Forestry Tasmania Releases Annual Report 2020-21

Media release – Sustainable Timber Tasmania, 28 October 2020

Sustainable Timber Tasmania’s Annual Report for 2020/2021 was presented to Tasmania’s Parliament today.

Sustainable Timber Tasmania’s Chief Executive Officer, Steve Whiteley, said the strong contribution from more than 1,000 employees and contractors enabled Sustainable Timber Tasmania to continue operating at a profit and to support businesses, jobs and communities across Tasmania in 2020/2021.

“In 2020/2021, the business has reported a total consolidated comprehensive income of $3.9 million, our fourth successive profit result.

“This year, Sustainable Timber Tasmania paid $115 million to 673 Tasmanian businesses, supporting local communities, including $53 million to harvest and haulage contractors. Importantly, helping to keep regional Tasmanian’s employed during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Sustainable Timber Tasmania’s value to the Tasmanian community extends beyond operating at a profit.

“We sowed nearly 90 million seeds to regrow forests for future generations and maintained almost 3,000km of roads to provide access to Permanent Timber Production Zone land for multiple uses including tourism businesses, bushwalking, mountain biking, hunting and fishing.

“Sustainable Timber Tasmania remains committed to protecting communities from the impacts of bushfires and in 2020/2021 contributed over 1,200 hours of firefighting activities while attending 24 bushfires.

“There was also significant effort to drive continual improvements such as progressing our forest monitoring utilising digital forest research, revising seed zoning systems to better manage future forest health and resilience, investigating a natural capital accounting framework and undertaking a range of habitat retention trials.

“On behalf of Sustainable Timber Tasmania, I sincerely thank our employees, contractors, the Board of directors, stakeholders, and the wider Tasmanian community for their ongoing support and engagement.”

Sustainable Timber Tasmania’s 2020/2021 highlights included:

Forest Products

• Produced nearly 1.6 million tonnes of wood, including over 115,000 cubic metres of high-quality eucalypt sawlogs and 8,825 cubic metres of special species timbers.

• Made over $100 million of forest products sales.

• Paid $115 million to 673 Tasmanian businesses including $53 million to Tasmanian harvest and haulage contractors.

Regrowing

• Prepared more than 5,000 hectares for regrowing with nearly 90 million seeds sown on harvested areas to regrow future forests.

Fire Management

• Attended 24 bushfires with over 1,200 hours of firefighting activities and 60,674 standby hours.

• Provided 537 person days of assistance to 28 fuel reduction burns completed by other agencies and completed 8 fuel reduction burns on PTPZ land.

Multiple Use

• Maintained almost 3,000km of its 10,000km road network to provide access to PTPZ land and constructed more than 40km of new roads for multiple uses.

Safety

• Strong safety performance for employees and significant improvements in contractor safety performance from continued implementation of SafetyCircle, a safety culture program.

Certification

• Maintained Responsible Wood forest management certification, safety and environmental systems certification and continued work towards FSC certification.

Research and Innovation

• Actively participated in over 25 research projects to support sustainable forest management in a diverse range of areas including forest genetics, climate change, biodiversity, fire management, natural capital accounting and the Internet of Things.

Read the STT Annual Report 2020-21.

Media release – Guy Barnett, Minister for Resources, 28 October 2021

Sustainably managing Tasmania’s forests for the future

The Tasmanian Government fully backs our $1.2 billion sustainable forest industry and the thousands of jobs it supports, many in regional communities.

Despite the on-going challenges of COVID-19 the Sustainable Timber Tasmania annual report for 2020/21 confirms the fourth profit in four years.

In 2020-21, STT achieved a net profit and total comprehensive income of $3.9 million with positive cash flows and an underlying net profit of $1.7 million.

STT produced nearly 1.6 million tonnes of wood over the same period including over 115,000 cubic metres of high quality eucalypt sawlogs and over 8,800 cubic metres of special species timber.

STT paid $115 million to 673 Tasmanian businesses across the sector, including $53 million to Tasmanian harvest and haulage contractors, and prepared more than 5,000 hectares for re-growing and sowed 90 million seeds on harvested areas to regrow future forests.

As part of its broader activities, STT continues to work hard to protect communities from the impacts of bushfires with the report confirming STT staff attended 24 bushfires and contributed 1,200 hours of firefighting activities.

We will continue to work hard to ensure our forestry sector remains as strong as possible as it employs thousands of Tasmanians, with STT paying more than $115 million directly into the state’s economy with 98 per cent of its purchases made to Tasmanian businesses.

Tasmania’s forestry industry is world-class and sustainable and the Tasmanian Government will continue doing all we can to drive investment and create jobs for Tasmanians in this vital industry.

Media release – Shane Broad MP, Shadow Resources Minister, 28 October 2021

Barnett’s mismanagement exposed as STT misses its legislated target

The reason behind Minister Guy Barnett’s silence and evasion on critical timber supply questions has become crystal clear today with the release of Sustainable Timber Tasmania’s annual report.

