The forest industry nationally employs more than 120,000 people and supports many regional communities located within Federal seats that were won by very close margins in the 2007 election.
While the recent media focus has been the ongoing discussion over the future of the Tasmanian forest industry, NAFI has also identified several marginal Lower House seats that will play a strong role in the race for the Lodge in 2010 in mainland States.
The seats to watch in NSW are Page, Cowper, and Eden-Monaro . In Victoria the marginal seats of McEwan and McMillan will be crucial, as well as Gippsland and Corangamite.
In Tasmania the key seats of Braddon, Bass, Lyons and Franklin will be influenced by any policies announced which affect the local forest industry.
Key policy issues
At present, the key points of difference between Labor and the Coalition on national forest policies are the use of wood by-products to generate renewable energy and the need for a new approach to managing bushfire prone landscapes. The two issues are linked.
In early July the Government voted against allowing the energy generated from native forest wood waste to be fully counted under Australia’s Renewable Energy Target (RET).
The opposition to the use of native forest residues is bemusing as the practice is lauded in Scandinavian countries by conservation groups as a renewable energy source. In Australia, it could provide a tangible environmental benefit by reducing many regional communities’ reliance on fossil-fuel based power generation.
More than 7% of Australia’s mandatory renewable energy target could be reached by renewable energy from wood-waste biomass. The use of wood-waste for renewable energy would also bolster investment in regional jobs.
The use of wood-waste also links with a second major forest issue – the management of bushfire risk. The use of woody biomass harvested from fuel management could be used to generate renewable electricity and jobs for regional communities while reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. It makes sense to use bushfire fuel for energy rather than unprecedented large-scale wildfires.
Voters, particularly in the marginal Victorian electorates affected by the tragic Black Saturday fires, will be looking for leadership to address the risks posed by bushfires to life, property and the environment.
The forest industry, and the many communities it supports, are also affected economically by bushfires. The Black Saturday fires, for example, saw 56,000 hectares of the State’s production forests burnt and $600 million of standing timber lost. The fires also destroyed 19,000 hectares of plantations with replanting estimated to take five years and cost $25 million.
NAFI has called on the Federal Government to convene a national summit to bring together stakeholders such as national park managers, farmers and the forest industry to ensure that a coordinated approach to fire management is developed.
We hope that following the final report from the Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission, and the current federal inquiry into bushfire management, Governments will provide the necessary leadership to promote a comprehensive landscape approach at both State and national levels.
In summary, NAFI wants to see better policy coordination between recognising the role of wood waste for renewable energy from native forests and the way we manage our forests for bushfire fuel risk.
