Forestry Tasmania sidelined in State Government’s new logging plan

THE State Government’s decision to outsource the logging of contentious forests to the private sector means the controversy will not affect Forestry Tasmania’s bid for FSC certification.

Resources Minister inister Guy Barnett speaking to reporters on the lawns of State Parliament late last month. Picture: KIM EISZELE

THE State Government’s decision to outsource the logging of contentious forests to the private sector means the controversy will not affect Forestry Tasmania’s bid for FSC certification, the Forest Stewardship Council says.

Forestry Tasmania is attempting to gain FSC certification to meet market expectations, but has been told by FSC auditors it needs to better protect threatened species and old-growth.

FSC Australia chief executive Adam Beaumont said FT’s audit process would not be affected by controversial plans to allow logging within 400,000ha of land previously earmarked for reserves, because FT would have no involvement in the contentious areas.

Under the Government’s plan only private companies will harvest within the 400,000ha, which was set aside as potential future reserves under the now-defunct Tasmanian Forest Agreement.

This allows FT to meet its legislated requirement to “make available” 137,000 cubic metres of sawlogs to the industry, but leaves it up to companies to decide whether to risk angering environmentalists by accessing the forests.

Resources Minister Guy Barnett said the private loggers would need third-party forest management certification and Mr Beaumont is calling for his organisation’s standard to be mandatory.

“If the Government is going to hand part of the land to a private operator I would like to see the Government mandate that the operation gets FSC certification to provide an assurance to the public that the land is well managed,” he said.

Mr Beaumont said such models were common in places such as Indonesia and West Papua where the land was state-owned but logging done by private companies.

Jenny Weber from the Bob Brown Foundation said regardless of who carried it out, the forests in question “just shouldn’t be logged”.

“The lengths the Government are going to so Forestry Tasmania can attempt FSC certification while independently verified forests are logged on public land by corporations will still alarm the public,” she said.

For more on the latest debate raging over Tasmania’s forestry industry, pick up a copy of the TasWeekend magazine in your Saturday Mercury.

Originally published as Forestry Tasmania sidelined in State Government’s new logging plan