GIPPSLAND REGIONAL FOREST AGREEMENT

CONSULTATION PAPER:

SUBMISSION BY THE NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA –VICTORIA

Introduction:

State forests are an important environmental resource.

As a society we have a responsibility to pass on to future generations a clean, green and sustainable environment.

The National Party strongly supports initiatives that will foster responsible and efficient management practices designed to improve the health and vitality and sustainability of our state forests.

While being an important natural resource, our state forests also play a vital social and economic role in the livelihood of many rural and regional communities throughout Victoria.

Thus, it can be said, there exists a strong interdependency between the sustainability of our state forests and the prosperity of rural and regional communities.

The National Party will not support any initiatives, legislative or otherwise, that will negatively impact upon this finely balanced interdependency between environment and community.

It is on this grounds that the National Party rejects the recommendations contained in the "Gippsland Regional Forest Agreement: Consultation Paper, January 2000" (GRFA).

The main recommendation is:

• to reduce the area of public land available for timber production, which would;
• reduce current resource availability by nine (9) percent, and ;
• increase the existing reserve system by 265, 000 hectares that is by 51%.

The National Party believes the assumptions inherent in the models guiding the recommendations in the Consultation Paper:

• underestimates the social and economic effects upon the individual;
• gives little consideration to the flow on effects that will be experienced both directly and indirectly by rural and regional communities.

We also have doubts on the accuracy of the actual amount of current resource availability and believe the method used to calculate reserve areas is too narrow.

The National Party strongly supports a managed multiple use approach of the state forests throughout the Gippsland region.

While many arguments have been put forward for limiting commercial access to Gippsland state forests’, the reasons for their rejection are outlined below.

Sustainable Environment

The National Party supports the setting aside of, and efficient management of high quality wilderness areas in an endeavour to protect threatened flora and fauna species.

During the past 25 years, the conservation reserve system throughout Gippsland has been expanded significantly so that it now covers 35 percent of all public land in the region.

The national reserve criteria for wilderness stipulates that 90 percent of high quality wilderness areas should be protected in reserves.

As stated, in the GRFA Consultation Paper, ‘ninety five percent of high quality wilderness is [already] protected in the existing reserve system across eastern Victoria … thereby satisfying the national reserve criteria for wilderness.’

The National Party believes there is sufficient reserves of high quality wilderness areas already set aside to meet existing legislative and environmental requirements for the Gippsland region.

Multiple Management Use

The National Party and its constituency has a proud record of supporting conservation initiatives.

Many country people are actively involved in a number of conservation programs that are designed to maintain and increase the health and vitality of the state’s environment

The National Party believes the key to a clean, green, sustainable environment rests with a "multiple management use" approach to the state forests throughout the Gippsland region.

Such users include foresters, 4 wheel drivers, deer hunters, prospectors as well as passive recreational users.

Under such a system, the management of areas of state forest in the Gippsland region will be in the hands of people who use and have knowledge of their local environmental conditions.

A multiple management approach will encourage people who visit the region’s forests to act as resource managers and to be actively involved in taking care of the environment.

Further, a "multiple management use" approach is preferred quite simply because the "State" has insufficient resources to effectively manage the vast forest areas covering the Gippsland region.

In short, the National Party will not support any proposal to reduce the current area of public land that is available for timber production and recreational use throughout the Gippsland region.

Timber Resource Availability

The National Party strongly believe that there needs to be increased certainty rather than uncertainty of resource availability and that this is vitally important for the survival of Victoria’s forest based industry.

Sustainable levels and increased certainty of wood supply from public forests act as a catalyst for continuing investment in and the diversification of the timber industry throughout the Gippsland region.

Therefore, future ‘development opportunities for the hardwood sawmilling industry in the Gippsland region will be determined in part by the level of saw log availability.’

The National Party strongly believes the modeling that has been used to determine the current level of sustainable yield rates requires urgent review.

It appears those areas that cannot be harvested under the code of forest practice have not been included in the calculation of reserves.

The National Party also believes private and crown land holdings in the Strzleckis which will never be harvested should be included in reserve calculations.

We also believe that "over reserved" areas in East Gippsland should be used to counter what may turn out to be "under reserved" areas in the Gippsland RFA. There is a sound argument therefore to consider Gippsland as a whole rather than discreet forest management areas.

