Sarah Courtney
Tasmania aims to double the value-add of the state’s timber industry to $1.2 billion by 2036, with a big emphasis on expanding exports. That plan was set out by the Minister for Resources and Minister for Building and Construction, Sarah Courtney, in a speech to a conference dinner hosted by the Institute of Foresters in Hobart last week. Source: Philip Hopkins for Timberbiz
“The forestry industry is now thriving after a period when the industry substantially contracted in size. Expenditure has grown since 2013 and employment has stabilised,” she said. “Our plan will see the sector double its value-add to $1.2 billion a year by 2036.”
Ms Courtney, who spent a decade in institutional finance, in both stockbroking and funds management before entering politics, said forestry was now recognised as an institutional grade investment asset class.
“It is an investment of choice for pension funds and superannuation funds. And as a business development manager at a successful hedge fund, whose main clients were across Europe and Asia, I know that these funds don’t make investment decisions lightly,” she said.
“They are about making a risk adjusted return for their members and their shareholders. For Tasmanian forests to be seen as a high value commodity by these funds, the sector locally must be doing something right.”
Ms Courtney said forestry had a key role in Tasmania’s first ever 2019-2025 trade strategy, which will lead and focus on increased brand recognition in both mainland and international markets.
“We have placed an emphasis in the strategy on the unique attributes of Tasmanian timber. If we increase our recognition nationally – which I will say is already pretty strong – and importantly, internationally, we can open up new markets for the wood and wood products we products and, importantly, help realise their true value,” she said.
“We also aim to expand our presence in existing markets. This means we have to keep up a reliable supply of quality products.”
Ms Courtney said to help lock in supply and quality, the Government had supported the Forest Industry Growth Plan for the Tasmanian Forests, Fine Timber and Wood Fibre Industry.
“This is a plan by industry, for industry, and backed by the Government. It provides direction for growth in the Tasmanian forest sector, and it is where we set the goal I mentioned earlier of doubling industry value add to $1.2 billion by 2036,” she said.
Ms Courtney said the government had committed $4 million to help this happen. This was split two main ways:
- $2.4 million to improve forestry related socio-economic data to provide a more reliable base for decision-making.
- $1.6 million towards community awareness, marketing and education strategies.
Ms Courtney said the partnership with the Federal Government had produced the National Institute for Forest Products Innovation (NIFPI), which was developing innovative ways to create high-value products.
NIFPI in Launceston had already provided funding for 17 forestry and environmental projects across the state, worth nearly $10 million.
“NIFPI is playing a vital role in fostering collaboration, supporting cutting edge research, boosting innovation, maintaining jobs and securing Tasmania’s place as the centre for forest-industry research in the country,” she said.
“It’s doing this by exploring innovation in the forest products sector in areas such as forest management, timber processing, wood fibre recovery, value adding, advanced manufacturing and the bio-economy.”
Ms Courtney said the recently announced Regional Forestry Hub in Northern Tasmania was recognition of the region’s assets – productive forests, processing facilities, and access to transport and markets.
“This is a great outcome with a three-year commitment going initially through to 2022. The Hub will identify new plantation opportunities, add value to existing infrastructure and processing capability, and maximise community participation,” she said. “The Tasmanian Forest and Forest Products Network will be the convenor of the northern Hub.”
Ms Courtney said the Government had made progress on a range of southern residues initiatives.
“We have maintained access to the Port of Hobart for timber exports and this commitment is already resulting in a boost of confidence in the industry. Wood volumes through the Port are increasing strongly,” she said.
The Government’s Budget last week also included an investment of $575,000 towards an open-access weighbridge at Parattah. This would complement the important investment from TasRail enabling southern forest products to be transported north more efficiently.
“We have also been working hard to help the sector recover following the devastating bushfires earlier this year,” Ms Courtney said.
She thanked the crews from Sustainable Timber Tasmania, Tasmania Fire Service, the Parks and Wildlife Service, and volunteers from several forestry companies for their “brave efforts”.
“The recovery included restoring power and access to the South Wood site as a priority, which was no small effort. Also, in addition to the significant grant and loans program that we rolled out, we established a Bushfire Recovery Taskforce to support the medium and long-term recovery of the industry from the bushfires,” she said.
“I also know that salvage harvest of fire damaged timber is under way and it was great to see that timber going over the Port of Hobart.”
Ms Courtney emphasised there were currently about 5700 direct and indirect jobs in forestry in Tasmania.
“This figure is even higher if you start to look at employment in secondary markets like specialty timbers used in the production of craft wood products, furniture and boats,” she said.
“Forestry generates full-time jobs at a higher rate than other sectors of our economy – some 82 percent of those employed in the industry work full-time, compared to 60 percent of the broader workforce in Tasmania.”
Ms Courtney said in 2015-16, the direct value of output generated by the Tasmanian forest industry at the point of sale of primary processed products was $712 million.
“When flow-on effects generated in other industries as a result of spending by the forest industry are included, this figure goes up to more than $1.2 billion,” she said.
In 2017-18, Tasmanian forests produced a total of 5.77 million cubic metres of wood fibre – an eight per cent increase from 2016-17 and a 70% increase from 2013-14. The total value of logs harvested in 2015-16 was $293 million – a rise of 27% from 2014-15, she said.
