I have spoken many times in this place, as senators would be aware, about the significant contribution that is made by our sustainable forestry industry, given the important role that it has played in my home state of Victoria and obviously across the country in other states, and the importance of being able to achieve emissions reduction targets.
I think that’s something that always gets forgotten in the debate or discourse around these issues when they do come up from time to time in this place: that forestry, forest management, the timber industry, can actually play a positive role in helping governments across the world to reduce our emissions.
We know that trees absorb carbon. Using timber products stores that carbon. Then other trees are planted to replace the timber that was used for those products. So, by definition, as to what is being discussed here, they are very much sustainable, from when the trees are planted all the way to us using those products for whatever they might be used for.
It is great to see the positive role that forestry plays in climate action being recognised and encouraged on the world stage, as new research does urge nations around the world—and this has been discussed many times at COP, as other world leaders around the world recognise the importance of the industry and that sustainable forestry plays a very positive role and thereby also addresses an emerging global timber and wood supply gap as the world pivots to climate-friendly fibre supplies.
It is no wonder that demand for timber products is increasing, and, if we do not support a sustainable industry in forestry, this demand will be met either by unsustainably sourced timber or by other products that do not have the same climate benefits and may even contribute to higher emissions.
That is something, sadly, that does not get acknowledged by some in this place. This is one of the great frustrations that I have with some senators who fail to understand that and the positive role that forestry plays.
It is also the case that we have seen, time and time again, many activists, particularly those in my home state of Victoria, doing everything they can to disrupt the industry—to ruin the lives of many people in regional communities where the sole employment, the sole source of income, the sole lifeblood of many regional towns, is timber and the forestry industry.
We have one of the most sustainably-managed forest industries in the world. That’s something we should be very proud of. We have strict regulations. Yes, there are times when we do need to make improvements; there are times when we do need to make improvements such as those in the bill that is before us today.
But we should not also rubbish an industry that supports tens of thousands of jobs, does have a positive role to play in the environment and helps us get to our targets for reducing emissions by 2050.
The amendments that the bill proposes aim to better protect the Australian market from illegally harvested timber and timber products and support legal and sustainable trade by improving regulatory tools and action for non-compliance. As we know, illegal logging has devastating consequences for our climate, the environment, people and the economy, and it is a driving force of various environmental issues around the world.
As a member of the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee, as well as being the co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Forestry, Timber and Paper Products with my good friend Senator Duniam, I have seen firsthand the major role that Australia’s forest products play in promoting sustainable forest management.
The Albanese Labor government understand the importance of combating illegal logging, and the department of agriculture is heavily involved in international efforts to promote sustainable forest management. It’s an industry that we must preserve and protect, and this bill will keep Australia’s logging laws at the forefront of international efforts to prevent illegal timber harvesting and associated trade. The bill will also enforce a new requirement on importers, and, as we heard earlier, it’s important that the importers play a positive and significant role in how we manage and try to understand where timber is sourced from around the world.
Sadly, I know Senator McKim mentioned the Greens saying the bill doesn’t go far enough, but the only things that will satisfy the Greens are the shutdown of forestry in Australia and the complete shutdown of these jobs and these communities right across regional Australia.
The irony is that they want to import timber from countries that don’t have the same standards that Australia has. What we have heard, time and time again, from various inquiries and reports from right around the world and here in Australia is that there are some countries that we do import timber whose standards are, frankly, not up to scratch. Yes, they might have the official stamp that we all believe means that it is certified to acceptable standards—standards that we would hope, Senator McKim, would actually be the standards that you and I, and others in this place, would accept.
But, unfortunately, we know that there are some countries where timber is sourced in which that it is not the case. They are not up to the standards that we, as Australians, should be accepting and should be importing into this country, hence why we are introducing this bill.
There is also a requirement on the processors to give notice prior to importing all processing timber products, giving the government more information about what is entering the market. It will also allow for more flexible enforcement options, including expanded monitoring and investigation powers, strict liability offences, injunctions and enforceable undertakings under the act.
It is also important to note that, before the current regulation, which was introduced back in 2012, around 10 per cent of timber imported to Australia each year was estimated to be illegally logged.