Without the certainty of resource availability it is difficult to plan for the future development of an efficient, internationally competitive timber industry and attract investment into the region of Gippsland.

Thus, certainty of resource availability remains a critical socio-economic issue for individual people and communities who are dependent upon the timber industry for their livelihood.

Social and Economic Implications

The National Party strongly believes that any reduction in the current level of resource availability would lead to the reduction in the number of timber mills throughout the Gippsland region.

And changes in direct employment and the value of production of regional timber mills will no doubt have direct and indirect social and economic implications for the Gippsland region.

What is highly disturbing is the GRFA Consultation Paper’s glossing over of the important socio -economic implications raised in chapter 4 (Gippsland Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) Social Impact Analysis) of the Gippsland RFA Consultation Paper.

This chapter noted that, any change in mill employment is likely to have considerable economic implications in terms of reduced levels of income expenditure on household goods and services in many of the larger and small towns throughout the Gippsland region.

It is estimated that one third of mill employees live in many of small towns and any reduction in the level of income expenditure would further exacerbate the economic and social hardships already facing many of these small towns.

Also, it was noted, that there would be significant reductions in the level of mill expenditure on goods and services in towns throughout Gippsland which would have significant flow on effects to the region’s small businesses.

The National Party also has concerns relating to the difficulty in the process of re-skilling those people who will be directly and indirectly affected through any further reduction current level of resource availability.

Our concern is two fold.

Primarily, the mean average age of employees in the timber industry is 40 years and have an education level of year 10 or less.

Secondly, many employees have lived in their current town of residence for 20 years and have a strong level of attachment to their community.

While it is possible that those people who lose their current employment in the timber industry could seek further employment in the region, the opportunity of this occurring is significantly handicapped by the high level of unemployment that exists throughout the Gippsland region (See Gippsland RFA Consultation Paper, Chapter 4 p.8 for figures).

In short, the National Party believes that any reduction in the current level of resource availability will lead to considerable social and economic dislocation throughout the Gippsland region.

Further Research

The National Party believes that current research which has been conducted grossly under estimates the worth of the forest and the forest industry to the Gippsland region.

Thus, we strongly recommend that further social and economic research be conducted before the full effects of reducing the area of public land available for timber production can be clearly understood.

The National Party firmly believes there needs to be more research conducted so we can gain a more accurate understanding of the true current level of resource availability.

Also, the VicRFASC 1999 Report concluded that ‘further specific analysis could be undertaken to examine the implications of alternative scenarios.’

Such research can only assist us in our endeavours to assist the timber industry to reach its full sustainable potential, whilst still assuring adequate and appropriate environmental concerns are met.

Conclusion

The Gippsland Regional Forest Agreement Consultation Paper continually highlights the potential that exists for the growth and development of the timber industry throughout the Gippsland region.

The Consultation Paper, however, also indicates that this growth and development is strongly dependent upon increased resource certainty.

As such, the National Party can not support the main recommendation contained in the Gippsland Regional Forest Agreement: Consultation Paper, January 2000, which will:

• reduce the area of public land available for timber production;
• reduce current resource availability by nine (9) percent, and ;
• increase the existing reserve system by 265, 000 hectares that is by 51%.

We urge a total reconsideration of how the extent of reserves in the Gippsland forest management areas has been calculated.

We suggest consideration be given to:-

• treating the Gippsland and East Gippsland areas as a whole
• including those areas that can not be harvested under the Code of Forest Practice
• inclusion of non-harvestable private and crown land holdings in the Strzlecki Ranges.

The Gippsland community is very much reliant on a strong and sustainable timber industry and the National Party can not support an agreement that will lead to significant job losses and economic loss to the Gippsland region.

Prepared and written by

PETER HALL M.L.C
MEMBER FOR GIPPSLAND PROVINCE

For and on behalf of the National Party of Australia -Victoria

Footnotes
¹Gippsland Regional Forest Agreement: Consultation Paper, January 2000, p.vi.
² Consultation Paper, p.11.
³ Consultation Paper, p.31.
⁴ Consultation Paper, p.vi, p.31.
⁵ Consultation Paper, p.40.
⁶ Gippsland Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) Social Impact Analysis, Chapter 4, p.9.
⁷ Gippsland Regional Forest Agreement: Consultation Paper, January 2000, p.vi.
⁸ Consultation Paper, p.11.