Western Australia’s Forestry Minister Terry Redman expressed frustration over the problems at Whittakers Timber Mill in Greenbushes. Source: Donnybrook Mail
Redman said between 2001 and 2004 restructuring of the forest logging and sales drastically reduced allocation to mills.
“The rules that we go by now are the legacy of those changes put into place back in 2004,” he said.
“The Forestry Ministry has no formal role other than my advocacy, for the outcomes I want to see for the forest sector.
“I am frustrated by the fact I have no formal capacity to take to the table regarding the economic and social factors, which are important to these sorts of decisions to get good outcomes for communities.
“The Environmental Minister is the one who makes the decisions about the next cycle which defines what we are allowed to harvest, so right now the FPC which comes under me uses the Forest Management Plan (FMP) for removing timber from forest coup to harvest to meet industries needs.
“One of the realities of the FMP which is in place now is that as time goes on they are moving in to regrowth forest.
“This is where the forest had been harvested up to 100 years ago and is not of the same log diameter or quality which some of the earlier harvesting produced,” Redman said.
“Every time the cycle comes around there are a whole lot of sciences done to check the sustainability of it, but the FPC cannot offer a contract to mills like Whittaker’s until the FMP is in place.
“The process which was put in place back in 2004 means we have to go through this process every 10 years. I cannot see a reason why we cannot have an audit to see where we are more frequently, which would give the mills more security and therefore make better investments.”
Redman said his brief was to work through the FPC to get mills the best log possible after they had been allocated by the FMP, and to try and get a pricing structure to get the logs to the mill in the most efficient way.
“The FPC is a trading entity or broker between the harvesters, the transporters and all the people who get logs supplied to them,” he said.
The Whittaker’s mill has been up for sale for the past six months, and if it does get sold, Redman said the new owners would be treated exactly the same as any other mill in his portfolio.
“I would support the re-assignment of Whittaker’s contracts to the new owners, which is what was done when Auswest came in to take over the contracts in Manjimup,” he said.
Redman said he saw himself as an industry advocate.
“I do believe we should be able to have in WA a long term sustainable and ecologically sustainable timber industry,” he said.
“I certainly do not want to see mills closing and people out of work.
“It’s my electorate and it is my portfolio to get logs to the mills within the parameters set by the FMP.
“I am frustrated I do not have a stronger role in the process to ensure the economic and the social aspect is looked at to give better outcomes to the mills and their workers.”
Redman urged workers who lost their jobs at Whittaker’s Timber Mill to take advantage of support services.
“A range of services were being co-ordinated to support the 44 workers left without work following the decision by Whittaker’s to shut down the green mill and half the dry mill. My primary concern now is for the workers who are losing their jobs and for the other businesses in Greenbushes who will be affected,” he said.
