Phil Fitch Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Forests Taskforce     "Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen and Fellow panelist's . It gives me great pleasure to outline the Commonwealth Government's approach to forests with emphasis on the Regional Forest Agreement process. Speech outline Firstly, I would like to provide you with some brief background information on the Regional Forest Agreements, which will be followed by an update of their progress. I will then discuss the importance of durability and robustness for the Agreements and how this may be achieved. Finally, I will outline the steps the Commonwealth is taking to ensure that all RFAs are completed by the end of this year. Introduction During the 1980s, there had been considerable debate, both within Australian and internationally, about global and domestic environmental issues, including the use and management of forests. The global focus culminated in the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development in Rio de Janiero in June 1992, at which Australia endorsed the Global Statement of Principles on Forests and signed a number of conventions relating to Biological Diversity and Climate Change. Domestically, this led to the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments developing a strategy to help achieve the full range of benefits that forests can provide now and in the future which is enunciated in the National Forest Policy Statement (NFPS), agreed by the Commonwealth and states in December1992. The strategy and its policy initiatives laid the foundation for the ecologically sustainable management of our forests in Australia for the rest of the decade and into the next century. Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs) are the principal mechanism for implementing the NFPS. A key focus of the NFPS is to achieve balanced outcomes between government, industry, environmental and community interests in the forests. Another key aim of the RFA process is to ensure that its outcomes are stable over the long term. The 20-year term of RFAs represents a significant attempt by all governments to break way from short-term policy making. Governments recognise the need to secure the sustainable management of Australia's forest estate over a much longer planning and investment horizon. The importance of this policy commitment and maintaining bipartisan support for the process should not be underestimated. In fact, the pioneering nature and scale, of the RFA process, with its associated Comprehensive Regional Assessments and ongoing community participation, is not yet widely recognised in Australia. Ironically, international bodies, including the OECD, the World Wildlife Fund and the World Bank, have recently taken an interest in the RFA approach as a useful model for integrated resource assessment and planning. As you may know, the Commonwealth and the relevant states have agreed to complete 12 RFAs for high priority regions of Australia by the end of1999. This is essential because from 1 January 2000, no exports of native forest woodchips will be allowed from areas not covered by an RFA. While the process to date has not been easy, I can say that we have learnt an enormous amount about how governments can work together better on complex resource issues. And RFAs are complex because they aim to balance economic, social and environmental considerations, they require credible science and they encourage community and stake holder involvement. The benefits of these lessons will flow on to the remaining RFAs - a point I will return to later. Since the RFA process began in 1996, the Commonwealth has invested around $100million in associated assessment work, and has also allocated some $100million to the Forest Industry Structural Adjustment Programme. In addition, the Commonwealth invested $110million in Tasmania, in order to get a durable outcome. This decision recognised the special circumstances and the importance of the forest industry in that state. State governments have also contributed significant resources, technical experience and information in RFA work. Clearly, all governments are putting considerable time, resources and effort - right up to Prime Minister and Premier level -to get this process and its outcomes right. RFA update To date, four RFAs have been finalised: for Tasmania, for the south western region of WA; and for the East Gippsland and Central Highlands regions of Victoria. These RFAs have met their policy objectives in providing balanced outcomes. In summary, they have: provided certainty for long-term wood supply established Comprehensive Adequate and Representative (CAR) reserve systems; developed ecologically sustainable forest management and use; facilitated a more secure investment climate in which an internationally competitive wood production and wood products industry can prosper; and provided certainty for local communities. RFAs for the remaining eight regions are at various stages of completion. The Eden (NSW) agreement is in the final stages of negotiation and a further two (those covering the North East Victorian RFA region and the south-east Queensland region) are expected to be completed within the next month or two. The remaining areas in NSW and Victoria will be finalised by the end of the year. Completed RFAs I'd like to return briefly to the completed Agreements. The Tasmania RFA broke new public policy ground by containing legally binding commitments on both parties, and by providing for payment of compensation for any Commonwealth action which breaches the RFA. These features will be incorporated in all subsequent RFAs, and also applied to pre-existing Agreements. The RFA for Tasmania is now supported by legislation passed in the Tasmanian State Parliament. Tasmania has met its first set of milestones and a Statement of Sustainable Forest Management was recently agreed between the Commonwealth and Tasmania. Similarly, in Victoria key milestones have been met and a statewide assessment of industry development prospects has been undertaken. Industry in Tasmania and Victoria are investing in plantations, value-adding production, domestic and overseas market promotion and the development of niche markets. In Victoria, an estimated $360m has been invested as a result of the RFAs. In Tasmania, over 200 jobs have been created in the establishment of both the public and private plantations since the RFA was signed some 19 months ago. I am pleased to report that industry bodies and individual firms continue to highlight the positive effect the RFAs have had on business optimism and about securing durable investment decisions. Robustness and durability of the RFAs It is important to ensure the durability and