Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers’ 19,000ha forestry estate to be converted to farmland amid seaport plan refusal

Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers will convert its 18,700ha estate to farmland and burn the plantations, after a planned $40m seaport was knocked back.

Kangaroo Island residents face as much smoke as they endured during the region’s catastrophic bushfires, a timber company says, because it will “push and burn” its plantations.

Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers (KIPT) will convert its land to agriculture, after major export plans for the wood fell in a heap.

It has told shareholders it will convert the 18,700ha plantation to a “productive agricultural estate”, beginning immediately.

It follows Planning Minister and Deputy Premier Vickie Chapman this week announcing she would not approve the company’s plans for a deepwater port, costing more than $40m, at Smith Bay on the island’s north coast.

KIPT workers Brian Stewart and David Oselton at Macgill dam, Kangaroo Island, where fire-damaged logs are being stockpiled. Picture: Amy Pysden

The business said it would continue to pursue salvage harvest opportunities if they gave shareholders “attractive” returns.

But managing director Keith Lamb said much of the company’s timber would be burned due to difficulties getting logs off the island.

The disastrous 2019-20 bushfires burned through the majority of the company’s plantations.

KIPT has been grappling with how to quickly transport timber from the island, to retain the value in its fire-damaged wood, exploring back up export plans at Kingscote, Penneshaw and American River wharves.

Of the company’s 4.5 million tonnes of timber, about 300,000 tonnes is structural grade – enough to build 10,000 houses and help address chronic supply problems.

“But the run rate at the moment means we can only got one truck a day on the ferry, when we need 10 trucks an hour to get it off the island,” Mr Lamb said.

“We’ve got zero support and a mountain of hurdles in front of us so the simplest option in front of us is to start pushing and burning.”

Burning would begin in spring, Mr Lamb said.

“We think the volume of smoke that will go up will be as much again as what came out of the fires in December and January last year,” he said.

The company said an independent valuation had estimated under the new agricultural plans, the land would be worth $51.4m, and the new strategy would require “significantly less capital”.

Kangaroo Island Mayor Michael Pengilly at Kingscote. Picture: Matt Loxton

The Smith Bay seaport sparked concern among many on the Kangaroo Island community, who were worried about its potential effects on the marine environment, traffic, tourism and the neighbouring Yumbah Aquaculture abalone farm.

Kangaroo Island Mayor Michael Pengilly said claims the company faced little option but to start burning were “nonsense”.

He doubted KIPT’s “push and burn” plan would happen because it had other options, such as turning timber into biochar.

His council will discuss lobbying the government to remove forestry from the region’s approved land uses.

Converting the land to grazing or cropping farms should boost employment and rebuild local communities, Mr Pengilly said.

SA-BEST agriculture spokesman Frank Pangallo said Ms Chapman must reveal what advice she followed to knock back the seaport plan after the State Planning Commission concluded the project was justified.

The commission's report concluded “the proposal can be supported subject to additional requirements” and conditions.

Ms Chapman this week said: “The assessment report was lineball, however, I have come to the conclusion that the possible long-term and irreparable damage the wharf could cause to the island is a risk I am not willing to take.”

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