❓ The Minister outlines the government's commitment to a sustainable timber industry, balancing economic and environmental concerns, and mentions an inter-agency committee to advise on future policy.
AnsweredQoN 99Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
TIMBER INDUSTRY
The timber industry in Western Australia has been through years of turmoil, which included two restructures. What is the new state government going to do to address uncertainty in the industry, and what does the immediate future hold? Mr D.T. REDMAN
The timber industry in Western Australia has been through years of turmoil, which included two restructures. What is the new state government going to do to address uncertainty in the industry, and what does the immediate future hold? Mr D.T. REDMAN
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Murray-Wellington for his question and for his interest in this matter. There is probably a reasonable amount of state forest that falls within his electorate. May I start by stating that I believe in a sustainable timber industry, and certainly the Liberal-National government believes in that position. I want to picture what the industry should look like in 20 years and work towards that. In recent times the timber industry has copped a little bit of flak, which I think is largely unwarranted. A lot of very positive things are happening in the industry, which is a substantial employer of people. The whole of the timber industry employs some 5 000 people, probably half of whom are employed in the native forest area. We cannot go back to where we were; there is no doubt about that. I support maintaining the present levels of harvest, which is currently managed under the Forest Management Plan 2004-2013. Of course, we must recognise that the industry has been through, largely, two restructures. The first was the Regional Forest Agreement process in the 1990s and the second was the old-growth forest policy in this decade. Although we will not be reversing the old-growth forest policy or increasing harvest rates, we are working with the industry that we inherited. We need to find a balance. It must not be a choice between jobs and the environment. I believe that we must deliver on both and adopt a genuine, triple-bottom-line approach. This could well be our last chance, particularly with the native forest industry, to get to a sustainable position. It will not be easy. There is an imbalance between the quantity and quality of harvest that is coming out of those native forest areas and the current processing capacity. We all recently saw what happened with the Yarloop mill. We need to manage very carefully how we move forward from the position we have inherited to a position of the sustainable harvesting of those forest areas. Labor’s old-growth forest policy restructure failed to deliver a sustainable industry. We need to put that right on the table. That restructure failed to deliver a sustainable native forest industry. It is really important that in this exercise we also look after and consider all the smaller mills. A number of big players are in the game, but a lot of smaller mills, smaller processors and value adding processors must be considered in the context of how we manage this industry. Some sectors of the industry have put proposals to us, which we certainly need to consider. However, we need to consider the full gamut of groups that are involved in the forest timber industry. It is a big employer. I believe that we can reach a sustainable position. It needs to be managed very carefully, and this government is doing exactly that. I have initiated an interdepartmental-interagency committee to advise me and to report soon on matters to do with this industry and what it believes should be the settings and the position that the government should take. I expect shortly to have feedback on that matter and will therefore take up some formal positions. I certainly want to use that information plus the information we have garnered from various industry groups, such as processors, transporters and so on, to move towards this government’s vision of a sustainable native forest industry in Western Australia.
Mr D.T. REDMAN replied: I thank the member for Murray-Wellington for his question and for his interest in this matter. There is probably a reasonable amount of state forest that falls within his electorate. May I start by stating that I believe in a sustainable timber industry, and certainly the Liberal-National government believes in that position. I want to picture what the industry should look like in 20 years and work towards that. In recent times the timber industry has copped a little bit of flak, which I think is largely unwarranted. A lot of very positive things are happening in the industry, which is a substantial employer of people. The whole of the timber industry employs some 5 000 people, probably half of whom are employed in the native forest area. We cannot go back to where we were; there is no doubt about that. I support maintaining the present levels of harvest, which is currently managed under the Forest Management Plan 2004-2013. Of course, we must recognise that the industry has been through, largely, two restructures. The first was the Regional Forest Agreement process in the 1990s and the second was the old-growth forest policy in this decade. Although we will not be reversing the old-growth forest policy or increasing harvest rates, we are working with the industry that we inherited. We need to find a balance. It must not be a choice between jobs and the environment. I believe that we must deliver on both and adopt a genuine, triple-bottom-line approach. This could well be our last chance, particularly with the native forest industry, to get to a sustainable position. It will not be easy. There is an imbalance between the quantity and quality of harvest that is coming out of those native forest areas and the current processing capacity. We all recently saw what happened with the Yarloop mill. We need to manage very carefully how we move forward from the position we have inherited to a position of the sustainable harvesting of those forest areas. Labor’s old-growth forest policy restructure failed to deliver a sustainable industry. We need to put that right on the table. That restructure failed to deliver a sustainable native forest industry. It is really important that in this exercise we also look after and consider all the smaller mills. A number of big players are in the game, but a lot of smaller mills, smaller processors and value adding processors must be considered in the context of how we manage this industry. Some sectors of the industry have put proposals to us, which we certainly need to consider. However, we need to consider the full gamut of groups that are involved in the forest timber industry. It is a big employer. I believe that we can reach a sustainable position. It needs to be managed very carefully, and this government is doing exactly that. I have initiated an interdepartmental-interagency committee to advise me and to report soon on matters to do with this industry and what it believes should be the settings and the position that the government should take. I expect shortly to have feedback on that matter and will therefore take up some formal positions. I certainly want to use that information plus the information we have garnered from various industry groups, such as processors, transporters and so on, to move towards this government’s vision of a sustainable native forest industry in Western Australia.