robustness for these long-term agreements. I see some of the key factors as being: full implementation of RFAs by the states, Commonwealth and state RFA legislation, achieving 'win-win' outcomes and promoting the scientific rigour and comprehensiveness of the Agreements. Once RFAs are signed, State governments, which have prime responsibility for forest management, will need to ensure they are fully implemented. These Agreements provide an opportunity for State forest managers to enhance their public image, bearing in mind the strong community interest in forest use and protection. To further improve the security of RFAs, the Commonwealth is seeking to pass legislation to underpin its commitment to these agreements. TheRFA Bill has been subject to Senate Committee scrutiny and at the moment is awaiting debate in the Senate. The durability of RFAs has been enhanced by 'win-win' outcomes and the balanced approach they have established. For example, under the Tasmanian RFA, significant areas of production forest identified by rigorous scientific assessments to contain important conservation values, were placed into the CAR reserve system. Supply of wood to industry has been maintained at previous levels through expanded plantation development and adjusting the cutting cycle of the existing forests, while plantations mature to a harvestable age. The status and durability of the RFAs is reinforced by the scientific rigour and comprehensiveness of the assessments that underlie them. This is another strength that cannot be underestimated. Comprehensive Regional Assessments have provided a sound scientific basis for the negotiation of RFAs. This strengthens the Agreements against future challenges by providing credibility and ensuring that there is scientific justification for particular decisions. Assessing all forest values and taking them into account in the decision making process ensures that there are no weak links that can be challenged at a later date. The benefits of the CRAs extend well beyond the RFA process. For example, they are: already providing an unprecedented level of high quality information for forest management; contributing to better understanding changing environmental and social values of forests; and providing state governments with Commonwealth-accredited assessment processes for their forest management. As I said before, the CRA process has attracted international attention from such organisations as the OECD, the World Wildlife Fund and the World Bank, as a credible scientifically based mechanism for resolving land use issues. This recognition has promoted Australia's environmental and forest management credentials overseas. Both the World Bank and neighbouring countries have inquired about applying the technology and expertise overseas. The OECD has commissioned an evaluation of the social assessment side of the CRA process and I understand that its interim report suggests that the social assessment methodology may be usefully employed in other OECD countries. Such international recognition of Australian forest practices will help achieve the important goal of international certification and labelling for our forest products. Completing remaining RFAs Notwithstanding all of these fine achievements, which have taken us three years to reach this point, how can eight RFAs be completed by the end of this year? Completion of the RFA programme has taken considerably longer than originally envisaged. This is due to the very steep learning curve associated with the process, the scope and complexity of which is truly groundbreaking, even on an international scale. Substantial policy challenges have had to be overcome, large quantities of new data collected and analysed, new analytical tools developed and the consistency and integrity of each element maintained. The important point is that the groundbreaking work has been done, and the way ahead for remaining RFAs is now more straightforward. The recent finalisation of the WA RFA is enabling us to focus our resources on the remaining states. Substantial challenges do remain, not the least of which is completing the remaining nine RFAs by the end of 1999, particularly when difficult choices must be made between environmental, economic and social objectives. We in the Commonwealth are drawing lessons from experience to work better, faster and smarter. These lessons for improving our progress include: placing more emphasis on understanding key stakeholder issues; recognising the imperatives from the States' perspective's and ensuring that negotiations are approached in a flexible and collaborative manner; maintaining a clear focus on priorities in both the assessment and negotiation phases; making greater use of interdepartmental teams to ensure that a Commonwealth whole of government position is developed as quickly and effectively as possible; and maintaining a strong emphasis on outcomes and on driving time lines toward completing RFAs by the end of the year. The priority the Commonwealth Government gives to completion of the RFA process is apparent in the Prime Minister's decision to appoint Mr Tuckey as Minister for Forestry and Conservation. It is also reflected in the establishment of the Ministerial Group comprising Mr Tuckey and the Ministers for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and for Environment and Heritage that provides oversight and strategic and policy direction. Decision-making is being streamlined, and Commonwealth ministers are actively engaged in the RFA process and are determined to overcome obstacles. The Forest Taskforce in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet is continuing to lead and coordinate comprehensive regional assessments and negotiation of RFAs. We are putting more senior resources in place – this is particularly important as we approach the negotiation phase for several RFAs. The Commonwealth is doing everything it can to improve the process for completing the remaining RFAs. At the same time, we are maintaining the quality of these agreements, in particular their scientific credibility and emphasis on balanced outcomes. However, the Commonwealth is only one partner in this process. As an industry you appreciate the need for firm State government commitment to completing the RFAs on time and thereby achieving a secure outcome for industry. From our perspective, we are closely focussed on achieving the Commonwealth's fundamental objectives for forests. The RFAs are a means to an end, and that end is long-term certainty for industry, for protecting environmental values, and for ensuring that rural and regional communities have a viable future. The Commonwealth is committed to these goals and we are doing everything possible to achieve them."