22 May 2008
A new report card shows Australia’s forest plantations now produce two-thirds of the nation’s log supply and forests and plantations offset around 9% of greenhouse emissions.
The Minister for Forestry Tony Burke released the five-yearly Australia’s State of the Forests Report 2008 at a timber mill at Bairnsdale, East Gippsland, Vic, yesterday.
The report is a comprehensive snapshot of Australia’s forests, from the tall forests and plantations of Gippsland to the open forests and woodlands of northern and interior Australia.
Key findings include:
• Australia’s plantation estate grew by 12% in the last five years and now produces two-thirds of the nation’s log supply.
• Forestry and forest products industries are now worth $19 billion annually (a real increase of 10%) and support more than 120,000 direct jobs.
• Other forest-related industries underpin rural and regional economies, including honey
production, ecotourism and handicrafts.
• Since 2003, the area of Australia’s native forest in formal conservation reserves grew by almost 1.5 million ha to 23 million ha, with additional areas set aside through informal reserves.
Burke said regions such as Gippsland would be critical to a vibrant future for Australia’s forestry industry.
“Victoria’s forestry industry generates around $3 billion annually, or around 37 percent of our national timber industry, and accounts for almost 30 percent of our total wood exports,” he said.
“The greater Gippsland region is critical, harvesting more than 1 million M3 of sawlogs,
pulpwood and other logs each year and supporting more than 3000 jobs for the region.
“At the same time, we still have a $2 billion trade deficit in the trade of timber and forest products.”
Cypress Sawmill Awarded CoC Certification
The Inglewood cypress sawmill operated by Bretts Pty Ltd in the south western corner of Queensland’s Darling Downs has been awarded chain-of-custody certification for its wood and forest products.
The CoC was approved by the Australasian Plywood Quality Committee (APQC) and products certified under AS4707-2006 include rough sawn lumber, tongue and groove flooring, decking, chamfers, structural timber, palings, pickets and screening, woodchips, bark, and sawdust products.
The Inglewood mill is now permitted to apply the EWPAA chain-of-custody mark on its range of cypress products.
Chain of custody is a process of tracking the material originating from certified forests through all phases of manufacturing from defined forest areas to the final consumer. The CoC certification undertaken by Bretts at its Inglewood mill complies with all the requirements of AS 4707-2006: CoC for Certified Wood and Forest Products under the AFS certification scheme.
The Inglewood sawmill has a license to cut up to 11,000 M3 of cypress log a year, sourced from Crown forests within a 50 km radius.
Experienced Treatment Plant Engineer Joins TimTech
Experienced ‘hands-on’ treatment plant engineer Robin Wilson has joined the TimTech Chemicals team in New Zealand, based at Christchurch. He replaces Les Cook who left the company a few months ago.
An engineer for 39 years – including a period working in sawmilling equipment manufacture in Canada – Wilson has guided successful treatment installations in New Zealand, Australia and in the Pacific islands. He was responsible for the quick design and installation of the automated CCA plant at McAlpines, Rangiora, and major upgrades at McVicar’s plants.
Wilson worked with Fletchers and for many years with Koppers-Hickson and Scotts Engineering.
A qualified ice hockey referee, Wilson was a member of the team that won a bonze medal in Perth in 1987, the first-ever tournament attended by a full New Zealand team.
If you would like to submit a news item to be considered for inclusion on Inwood Today, please email the text to: Australia, Jim Bowden, and all other countries to info@inwoodmag.com
All news on this site is compiled by Inwood Today and may be subject to international copyright.
News Archives