I thank the member for Murray-Wellington for his question and for his interest in this matter. There is probably a reasonable amount of state forest that falls within his electorate. May I start by stating that I believe in a sustainable timber industry, and certainly the Liberal-National government believes in that position. I want to picture what the industry should look like in 20 years and work towards that. In recent times the timber industry has copped a little bit of flak, which I think is largely unwarranted. A lot of very positive things are happening in the industry, which is a substantial employer of people. The whole of the timber industry employs some 5 000 people, probably half of whom are employed in the native forest area. We cannot go back to where we were; there is no doubt about that. I support maintaining the present levels of harvest, which is currently managed under the Forest Management Plan 2004-2013. Of course, we must recognise that the industry has been through, largely, two restructures. The first was the Regional Forest Agreement process in the 1990s and the second was the old-growth forest policy in this decade. Although we will not be reversing the old-growth forest policy or increasing harvest rates, we are working with the industry that we inherited. We need to find a balance. It must not be a choice between jobs and the environment. I believe that we must deliver on both and adopt a genuine, triple-bottom-line approach. This could well be our last chance, particularly with the native forest industry, to get to a sustainable position. It will not be easy. There is an imbalance between the quantity and quality of harvest that is coming out of those native forest areas and the current processing capacity. We all recently saw what happened with the Yarloop mill. We need to manage very carefully how we move forward from the position we have inherited to a position of the sustainable harvesting of those forest areas. Labor’s old-growth forest policy restructure failed to deliver a sustainable industry. We need to put that right on the table. That restructure failed to deliver a sustainable native forest industry. It is really important that in this exercise we also look after and consider all the smaller mills. A number of big players are in the game, but a lot of smaller mills, smaller processors and value adding processors must be considered in the context of how we manage this industry. Some sectors of the industry have put proposals to us, which we certainly need to consider. However, we need to consider the full gamut of groups that are involved in the forest timber industry. It is a big employer. I believe that we can reach a sustainable position. It needs to be managed very carefully, and this government is doing exactly that. I have initiated an interdepartmental-interagency committee to advise me and to report soon on matters to do with this industry and what it believes should be the settings and the position that the government should take. I expect shortly to have feedback on that matter and will therefore take up some formal positions. I certainly want to use that information plus the information we have garnered from various industry groups, such as processors, transporters and so on, to move towards this government’s vision of a sustainable native forest industry in Western Australia.
Labor’s old-growth forest policy restructure failed to deliver a sustainable industry. We need to put that right on the table. That restructure failed to deliver a sustainable native forest industry. It is really important that in this exercise we also look after and consider all the smaller mills. A number of big players are in the game, but a lot of smaller mills, smaller processors and value adding processors must be considered in the context of how we manage this industry. Some sectors of the industry have put proposals to us, which we certainly need to consider. However, we need to consider the full gamut of groups that are involved in the forest timber industry. It is a big employer. I believe that we can reach a sustainable position. It needs to be managed very carefully, and this government is doing exactly that. I have initiated an interdepartmental-interagency committee to advise me and to report soon on matters to do with this industry and what it believes should be the settings and the position that the government should take. I expect shortly to have feedback on that matter and will therefore take up some formal positions. I certainly want to use that information plus the information we have garnered from various industry groups, such as processors, transporters and so on, to move towards this government’s vision of a sustainable native forest industry in Western Australia.
