Government spins public logging Annual Report to suit its own political narrative

Bottom line improvements significantly due to Gov’t absorbing annual costs

Report confirms contracted wood volumes are available – no need to log reserves

The Wilderness Society today described the Hodgman Government’s spin of its loss-making logging agency, Sustainable Timber Tasmania’s (STT) Annual Report as desperate and disingenuous, highlighting its preference to politicise forestry rather than genuinely accept the economic, sustainability and credibility challenges facing the industry and its own forest policy.

“Native forest logging continues to be a multi-million drain on Tasmania’s economy,” said Vica Bayley, spokesperson for the Wilderness Society.

“Despite the staggering loss, the Hodgman Government talks up the improvement to STT’s bottom line, claiming credit for turning things around when in reality the government has absorbed tens of millions of dollars of annual costs and cut staff numbers, accounting for much of the bottom line improvement,’

“Longstanding annual expenses such as ex-staff superannuation costs have been absorbed by Government and now the fire-sale of public plantation assets will add to the subsidies Premier Hodgman continues to contribute to logging public native forests.

The Annual Report also makes it clear that the forest reserves Premier Hodgman seeks to undo to allow logging (FPPF land) are C.A.R. conservation reserves, protected as part of the Tasmanian Reserve Estate to ‘provide security for species that might otherwise be disadvantaged by production forestry’ (pg 49). The Annual Report further details how these reserves ‘have ecological ‘influence’ over the surrounding production forest’ (pg 49), meaning that if Premier Hodgman is successful in undoing those reserves, it will fundamentally change the way STT has to manage production forests.

“Premier Hodgman is seeking to spin this Annual Report to suit his own political agenda, when it clearly highlights the additional problems reversing conservation reserves will have for forest management in Tasmania.

“Putting aside the community and market conflict, hobbling of Forest Stewardship Certification and impact on Tasmania’s brand, reversing conservation reserves undermines Premier Hodgman’s own logging agency’s advice.”

Contrary to Minister Guy Barnett’s politically motivated spin that STT ‘has never been able to meet the 137,000 high quality sawlog target since the Labor Green forest agreement (TFA)’ [i], this year’s Annual Report is clear. It explicitly states ‘the most recent review, which was published in March 2014 based on the Tasmanian Forest Agreement, confirmed Forestry Tasmania’s ability to make available the volume legislated in the Forest Management Act 2013 of at least 137,000 cubic metres per year of high quality eucalypt sawlogs from the Permanent Timber Production Zone land for the next 90 years.’(pg 28).

“Minister Barnett and Premier Hodgman are grasping at straws and ignoring the raft of external influences affecting wood supply, including the weather, economics and market forces affecting the sawmills themselves.

“Logging conservation reserves will only exacerbate the challenges facing Tasmania’s environment and the logging industry’s credibility and access to markets.

“This Annual Report highlights the fact the no amount of spin will fix the fact that forest policy based on misinterpretation, ignorance and base political motivation is dangerous and counterproductive.

“Going into an election period, anyone would think this Government is still in opposition, choosing cheap political point scoring over a credible response to its own agency’s Annual Report and ongoing financial losses.
Vica Bayley, Tasmanian Campaign Manager, The Wilderness Society (Tasmania) Inc.