FWPA: Promoting the Good in Using Wood

5 September 2007
The National Association of Forest Industries welcomes the commencement today of Operations have started for Forest and Wood Products Australia Limited (FWPA), the new generic promotions body for the forest industry.
Funded by a levy from the wide variety of companies that make up the forest industry, FWPA is the industry-owned successor of the Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Corporation (FWPRDC).
Welcoming the new body, the acting CEO of the National Association of Forest Industries (NAFI) Allan Hansard said the prominence of climate change in the minds of Australian consumers provides a key opportunity for the forest industry to sell its products as naturally greenhouse friendly.
“FWPA will play a pivotal role in communicating the benefits of using wood products in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Hansard said.
Australian Plantation Products and Paper Industry Council CEO Neil Fisher confirmed the Australian Government would continue to provide dollar for dollar matching of levies paid by the industry for R&D activities.
“Under the new structure, levy-paying members including forest growers will have a greater influence over the company’s activities.”
Mr Fisher congratulated Ron Adams, chairman, Dr Glen Kile, CEO, and the other existing board members for accepting the industry’s invitation to establish the new company.

Green Light for Wesley Vale Pulp Mill

The Tasmanian Parliament has approved the construction of a pulp mill in northern Tasmania.
On August 30, both houses of the state parliament accepted the permits and conditions for the $1.7 billion project, leaving only the Australian Government to make its decision about the mill.
“Personally, I am delighted that 30 of the 40 members of the Tasmanian Parliament demonstrated a capacity to sort through fact from fiction and vote in support of the mill,” Forestry Tasmania managing director Bob Gordon said.;
“I know many Forestry Tasmania staff, who had been expecting the parliamentary vote to decide the issue, now feel a little deflated having learned it will be six more weeks before the Australian Government makes the final decision on the future of the mill.”
It has been a long hard road since the $1 billion Wesley Vale pulp mill project was scuttled by politics almost 20 years ago. “For the past two decades, we have watched around three million tonnes of woodchips that should be processed here exported to Japan each year,” Gordon said.
“Provided the final decision is based on science and not politics, I am confident the mill will be approved. Over the past few months, our planners at FT have been reviewing sustainable yield from state forests.
“Forestry Tasmania models and monitors sustainable yield to ensure that harvesting of wood products is consistent with the long-term productive capacity of the state forests.”

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