Mr D.T. REDMAN replied: I thank the member for Murray-Wellington for his question and for his interest in this matter. There is probably a reasonable amount of state forest that falls within his electorate. May I start by stating that I believe in a sustainable timber industry, and certainly the Liberal-National government believes in that position. I want to picture what the industry should look like in 20 years and work towards that. In recent times the timber industry has copped a little bit of flak, which I think is largely unwarranted. A lot of very positive things are happening in the industry, which is a substantial employer of people. The whole of the timber industry employs some 5 000 people, probably half of whom are employed in the native forest area. We cannot go back to where we were; there is no doubt about that. I support maintaining the present levels of harvest, which is currently managed under the Forest Management Plan 2004-2013. Of course, we must recognise that the industry has been through, largely, two restructures. The first was the Regional Forest Agreement process in the 1990s and the second was the old-growth forest policy in this decade. Although we will not be reversing the old-growth forest policy or increasing harvest rates, we are working with the industry that we inherited. We need to find a balance. It must not be a choice between jobs and the environment. I believe that we must deliver on both and adopt a genuine, triple-bottom-line approach. This could well be our last chance, particularly with the native forest industry, to get to a sustainable position. It will not be easy. There is an imbalance between the quantity and quality of harvest that is coming out of those native forest areas and the current processing capacity. We all recently saw what happened with the Yarloop mill. We need to manage very carefully how we move forward from the position we have inherited to a position of the sustainable harvesting of those forest areas. Labor’s old-growth forest policy restructure failed to deliver a sustainable industry. We need to put that right on the table. That restructure failed to deliver a sustainable native forest industry. It is really important that in this exercise we also look after and consider all the smaller mills. A number of big players are in the game, but a lot of smaller mills, smaller processors and value adding processors must be considered in the context of how we manage this industry. Some sectors of the industry have put proposals to us, which we certainly need to consider. However, we need to consider the full gamut of groups that are involved in the forest timber industry. It is a big employer. I believe that we can reach a sustainable position. It needs to be managed very carefully, and this government is doing exactly that. I have initiated an interdepartmental-interagency committee to advise me and to report soon on matters to do with this industry and what it believes should be the settings and the position that the government should take. I expect shortly to have feedback on that matter and will therefore take up some formal positions. I certainly want to use that information plus the information we have garnered from various industry groups, such as processors, transporters and so on, to move towards this government’s vision of a sustainable native forest industry in Western Australia.
I thank the member for Murray-Wellington for his question and for his interest in this matter. There is probably a reasonable amount of state forest that falls within his electorate. May I start by stating that I believe in a sustainable timber industry, and certainly the Liberal-National government believes in that position. I want to picture what the industry should look like in 20 years and work towards that. In recent times the timber industry has copped a little bit of flak, which I think is largely unwarranted. A lot of very positive things are happening in the industry, which is a substantial employer of people. The whole of the timber industry employs some 5 000 people, probably half of whom are employed in the native forest area. We cannot go back to where we were; there is no doubt about that. I support maintaining the present levels of harvest, which is currently managed under the Forest Management Plan 2004-2013. Of course, we must recognise that the industry has been through, largely, two restructures. The first was the Regional Forest Agreement process in the 1990s and the second was the old-growth forest policy in this decade. Although we will not be reversing the old-growth forest policy or increasing harvest rates, we are working with the industry that we inherited. We need to find a balance. It must not be a choice between jobs and the environment. I believe that we must deliver on both and adopt a genuine, triple-bottom-line approach. This could well be our last chance, particularly with the native forest industry, to get to a sustainable position. It will not be easy. There is an imbalance between the quantity and quality of harvest that is coming out of those native forest areas and the current processing capacity. We all recently saw what happened with the Yarloop mill. We need to manage very carefully how we move forward from the position we have inherited to a position of the sustainable harvesting of those forest areas. Labor’s old-growth forest policy restructure failed to deliver a sustainable industry. We need to put that right on the table. That restructure failed to deliver a sustainable native forest industry. It is really important that in this exercise we also look after and consider all the smaller mills. A number of big players are in the game, but a lot of smaller mills, smaller processors and value adding processors must be considered in the context of how we manage this industry. Some sectors of the industry have put proposals to us, which we certainly need to consider. However, we need to consider the full gamut of groups that are involved in the forest timber industry. It is a big employer. I believe that we can reach a sustainable position. It needs to be managed very carefully, and this government is doing exactly that. I have initiated an interdepartmental-interagency committee to advise me and to report soon on matters to do with this industry and what it believes should be the settings and the position that the government should take. I expect shortly to have feedback on that matter and will therefore take up some formal positions. I certainly want to use that information plus the information we have garnered from various industry groups, such as processors, transporters and so on, to move towards this government’s vision of a sustainable native forest industry in Western Australia.
Labor’s old-growth forest policy restructure failed to deliver a sustainable industry. We need to put that right on the table. That restructure failed to deliver a sustainable native forest industry. It is really important that in this exercise we also look after and consider all the smaller mills. A number of big players are in the game, but a lot of smaller mills, smaller processors and value adding processors must be considered in the context of how we manage this industry. Some sectors of the industry have put proposals to us, which we certainly need to consider. However, we need to consider the full gamut of groups that are involved in the forest timber industry. It is a big employer. I believe that we can reach a sustainable position. It needs to be managed very carefully, and this government is doing exactly that. I have initiated an interdepartmental-interagency committee to advise me and to report soon on matters to do with this industry and what it believes should be the settings and the position that the government should take. I expect shortly to have feedback on that matter and will therefore take up some formal positions. I certainly want to use that information plus the information we have garnered from various industry groups, such as processors, transporters and so on, to move towards this government’s vision of a sustainable native forest industry in Western Australia.
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