Nation-wide study on timber-impacted roads

THE NATIONAL Timber Councils Association (NTCA) held its Annual General Meeting on 16 November 2012 at the Wrest Point Casino in Tasmania as an affiliated event of the Australian Local Government Association National Local Government Road and Transport Congress. The event had strong attendance and attracted many Tasmanian councillors who travelled from across the island to attend. The NTCA currently has several members from Tasmania, almost covering the entire south coast. Source: Timberbiz
Three prestigious speakers were able to attend and discuss issues with participating councillors from across Australia. These were Sid Sidebottom MP, Senator Richard Colbeck MP, and Neil Mackinnon, CEO for the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Members of Parliament spoke of their commitment to a strong, viable and enterprising timber industry, while recognising the many challenges the industry is being affected by. Neil Mackinnon dealt at length with the loss of jobs in Tasmania and the potential to replace them with growth in the forest industry and other mechanisms.
The NTCA presented at the meeting the draft version of a national local timber roads user submission. This document will go out to all members to be populated with case studies from across Australia, and then be presented to the Australian Government.
This submission would see a nation-wide study on timber-impacted roads; identify the cost of repairs to increase transport efficiency; and remove bottle-necks in the haulage of timber. This proposed process is similar to a study which is maintained and updated by Timber Towns Victoria, the Timber Industry Road Evaluation Study (TIRES) which creates an easily updateable framework that ranks the most important timber road projects across Victoria. This study has been a successful mechanism to show the need for State funding of road maintenance to ensure an efficient timber haulage network, while providing surety to potential investors in the forest sector through the provision of suitable infrastructure for future operations.
The proposal was welcomed by Sid Sidebottom MP in his speech to member councillors, stating that in a financial context the $1 000 000 being requested for the study is not a lot of money. The NTCA remains hopeful and was encouraged by these comments.
We also held a meeting with the group of 12 regional councils from Tasmania who have united to highlight the impact of the forestry industry curtailment and other resource security issues on local government. Following discussions, the NTCA hopes to see membership growth in Tasmania and provide some much needed assistance. We would like to welcome Glamorgan Spring Bay Council as the newest member, and welcome Councillor Cheryl Arnol to the executive committee of the Association. We look forward to bringing knowledge from the situation in Tasmania which councils across Australia can benefit from.
The NTCA is now preparing for its inaugural Local Government Forest and Timber Industry Conference. This event (18-19 April in Melbourne) will attract a unique audience of councillors, local government officers, representatives from relevant state and federal government departments and forest industry professionals. With a focus on socio-economic issues and the relationship between local government and timber industry, this program is the first time these issues have been brought together for a conference. Come along and meet your local councillor!