Thursday, 2 May 2019

Timber industry

Mr O’DONOHUE (Eastern Victoria) (12:25): My question is again to the Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Resources and Minister for Regional Development. Minister, I refer you to your media release of 24 April, and I quote again from that media release:

… a new allocation and the development of new timber plantation sites in Gippsland.

You stated:

This allocation order, which reduces the overall area available for timber harvesting by 5000 hectares, will not affect VicForests’ ability to meet contracts over the upcoming year.

I ask: can you advise what consultation was undertaken with relevant industry and interested stakeholders in relation to the reduction of the 5000 hectares, and will you rule out further reductions being made to the overall area available for timber harvesting in Victoria?

The PRESIDENT: Minister, you can pick one of those questions if you like.

Ms SYMES (Northern Victoria—Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Resources) (12:25): Thank you, President, and thank you, Mr O’Donohue, for your further question in relation to the government’s allocation order announcement last week, which I can say has certainly been welcomed by industry. It is providing short-term certainty for the—

Mr O’Donohue: Exactly, short term—12 months.

Ms SYMES: Which is what the timber industry needs to meet their contracts. You asked about available resources and whether there will be further reductions. If there is a fire, if there is a flood, if there are identified protected species, then under the timber release plan those coupes will not be harvested, obviously. An allocation order is a map of where TRP coupes can be identified. It is not a hard and fast rule for identifying exactly where you can go in. Things change, and of course they should. We have to respond to climate change, the environment and all these measures to ensure that we get the balance right to ensure that our contracts can be met by VicForests. This allocation order provides that, but of course there could be changes to the TRP and places that you can go and access native timber, because we are in a changing environment. I would think you would want changes to areas of logging if need be.

Mr O’DONOHUE (Eastern Victoria) (12:27): Thank you, Minister, for that answer and for your candour that the amount of allocation is subject to a range of variables, which could see it reduce significantly further into the future. My supplementary question is: how are businesses involved in the timber industry supposed to make long-term investment decisions when you cannot guarantee future supply?

Ms SYMES (Northern Victoria—Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Resources) (12:27): Thank you for your supplementary question. It was an important announcement last week. An allocation order allows VicForests to release their timber release plan, which means that the existing contracts can be met.