Kangaroo Island forestry industry faces battle to export timber after $40m seaport was rejected by minister

Up to 12 trucks an hour may have to drive through Kangaroo Island’s main town 24 hours a day, a timber company warns, after a $40m seaport was rejected.

Kangaroo Island’s forestry sector faces an uphill battle to remove fire-damaged timber from the region following the refusal of plans for a $40m seaport.

The sector says it’s a missed opportunity to address a chronic timber shortage in SA, and could lead to huge numbers of trucks travelling through more populated parts of the region.

However, those campaigning against the development say Vickie Chapman’s refusal of the plan is “a victory for what makes Kangaroo Island special”.

The seaport, featuring a 650m jetty, raised worries about effects on marine animals, traffic and tourism businesses.

Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers had hoped to use the Smith Bay seaport, costing more than $40m, to export an estimated 4.5 million tonnes of timber.

The spot at Smith Bay, which the port was planned to be built. Picture: Simon Cross

Most of the company’s plantations were burned during the region’s catastrophic fires, which ripped through the island from December 2019-January 2020. The company is in a race against time to harvest it before its condition further deteriorates.

SA Forest Products Association chief executive Nathan Paine said the decision would make it much harder to supply the booming housing construction industry.

“As a long-term industry, we need confidence about … how we can get our timber out of the areas that it’s growing,” he said.

“Without a port, it creates a challenge to continue to have long-term commercial forestry on Kangaroo Island.”

Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers’ board meet Tuesday to decide on its next move, with an announcement expected on Wednesday.

None of the options on the table could shift quantities of wood as large as the seaport.

Among them is removing it via Kingscote, which the company said would require 10-12 trucks an hour to pass through the town, 24 hours a day.

“There are 1791 residents in Kingscote and it’s the main commercial hub for the island, where there are three or four in Smith Bay,” Mr Lamb said.

“Why is it better for 1791 residents to be affected at Kingscote?”

The company has also begun removing some logs via the SeaLink ferry from Penneshaw, but that pathway has been hampered by fewer ferries running during winter.

It may ship some timber via a KIC Freight vessel from American River – another proposal facing tough opposition from locals.

Artist impression of Kangaroo Island Plantation Timber’s plans for the Smith Bay seaport.

The company has previously said it would need to burn wood every day in winter for 10 years if it can’t find a viable way to harvest and remove the fire-damaged trees.

The government has said it is exploring all options to boost timber supply and meet the current house-building demand.

Neighbouring abalone farm Yumbah Aquaculture was among the development’s most vocal opponents.

“This is a victory for what makes Kangaroo Island special – a unique biosecure island whose environment is internationally acclaimed,” director Anthony Hall said.

“For more than five years, Yumbah’s growth and investment plans on Kangaroo Island have been put on hold because of the threat of a Smith Bay seaport.”

Kangaroo Island Mayor Michael Pengilly, whose council had opposed the Smith Bay plan, said forestry had been an unsuccessful industry in the region over seven decades due to problems exporting such a heavy product.

Controversial $40m Kangaroo Island seaport rejected

The contentious plan to build the $40m seaport on Kangaroo Island’s north coast was refused by Planning Minister Vickie Chapman on Monday evening.

The Smith Bay plan was proposed to export timber from the island, solving a decades-long question over how to transfer the wood to the mainland and markets overseas.

It sparked controversy on the island amid worries about its impact on neighbouring abalone business Yumbah Aquaculture, marine animals including southern right whales and dolphins, and local tourism.

Ms Chapman said she had decided the potential “long-term and irreparable damage” the wharf could bring the island was a risk she was “not willing to take”.

Refusing the application, she cited the potential effects on surrounding businesses, the marine environment, and biosecurity risks.

“There were also concerns with the impacts on the road network and how increased truck numbers on the island would affect the character of the popular tourist destination and home for many,” she said.

KI Timber boss Keith Lamb. Picture: Sarah Reed

The port, which the company said would have created a large jobs boost for the region, was declared a project of major environmental, social and economic importance in February 2017.

KIPT overhauled its designs in 2019, including extending its proposed jetty another 250m offshore – a total of about 650m – so it could do away with dredging in a bid to win support.

Most recently, the company has been working on ways to export wood damaged in the region’s devastating bushfires, before it loses more of its value.

It’s begun shipping timber from Penneshaw and Kingscote and is also exploring removing it via a vessel from American River – another project sparking controversy due to worries about effects on the quiet town and marine environment.

However, the company said the deepwater port was still vital to export much larger volumes of timber.

The timber industry argued the development would also have helped address a chronic shortage of timber in Australia, including for processors in the Mid North.

Ms Chapman said the government was exploring “all possible options” to increase timber supply.

KIPT managing director Keith Lamb said the company’s board would discuss the decision on Tuesday.

“While it’s in a trading halt, the board will be meeting and it will be making its announcements to the market in due course,” he said.

Yumbah Aquaculture had claimed the project would have risked the viability of its abalone farm next door, due to concerns about water quality.

KIPT shares fell more than 7 per cent on Monday to $1.05 before being placed in a trading halt ahead of the expected release of the state government’s decision.

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