A TIMBER industry workers union leader has called for a probe into whether water licences should be scrapped for plantations amid predictions the region’s forestry estate could shrink by 25pc within a decade.
Union Green Triangle secretary Brad Coates argued the introduction of water licences seven years ago had placed the brake on the expansion of the estate.
His comments come amid the release of a “watershed” $20m Federal Government blueprint to grow the nation’s plantation estate by a staggering one billion trees.
The Mount Gambier district could also potentially be in the running to attract a regional forestry hub pilot project, which is part of the national plan.
“That is the elephant in the room. We need to have another look at water licences for plantations,” Mr Coates told The Border Watch.
He said the plantation estate must expand to attract new processing facilities – such as a pulp mill and wood-fired power plant – to drive jobs and industry growth.
Mr Coates warned projections indicated 25pc of the regional plantation estate in 10 years may not be replanted due to water licensing regulations.
While the regional industry was enjoying the largest infrastructure roll-out in 30 years, Mr Coates said the national strategy must also curb imported inferior timber products flooding into Australia and onto the shelves of hardware stores.
“We must have a national strategy that promotes value-adding in Australia,” Mr Coates said.
The region’s largest plantation owner was among the industry players yesterday to welcome the national plan.
“It’s great to see the government come out so strongly in support of plantations and now the well-recognised need to expand the national plantation estate,” OneFortyOne Plantations chief executive officer Linda Sewell said.
Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell has called for the proposed pilot forestry hub – a key proponent of the national plan – to be located in the South East.
The independent MP welcomed the national plan to expand the nation’s forestry estates if they were rolled out in a sustainable manner.
But he warned there needed to be a “balance” struck given other farming sectors needed access to land and water.
“Any expansion in plantations must be done in a sustainable manner,” Mr Bell said.
The politician said the national strategy must also drive domestic manufacturing.
According to the Federal Government, the National Forest Industries Plan had the potential to create tens of thousands of new jobs in regional Australia.
Australian Forest Products Association chair Greg McCormack said the plan was a watershed moment for the industry, which contributed $24b annually to the Australian economy and employed around 120,000 people across the full value chain.
“The Growing A Better Australia – A Billion Trees For Jobs And Growth plan is the first major blueprint for Australia’s forest industries in more than 20 years,” Mr McCormack said.
He said the plan responded to the industry’s key policy priorities of driving growth in forest products manufacturing and innovation and putting forestry at the heart of Australia’s emissions reduction strategy.
The document addresses key challenges in resource supply, recognition for positive environmental contributions, perception and training and skills.
“It’s excellent to see the new mantra ‘wood – the ultimate renewable’ appears as a key part of the plan,” Mr McCormack said.
The industry also welcomed the government’s focus on ensuring the additional one billion trees over 10 years will be planted in the right places at the right scale and with the right partnership models, which properly reward farmers with certainty about the returns.
The industry also endorses the start of the development of 30 forestry regions or hubs.
“We need to ensure we have the greatest chance of maximising the value in downstream Australian jobs – and that will happen if the trees are located close to processing facilities,” McCormack said.
“The government plans to pilot a hub and we look forward to understanding more about this aspect of the plan.”
Agriculture and Water Resources Minister David Littleproud said the plan’s goal was to achieve one billion new plantation trees.
“A key theme which came up during consultation was Australia will need to plant a billion new trees over the next decade to meet demand in 2050, particularly sawlogs for building and construction,” Mr Littleproud said.
