The Tasmanian Government has revealed a plan for handouts to keep harvesting contractors in the forest industry. Resources Minister Paul Harriss said harvesting contractors would be offered financial incentives to help rebuild the industry. Source: ABC News
The announcement comes after the state Liberal Government scrapped the forest peace deal and opened up 400,000 hectares of protected forest for possible logging in six years.
Mr Harris said that $7 million leftover from the $20 million allocated to shut the industry down under the previous Labor-Greens government would now be used to encourage harvesting contractors.
“We are about using that money to ensure people have the best opportunities to grow their businesses and stay in the industry to build capacity,” he said.
“There will be rigorous structure around that and we won’t be making the same mistakes that were made under the previous Labor federal government.
“The first challenge here is to provide appropriate incentives for people to stay in the industry who would have taken exit packages under the previous regime because the wood would not have been available.
“It is about those who are ready, willing and able to get on with business in a conducive can-do environment, that is the message.”
The plan is to offer the $7 million to the harvesting contractors by application only, and conditions would apply.
Mr Harriss said there were other programs for sawmillers and residue processing. He said the previous government had sent a message that the forest industry was closed, and a new pathway had to be planned now.
Mr Harriss said he now had a new ministerial council to advise him, but did not say how many jobs would be created or when.
Sawmiller and chair of the Forest Industries Association of Tasmania, Glenn Britton, told 936 ABC Hobart he did not expect jobs to flow quickly following the repeal of the forest peace deal.
“It will be the status quo for next period of time,” he said. “Let’s not forget that there will be no harvesting in the 400,000 hectares for at least six years, so the industry… will be relying on the current timber production zone for our volumes of wood.
“There is a lot of water to run under the bridge yet.
“Those in the industry, in the Government and all other potential stakeholders (have) to form a pathway forward for these forests.”
Mr Britton said he wanted the new ministerial committee advising on forests to commission a thorough scientific study of the 400,000 hectares. He said the studies for the forest peace agreement, known as the Tasmanian Forest Agreement (TFA), had been rushed.
“Industry believes there needs to be an appropriate scientific study,” he said. “If certain forests have high conservation values (then) they should be reserved from harvesting… same as it is done in North America and Europe, where forests are run on a 100-year rotation cycle.”
Mr Britton also called on the Government to include environmental groups on its forests advisory group.
“It needs to be a much deeper, much more positive approach,” he said. “The whole future of the forest is a worry because of the angst that has been around for 30-odd years. It is very disappointing that this just goes on and on.”
Mr Britton said he was part of the forest peace deal process, which involved nearly five years of negotiations by industry and green groups, and he had mixed feelings when Parliament scrapped the legislation.
“We supported the TFA… industry has to work with the government of the day, whether we like it is immaterial,” he said. “We just have to get on and work with it… we implore the environment industry to get in it.”
Jane Calvert from the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) said a return to instability would not provide jobs growth.
Ms Calvert said providing extra resources would not fix the problem, and the solution involved investment.
She said the state had huge plantation resources coming on board and industry needed to deal with it.
“Plantation is coming on stream [and] industry is not geared to deal with it, let alone the question of markets, which was one of the things TFA was delivering on,” she said.
“The other fundamental problem is we have lots of residue, which is inevitable, and still today no way of using it, but the Tasmanian Forests Agreement at least had a vision and a good chance of delivering.”
Ms Calvert said the industry needed value-adding, which was about much more than resources, and included manufacturing, markets, and forest certification.
She also wanted to see the industry taken off the election cycle, and an end to the uncertainty that created.
“I’m passionate to get it off the election cycle,” she said. “That is the thing that creates instability. Markets won’t invest in a climate when this is going to come up every four years.”
And she said she wanted to see no more confrontations of the kind that happened during the forest protests, but did not think the proposed new anti-protest laws would help stop conflict.
Harvesters to share in $7 to rebuild in Tasmania
The Tasmanian Government has revealed a plan for handouts to keep harvesting contractors in the forest industry. Resources Minister Paul Harriss said harvesting contractors would be offered financial incentives to help rebuild the industry. Source: ABC News
The announcement comes after the state Liberal Government scrapped the forest peace deal and opened up 400,000 hectares of protected forest for possible logging in six years.
Mr Harris said that $7 million leftover from the $20 million allocated to shut the industry down under the previous Labor-Greens government would now be used to encourage harvesting contractors.
“We are about using that money to ensure people have the best opportunities to grow their businesses and stay in the industry to build capacity,” he said.
“There will be rigorous structure around that and we won’t be making the same mistakes that were made under the previous Labor federal government.
“The first challenge here is to provide appropriate incentives for people to stay in the industry who would have taken exit packages under the previous regime because the wood would not have been available.
“It is about those who are ready, willing and able to get on with business in a conducive can-do environment, that is the message.”
The plan is to offer the $7 million to the harvesting contractors by application only, and conditions would apply.
Mr Harriss said there were other programs for sawmillers and residue processing. He said the previous government had sent a message that the forest industry was closed, and a new pathway had to be planned now.
Mr Harriss said he now had a new ministerial council to advise him, but did not say how many jobs would be created or when.
Sawmiller and chair of the Forest Industries Association of Tasmania, Glenn Britton, told 936 ABC Hobart he did not expect jobs to flow quickly following the repeal of the forest peace deal.
“It will be the status quo for next period of time,” he said. “Let’s not forget that there will be no harvesting in the 400,000 hectares for at least six years, so the industry… will be relying on the current timber production zone for our volumes of wood.
“There is a lot of water to run under the bridge yet.
“Those in the industry, in the Government and all other potential stakeholders (have) to form a pathway forward for these forests.”
Mr Britton said he wanted the new ministerial committee advising on forests to commission a thorough scientific study of the 400,000 hectares. He said the studies for the forest peace agreement, known as the Tasmanian Forest Agreement (TFA), had been rushed.
“Industry believes there needs to be an appropriate scientific study,” he said. “If certain forests have high conservation values (then) they should be reserved from harvesting… same as it is done in North America and Europe, where forests are run on a 100-year rotation cycle.”
Mr Britton also called on the Government to include environmental groups on its forests advisory group.
“It needs to be a much deeper, much more positive approach,” he said. “The whole future of the forest is a worry because of the angst that has been around for 30-odd years. It is very disappointing that this just goes on and on.”
Mr Britton said he was part of the forest peace deal process, which involved nearly five years of negotiations by industry and green groups, and he had mixed feelings when Parliament scrapped the legislation.
“We supported the TFA… industry has to work with the government of the day, whether we like it is immaterial,” he said. “We just have to get on and work with it… we implore the environment industry to get in it.”
Jane Calvert from the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) said a return to instability would not provide jobs growth.
Ms Calvert said providing extra resources would not fix the problem, and the solution involved investment.
She said the state had huge plantation resources coming on board and industry needed to deal with it.
“Plantation is coming on stream [and] industry is not geared to deal with it, let alone the question of markets, which was one of the things TFA was delivering on,” she said.
“The other fundamental problem is we have lots of residue, which is inevitable, and still today no way of using it, but the Tasmanian Forests Agreement at least had a vision and a good chance of delivering.”
Ms Calvert said the industry needed value-adding, which was about much more than resources, and included manufacturing, markets, and forest certification.
She also wanted to see the industry taken off the election cycle, and an end to the uncertainty that created.
“I’m passionate to get it off the election cycle,” she said. “That is the thing that creates instability. Markets won’t invest in a climate when this is going to come up every four years.”
And she said she wanted to see no more confrontations of the kind that happened during the forest protests, but did not think the proposed new anti-protest laws would help stop conflict.
