Australian Plantation Forestry
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COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Proof Committee Hansard SENATE RURAL AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS AND TRANSPORT REFERENCES COMMITTEE Reference: Plantation forests industry FRIDAY, 29 NOVEMBER 2002 LAUNCESTON CONDITIONS OF DISTRIBUTION This is an uncorrected proof of evidence taken before the committee. It is made available under the condition that it is recognised as such. BY AUTHORITY OF THE SENATE [PROOF COPY] INTERNET The Proof and Official Hansard transcripts of Senate committee hearings, some House of Representatives committee hearings and some joint com- mittee hearings are available on the Internet. Some House of Representa- tives committees and some joint committees make available only Official Hansard transcripts. The Internet address is: http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard To search the parliamentary database, go to: http://search.aph.gov.au SENATE RURAL AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS AND TRANSPORT REFERENCES COMMITTEE Friday, 29 November 2002 Members: Senator Ridgeway (Chair), Senators Buckland, Heffernan, McGauran, O’Brien and Stephens Substitute members: Senator Colbeck for Senator Heffernan Participating members: Senators Abetz, Boswell, Brown, Carr, Chapman, Colbeck, Coonan, Crossin, Eggleston, Chris Evans, Faulkner, Ferguson, Harradine, Harris, Hutchins, Knowles, Lees, Lightfoot, Mason, Sandy Macdonald, Murphy, Payne, Santoro, Tchen, Tierney and Watson Senators in attendance: Senators Brown, Colbeck, Murphy, O’Brien and Ridgeway Terms of reference for the inquiry: To inquire into and report on: The findings of the Private Forests Consultative Committee’s review of the ‘Plantations for Australia: The 2020 Vision’ which is due to report to the Primary Industries Ministerial Council in November 2002: (a) whether there are impediments to the achievement of the aims of ‘Plantations for Australia: The 2020 Vision’ strategy; (b) whether there are elements of the strategy which should be altered in light of any impediments identified; (c) whether there are further opportunities to maximise the benefits from plantations in respect of their potential to contribute environmental benefits, including whether there are opportunities to: (i) better integrate plantations into achieving salinity and water quality objectives and targets, (ii) optimise the environmental benefits of plantations in low rainfall areas, and (iii) address the provision of public good services (environmental benefits) at the cost of private plantation growers; (d) whether there is the need for government action to encourage longer rotation plantations, particularly in order to supply sawlogs; and (e) whether other action is desirable to maintain and expand a viable and sustainable plantation forest sector, including the expansion of processing industries to enhance the contribution to regional economic development. WITNESSES BAKER, Mr Les, Executive Director, Gunns Plantations Ltd .................................................................154 BIRD, Mr Trevor, General Manager, Forests and Forest Industry Council ..........................................126 BLAKESLEY, Mr Andrew John, Director, Forest Policy, Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources................................................................................................................................................104 BLANDEN, Mr Ian Martin, Manager, Gunns Plantations Ltd................................................................154 de BURGH-DAY, Mrs Geraldine Rachael (Private capacity) ..................................................................205 DEVITO, Mrs Evelyn Maude, (Private capacity)......................................................................................179 DIBLEY, Ms Colleen May, (Private capacity) ...........................................................................................179 DRIELSMA, Dr Johannes Hendrik, General Manager, Forest Management, Forestry Tasmania......138 HAYWARD, Mr John McClure (Private Capacity)..................................................................................198 KING, Mr Desmond Patrick, Chief Executive Officer, Private Forests Tasmania.................................116 RYAN, Mr Malcolm Stuart (Private capacity) ..........................................................................................189 SHERIDAN, Ms Gwenda Margaret (Private capacity) ............................................................................ 168 SIMS, Mr Peter Charles, Chairman, Launceston Environment Centre Inc........................................... 205 SMITH, Mr Paul Robert Cowper, Assistant General Manager Operations, Forestry Tasmania ........ 138 STRONG, Mr Christopher, Community Representative, Launceston Environment Centre Inc......... 205 WEARNE, Mr Simon Peter Graeme, Member, Mount Arthur Environment Management Group.... 205 Friday, 29 November 2002 SENATE—References RRA&T 103 Committee met at 8.07 a.m. CHAIR—I declare open this public hearing of the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee. This is the committee’s second hearing to consider matters in relation to its inquiry into the plantation forests industry and the 2020 vision strategy. The matter was referred to the committee on 27 June this year. The committee will report on or before the last sitting day in August 2003. I should also mention that submissions are still being received. To date the committee has received 46 written submissions. For those of you here today who would like copies of the submissions, they are available from the secretariat. Additionally, today’s hearing is open to the public and a Hansard transcript of the proceedings is being made. The Hansard will be available also in hard copy from the committee secretariat next week or via the Parliament House Internet home page. It should also be noted that the committee has authorised the recording, broadcasting and rebroadcasting of these proceedings in accordance with the rules contained in the order of the Senate of 23 August 1990 concerning the broadcasting of committee proceedings. Before the committee commences taking evidence, let me place on record that all witnesses are protected by parliamentary privilege with respect to submissions made to the committee and evidence given before it. Any act by any person which may operate to the disadvantage of a witness on account of evidence given by him or her before the Senate or any committee of the Senate is treated as a breach of privilege. While the committee prefers to hear all evidence in public, if requested, the committee may agree to take evidence in camera and record that evidence. Should the committee take evidence in that manner, I remind the committee and those present that it is within the power of the committee at a later date to publish or present all or part of that evidence to the Senate. The Senate also has the power to order production and/or publication of such evidence. Any decision regarding publication of in camera evidence or confidential submissions would not be taken by the committee without prior reference to the person whose evidence the committee may consider publishing. RURAL AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS AND TRANSPORT RRA&T 104 SENATE—References Friday, 29 November 2002 [8.10 a.m.] BLAKESLEY, Mr Andrew John, Director, Forest Policy, Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources CHAIR—I welcome Mr Andrew Blakesley, representing the Tasmanian government. Mr Blakesley—The submission I wish to speak to today has been prepared by my department in consultation with a couple of other departments: the Department of Premier and Cabinet and the Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment. We have prepared our submission in response to a direct request from the committee to provide an overview of the plantation sector in Tasmania and the state government’s role in assisting and regulating that sector. Those details have been provided in my submission, and today I will highlight some of the points that we have made in that, without repeating the detail that is in it. We have also made some specific comments with regard to the committee’s terms of reference. My department does not have a direct land management or regulatory role in regard to forestry and plantations in particular but is a source of advice to the Minister for Economic Development, Resources and Energy and to the government on matters relating to the development and use of Tasmania’s natural resources, including forests, energy and minerals. The Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment’s role in relation to plantations includes the promotion of sustainable primary industries, agriculture and fisheries in particular, protection of environmental values throughout the state and sustainable management of the state’s natural resources including water and biodiversity. All of these have some influence on plantation and other developments in the state. I have outlined the roles of the relevant Tasmanian government agencies, in particular in relation to forest plantations in Tasmania. They include Private Forests Tasmania, the Forest Practices Board and Forestry Tasmania, and I understand at least two of those bodies are making presentations to you later today, so I will leave it to them to talk about their roles. As I said, some of the details of their particular roles are in our submission. We have interpreted the terms of reference of the committee to inquire into how the revised 2020 vision for plantations can be facilitated by governments and particularly by the Commonwealth government. We have not