Shadow Resources Minister Shane Broad said the report reveals that under Mr Barnett’s watch STT produced only 115,000 cubic metres of high-quality eucalypt saw logs, missing its legislated target by 22,000 cubic metres.

“For months now Labor has been asking important questions of this Minister in relation to Sustainable Timber Tasmania and Mr Barnett has made an art form out of evasion, avoidance and out-and-out refusal to answer,” Dr Broad said.

“The Liberals and Guy Barnett have continually avoided discussing industry concerns about STT’s ability to deliver the legislated volume of 137,000 cubic metres of saw logs every year until 2027 and now we know why – they always knew they were going to fall short of their guaranteed supply.

“Mr Barnett should not be hiding critical details in the small print in the annual report.

“The sustainable forest industry is worth $1.2 billion to the state’s economy and it employs thousands of Tasmanians but under this Minister both the economy and the industry and the jobs it supports are being badly let down.

“Mr Barnett owes Tasmanians an explanation as to why on his watch – yet again – important areas of government are falling to pieces.”

Cassy O’Connor MP | Greens Leader and Forests spokesperson, 28 October 2021

Forestry Tasmania Revenue Crashing

Forestry Tasmania is logging native forests at a massive loss, according to the GBE’s annual report released today.

Despite the Liberals promise to end the handouts to Forestry Tasmania and put it on a ‘sustainable footing’, the GBE is hemorrhaging money.

Forestry Tasmania’s annual report shows that revenue from the sale of forests products has declined by 30% on the previous year, reaching its lowest point since the Liberals were elected in 2014.

This is despite total wood production volumes remaining virtually identical.

In 2016, the Forestry Tasmania Board wrote to the Premier and Minister Barnett about the sustainability (or lack thereof) of the GBE.

In this letter, it was noted uncommercial contracts were a significant issue. The letter also recommended that in five years’ time, contract renegotiation should increase pricing.

It is now five years later, and FT is going backwards.

The Minister needs to tell Tasmanians whether or not the Government has negotiated contract on commercial terms, or has again embedded public subsidies in its contracts with industry who get access to native forest timber for far less than it costs Forestry Tasmania to grow, manage and harvest.

Media release – Bob Brown Foundation, 29 October 2021

Tasmania’s native forest woodchipping increases while Forestry Tasmania fudges the numbers on yet another loss.

Bob Brown Foundation has renewed calls for an end to native forest logging and abolition of Forestry Tasmania.

“Forestry Tasmania’s latest annual report has shown an alarming increase in native forest woodchipping, shocking ongoing rainforest logging and continuing greenhouse gas emissions from incinerating thousands of hectares and unsurprisingly another fudging of the figures to hide a taxpayer loss. Native forest logging needs to cease, the agency needs to abolished and their people moved into a department that protects native forests for carbon storage, restoration and ceases being a drain on the taxpayer,” said Bob Brown Foundation Campaign Manager Jenny Weber

“Logging Minister Guy Barnett must be honest with the people of Tasmania in relation to the real financial state of Forestry Tasmania after our analysis shows that the Government Business Enterprise’ reported $3.9m profit turns out to be a $17m loss. The volume of native forests woodchips rose 20%, while total sales of native forest product fell by $51million,” Bob Brown Foundation takayna/Tarkine campaigner Scott Jordan.

“Only Minister Barnett could funnel $14.5million in, get $3.9million back and call it a profit. This is a loss any day of the week and Tasmania’s hospitals, schools, and services are the worse for it”, said Scott Jordan.

“Native forest logging in Tasmania, including logging of rainforests and carbon rich tall eucalypt forests, only exists because the Tasmanian Government is underwriting massive ongoing losses through grants to its own business. Accumulated losses on Forestry Tasmania’s books sit at $207million, with unfunded superannuation liabilities running at $35million”, Scott Jordan said.

“At a time of climate crisis when we need to be drawing down emissions in this critical decade, again the Tasmanian Government logging agency has executed almost 5000ha of post logging incineration burns sending greenhouse gas emissions directly into the atmosphere. Forestry Tasmania has 711,000 hectares of forest that need to be immediately placed in secure conservation reserves for their carbon stores and wildlife benefits”, Jenny Weber said.

“Native forest logging is a dying and damaging industry. Sales are down, volumes of sawlog and peeler logs are down, and community support has gone. It is long past time to reinvest taxpayer funds out of native forest logging grants and into jobs-rich forest restoration, and real protection of our ancient carbon stores” said Bob Brown Foundation takayna/Tarkine campaigner Scott Jordan.

Despite the government voting down moves by the Greens to remove the flawed minimum sawlog quota on Wednesday, Forestry Tasmania’s Annual Report proves again that they failed to meet legislated minimum sawlog quota in 2020/2021 (by 15%), due to a lack of demand for controversial native forest product.