❓ Hon. Louise Kingston questions the Minister for Forestry on expanding hardwood timber plantations, supporting FSC certification, and reconciling FSC certification of karri forests with claims of unsustainable native forest harvesting. The Minister highlights investment in pine plantations and the private hardwood plantation industry.
AnsweredQoN 1288Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
FORESTRY —
HARDWOOD
1288. Hon LOUISE KINGSTON to the Minister for Forestry:
I refer to the Australian Institute
of Architecture WA awards, where two awards were won by the highly impressive Ravensthorpe
cultural precinct: the Jeffrey Howlett award for public architecture in Western
Australia and the Wallace Greenham award for sustainable architecture in Western
Australia. The building is constructed entirely from renewable Forest
Stewardship Council–certified timber, WA-grown yellow stringybark. This
is the second public building—the first being the Pingelly recreation
centre—which has used this timber and won awards. Hardwood timbers have
colour and features that are not present in softwoods.
(1) Will the
government look to expand or vary its plantation expansion program to include
hardwood timbers like yellow stringybark?
(2) Does the minister support the FSC certification system
that underpinned the sustainable architecture award ?
(3) If yes to
(2), why does the minister not recognise the FSC certification given to karri
forest when she claims native forest harvesting is not sustainable?
HARDWOOD
1288. Hon LOUISE KINGSTON to the Minister for Forestry:
I refer to the Australian Institute
of Architecture WA awards, where two awards were won by the highly impressive Ravensthorpe
cultural precinct: the Jeffrey Howlett award for public architecture in Western
Australia and the Wallace Greenham award for sustainable architecture in Western
Australia. The building is constructed entirely from renewable Forest
Stewardship Council–certified timber, WA-grown yellow stringybark. This
is the second public building—the first being the Pingelly recreation
centre—which has used this timber and won awards. Hardwood timbers have
colour and features that are not present in softwoods.
(1) Will the
government look to expand or vary its plantation expansion program to include
hardwood timbers like yellow stringybark?
(2) Does the minister support the FSC certification system
that underpinned the sustainable architecture award ?
(3) If yes to
(2), why does the minister not recognise the FSC certification given to karri
forest when she claims native forest harvesting is not sustainable?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. I note the question was asked on 13 August 2024.
(1)–(3) The Cook government is investing $350 million in
the WA pine plantation estate following years of inaction and lack of
investment under the previous Liberal–National government. This
investment will ensure that Western Australia continues to supply sustainably
sourced timber for Western Australian homes and the construction industry in
the future. There is a thriving hardwood plantation industry in WA operated by
the private sector.
some notice of the question. I note the question was asked on 13 August 2024.
(1)–(3) The Cook government is investing $350 million in
the WA pine plantation estate following years of inaction and lack of
investment under the previous Liberal–National government. This
investment will ensure that Western Australia continues to supply sustainably
sourced timber for Western Australian homes and the construction industry in
the future. There is a thriving hardwood plantation industry in WA operated by
the private sector.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.