasmanian RFA. He had repudiated stability.

Howard said that a re-elected Coalition government would add 170,000 ha to the current reserve system. That was a win for the environment, but a long way short of the job-destroying lock-up proposed by Latham.

Latham paid a high price for his misguided policy five days later.

Bass and Brandon both swung heavily into the Liberal camp.

The ramifications were felt in other timber electorates on the mainland, such as MacMillan in Victoria and Eden-Monaro in New South Wales.

Even in urban areas where the Labor policy was meant to have significant appeal, Latham’s announcement had come too late in the campaign to appear convincing to swingers interested in the environment.

“It had proved much harder to wear a green sleeve with a blue collar than Mark Latham ever imagined.”

The Coalition won the 2004 election with an increased majority of 24 seats.

– JIM BOWDEN.

issue 151 | 15.11.10 | Page 13

events

International interest builds for NZ forestry expo in Rotorua next year FOREST industry leaders and companies from across the world are booking their tickets to participate in the New Zealand Forest Industries Expo (FI2011) in Rotorua – and make the most of the 2011 Rugby World Cup while they’re there.

Exhibition sites have already been booked by a number of New Zealand and Australian companies, and inquiries are flooding in from Canada, China, Vietnam and Austria, say the organisers.

The expo will showcase the best that Rotorua, the wider Bay of Plenty region and the rest of New Zealand has to offer when it comes to forestry and wood products – knowledge, skills and future ideas. It will take over the Energy Events Centre, its car park and the adjacent Government Gardens golf driving range in what is believed to be the centre’s biggest ever exhibition.

Organiser Dell Bawden says that although the September 5-7 expo is still more than 10 months away, excitement is already growing within the industry worldwide.

“This is going to be totally different to previous expos,” she says.

“We’re in a superb venue, the expo will have a different feel to it and it’s already looking great.

The Energy Events Centre lends itself to this kind of expo. It’s the biggest event they’ve ever had so we’re hoping for lots of visitors, both from Rotorua and those visiting New Zealand for the Rugby World Cup. “We want people to see forestry is more than just chainsaws.

There’s an incredible amount of engineering, innovation and technology involved.”

Heavy machinery will take over the driving range next door to the Energy Event Centre, giving visitors the chance to get close

Page 14 | issue 151 | 15.11.10

Venue for the NZ Forest Industries Expo .. the Rotorua Energy Events Centre located on the edge of Lake Rotorua.

to the new machinery operating in the forests today.

“The car park will also feature exhibitor sites, as the expo needs all the space it can get with up to 300 exhibitors bringing their products and expertise to Rotorua.”

Australian and Canadian exhibitors are traditionally key exhibitors at the Forest Industries Expo, says Mrs Bawden, but other international exhibitors have also jumped on board.

“The expo is a great chance for networking because there aren’t many opportunities when all the different sections of the industry get together,” says Mrs Bawden.

“It will also be a good celebration of everything that’s forestry and to find out who’s doing what.”

There are a number of companies who are returning for FI2011, but Mrs Bawden says there are also plenty of firsttime exhibitors – mostly New Zealand companies heading to Rotorua for the event.

The Forest Industries Expo 2011 is a part of the “Winning with Wood” Forestry and Wood Processing Festival which is a national program of wood and related events including the long-standing Kawerau Woodfest and National Woodskills Competition.

The festival, which runs from September 5 to 7, will also feature an open day at the

Waiariki Institute of Technology Forestry School, the FITEC awards, and the national forestry industry conference ForestWood 2011.

The conference will be run

by Woodco, supported by associate members the Forest Industries Contractors Association, the Forest Owners Association, the Pine Manufacturers Association and the Wood Processors Association. It will also see

the launch of the Bay of Connections regional economic development group’s forestry strategy at the VIP launch of the Expo on September 4.

The festival will be held in the build-up to Rotorua’s three Rugby World Cup games in September next year.

The latest estimates indicate more than 85,000 visitors will travel to New Zealand during the event, a great majority of them arriving for the Rugby World Cup. Many of these visitors will be business people and government representatives from around the world who will combine their trip to the Rugby World Cup with fact-finding missions looking at companies and sectors across New Zealand.

Inquiries and booking information: www.FI2011.co.nz

Canada signs major wood deals in China

CANADIAN companies taking part in the forestry trade mission to China have generated sales of 418 million board feet of lumber.

“Total sales orders taken by the 2010 trade mission are five times greater than the China mission of just two years ago,” says Forests Minister Pat Bell.

“This incredible surge in demand shows that British Columbia’s annual trade missions and other marketing efforts to grow the Chinese marketplace are paying off in spades,” he said.

The forestry trade mission, led

by Mr Bell and including senior executives from industry, made several major breakthroughs to promote wood-frame construction and boost the demand for BC lumber in

China’s major population centres of Shanghai, Tianjin, Beijing and the Hebei and Sichuan provinces.

One highlight of the mission involved groundbreaking for a wood-frame construction project in the Tianjin Economic Development Area (TEDA), 160 km southeast of Beijing. An agreement for a multi-storey, wood-frame construction project was just signed in March and now construction is starting on a residential building and two office buildings.

Senior TEDA officials indicated their interest in establishing a free trade zone for lumber, which would provide a gateway to northeast China for BC lumber producers.

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WHAT’S NEW

colourWOOD: a coat of many colours TIMBECK Cedar Products has announced a new range of western red cedar pre-finished products to be marketed as colourWOOD panellings.

This follows the integration of its recently acquired coatings business and the consolidation of an array of coating, combined with a selection of standard profiles, The colourWOOD product captures the most popular profiles and presents them in the most popular range of prefinished colours. The end result is a readily available standard product range.

The initial colourWOOD launch is based around western red cedar panelling profiles; colourWOOD claddings are soon to follow.

The panellings are available in either of two prefinishing formulations – lacquers (vacuum coated and UV cured) and penetrating oils. Lacquers

News and images about new products and services are invited for the regular NEW PRODUCTS section

Western red cedar panellings .. two pre-finished formulations.

provide a more robust finish and are suited to areas of higher wear such as passageways, stairwells and family rooms.

Oils provide a more natural appearance and are ideal for all internal or other weather protected surfaces like soffits,

ceilings and all low wear wall facings.

With penetrating oils, subsequent on-site coats, if required for colour intensity, are much easier to apply over a pre-applied first coat.

colourWOOD advantages include: initial boards all presanded; coating on all faces and edges; dimensional stability; economical factory coating; QC ensures coating thickness; custom colour options; choice of lacquer or oil finish.

The full colour range and further details are presented in a two page flyer available at: www.timbeck. com.au/userfiles/image/ PDFs/090cColourWood.pdf

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issue 151 | 15.11.10 | Page 15

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