In response to advertisements placed in last weekend’s Newspapers, 20th June 2006
TIMBER WORKERS FOR FORESTS Inc. welcomes the impending resignation of Forestry Tasmania’s Managing Director.
President of TWFF Inc.
Frank Strie today welcomed reports that Evan Rolley would be retiring from his position as Managing Director of Forestry Tasmania at the end of the year.
Mr. Strie said that the Government of Tasmania and the Board of Forestry Tasmania now had an opportunity to change the direction of the state-owned business enterprise from being a bulk supplier of predominantly high volume — low value products,(due to the legislated requirement to provide 300,000 m3 high quality logs), to the active management of the public forest land for high value forest production which returned the highest possible value to the people of Tasmania.
Calling for the appointment of a new Managing Director, Mr. Strie said that only a person drawn from a new gene pool of international foresters would provide for positive, responsible forest value management, welcomed and respected by the island’s community.
Whilst reports had indicated that the position would also be advertised outside Australia, in New Zealand and South Africa, this would most likely not result in the leadership that Tasmania’s multiple use forests deserve.
”As the timber and wood fibre industries in New Zealand and South Africa are based almost exclusively on cropping of artificial monoculture Eucalypt and Pine tree plantations, such limited advertisements will only result in enquiries from people whose education, training and market focus is locked into straight rows and short rotation commodities”, Mr Strie
said.
By contrast, in Tasmania public forestry operations are predominantly conducted in natural forests. There is also a need for restoration of degraded forests from mismanagement in the past.
”I would suggest that a refocus of forestry in Tasmania could bring about real success by integration of management for all forest values, in line with the community’s social, environmental and commercial expectations.
To find a person with a holistic understanding and such management skills it would seem appropriate to advertise the position via the Universities in Austria, Canada, Germany, Slovenia and Switzerland. ” said Mr Strie.
“Here is the one opportunity to turn the direction of the Tasmanian forest industry away from being a simplistic bulk supplier with long term bulk contracts.”
”Here is the one opportunity to turn away from large scale landscape and catchment conversion for even aged tree crops of young regrowth and monoculture plantations, and their associated problems, to an industry which encourages an holistic approach to a timber industry of which all Tasmanians can be proud.
Such an industry requires a leader who understands that we have to live within the natural limits of this small island” Mr Strie said.
Frank Strie
Timber Workers for Forests Inc.
www.twff.com.au
