A shortage of harvesting and haulage contractors in Tasmania’s forest industry tells a story of two parts.
Confidence is returning as the Liberal Government works to rebuild an industry devastated by the efforts of the previous Labor-Green government to close it down.
That we are now faced with needing additional contractors shows that there are opportunities to grow forestry, as we always said there were.
This shortage, however, also highlights the damage that Labor and the Greens inflicted on forestry; the jobs that they caused to be lost, the businesses that closed their doors, the regional communities that suffered.
While Labor and the Greens were so focussed on their job-destroying deal to shut up our public forests, they ignored the private native forest estate and its potential.
That estate covers more than one million hectares and includes almost a quarter of a million hectares of plantation.
Forico, owned by New Forests, has said it is currently able to harvest only half of its potential yield due to the shortage of forest contractors – a shortage made worse by the actions of Labor and the Greens.
In a boost for the industry, the company is planning to invest $14 million over the next 12 months to upgrade its Hampshire and Bell Bay mills to lift production capacity by at least one million tonnes a year.
All of that wood needs to be harvested and transported to processing facilities.
The decision of previous Labor-Green governments in Canberra and Hobart to pay off contractors to get out of the industry and imposing a 10-year ban on re-entry is their legacy; it’s their drag on the recovery of forestry.
The Liberal Government will continue to work with the Australian Government, contractors and the wider industry to rebuild forestry to grow our economy and create new jobs.
Paul Harriss, Minister for Resources