What a disgrace! This undercut prices of sustainably grown timber by seven to 16 per cent. Therefore, the passage of this bill through this place will continue to make our country a less attractive destination for illegally sourced timber, and we will finally start to flush out the bad guys in the industry whose only want is to destroy the environment and provide Australians with a cheap source of timber in this country.
It’s important to make sure that Australia retains a reputation, on the global scale, as a responsible supplier of sustainable and legally sourced timber products.
Recently, I was able to witness that firsthand, when I had the pleasure of touring a sawmill in my home state of Victoria, Powelltown Sawmills.
Like in so many regional towns in Victoria, Powelltown Sawmills is a major employer in their community, providing lifelong employment to their workforce—in fact, there was one family who had three generations of employees at the one site—and over 80 per cent of whom live in the immediate area.
Australia’s forest industry employs around 80,000 people directly and another 100,000 indirectly across the supply chain, many in regional communities and many in the manufacturing sector. Our country’s forest industry contributes around $24 billion to our economy every single year.
During my visit to the Powelltown sawmill we also discussed how timber products support the sustainable management of our forests, which protects the environment, contributes to emissions reduction and mitigates the risk of bushfires.
I am glad to see that the Victorian government has finally recognised that the industry is able to work in fire management, with the employment of harvesting crews by Forest Fire Management Victoria.
When these bushfires occur—sadly, much more frequently—the very first people who go out to fight these bushfires are people in the industry. It’s not necessarily the CFA, in my home state of Victoria, but the people in the industry, who have the equipment to go out and break up those fires before the CFA and other volunteers can actually go in and start to put the fires out. We saw the devastating impact that the Black Saturday bushfires had across the eastern states some years ago.
So it’s very important for these workers in the industry to be involved in what is very much a sustainable forest management practice. They’re workers who bring valuable skills and experience and have encountered different scenarios.
Forestry also plays a significant role in Australia’s efforts to mitigate climate change. We know that, as trees grow, they absorb carbon, as I mentioned earlier, which then continues to be stored in the wood and in the soil—retaining carbon that would otherwise live in the atmosphere.
The Australian forest products sector is the world leader in sustainable forest management. But the value of our excellent environmental protection is greatly diminished if Australian timber is replaced by a supply that is illegally logged, devastating the environment overseas. By protecting our industry from illegal logging and rewarding leadership in sustainability, that is exactly the outcome that this bill is preventing. The Australian Forest Products Association, the peak body that represents the many fine men and women in the industry and forest wood and paper products, has thrown its support behind these strengthened reforms.
As a result of the native forestry industry closures in WA and Victoria, sadly, the industry has seen an increase in the volume of imported hardwoods. That is telling. There is strong demand out there in the community for these products, and we should do everything we can to support our domestic industry in a sustainable way that also meets our strict regulations. It is unacceptable that, by shutting down our world-leading sustainable industry, we are importing products from places with less stringent environmental regulations than Australia. According to AFPA, Australia’s importation of timber and timber products has increased from $4 billion to $6.87 billion over the decade to 2022-23. Illegal timber has severe impacts on our environment, and it has enormous ramifications for our domestic biosecurity protections. It creates an increased risk of pests and diseases, and this could have dire consequences for the local industry.
While it is disappointing to see the Victorian government shut down the native timber industry, it is pleasing to see that the federal government is putting money into plantations and supporting forest and timber workers. I do know that that is something that both sides of the aisle here in Canberra are very proud to do.
This week the Albanese Labor government also announced funding worth $5.6 million for eight new plantation projects through the Support Plantation Establishment program. The projects will create softwood plantations ranging from 40 to 1,671 hectares in size located in Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia and Tasmania. The government has also invested $10 million to deliver the Forestry Workforce Training Program through ForestWorks over the next two years. This program will improve access to required qualifications and credentials for the forest and wood products sector.
With the time that I have left: without a strong timber industry, we wouldn’t be able to utilise the things that Australians love, such as house frames, cardboard boxes and paper products, just to name a few. Let’s not forget that timber is the ultimate renewable and that demand for timber is only increasing.
– Senator Ciccone was speaking in the Senate on during debate on the Illegal Logging Prohibition Amendment (Strengthening Measures to Prevent Illegal Timber Trade) Bill 2024.
