Timber industry wants country of origin labelling to weed out illegal logging

About a quarter of timber tested in Australia last year had incorrect species or origin labels. The industry wants new laws to prevent it happening and to support Australian producers.

A boy runs past a pile of sawn timber at a plywood factory in Hefei in central China's Anhui province. All imported timber sold in Australia would carry a label indicating where it was grown under a proposal. Picture: AFP

All imported timber sold in Australia would carry a label indicating where it was grown, under a proposal by the national forest ­industry aimed at boosting the local sector and cracking down on illegal imports.

The proposal is one of several put to both major parties ahead of the federal election by the timber industry’s peak body, which will roll out billboard and radio advertisements in marginal seats calling for industry-friendly policies.

Country of origin labelling regulations, similar to those promised by Labor for seafood sales, would make it easier for consumers to choose where their timber comes from, the Australian Forest Products Association says.

Under the proposal, the regulations would be backed by an ­enforcement regime that could use new technology to trace the provenance of timber.

AFPA chief executive Diana Hallam said buying Australian timber could give consumers satisfaction that the products they used were sustainably sourced.

“When consumers are presented with information and have a choice and prices are basically the same, they choose Australian because they want to support the jobs and industry behind it,” Ms Hallam said.

“They want to support the towns and community and employees who have contributed to that over generations.

“Country of origin labelling is a cost-effective measure that parties can support. Ensuring that consumers have visibility of the origin of products at their hardware stores is important and is good for the entire supply chain.”

A verification trial conducted by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry last year found about a quarter of timber tested had “inconsistent” species or origin claims.

The Albanese government last year introduced new legislation requiring importers and processors of regulated timber products to conduct “due diligence” to determine the provenance of their stock. Aimed at cracking down on illegal logging imports, the laws, which come into effect next month, also enable the department to use new timber testing technologies to verify species and origin claims.

“All of our forestry activities in Australia on public land are certified,” Ms Hallam said.

“If you’re harvesting here, you are adhering to the strongest environmental regulation. That is not evident on timber from everywhere else.”

Of particular concern is so-called “conflict timber” from war zones or from countries subject to sanctions, such as Russia.

Australian timber suppliers suspect timber harvested in Russia and Belarus is being sold in Australia under false country-of-origin labels to circumvent tariffs imposed after the invasion of Ukraine.

AFPA’s federal election platform also called for better integration of Australian timber products into solutions to meet the housing crisis, as well as the adoption of a new carbon credit method incentivising the use of timber in construction.

Ms Hallam said Australia was already a net importer of timber and urged the government to implement policies to encourage establishment of more plantations.