DLP Senator John Madigan revealed secret CSIRO communications indicating that CSIRO management has reportedly axed the last remaining 33 forest scientists. Sources: Timberbiz, ABC Rural
The CSIRO has been conducting research in this area since 1930 increasing knowledge in water management, productivity (rates of tree growth), pest management, biodiversity, new uses for fibre, silviculture, climate science and many other areas.
“Scarcely four months ago the Prime Minister called for a renaissance in forestry at an industry dinner for 600 people in the Great Hall of Parliament House,” said Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) CEO Mr Ross Hampton.
“The Prime Minister said that we ‘want the timber industry to be a vital part of Australia’s economic future, not just something that was a relic of our history. That is what this Government wants’.
“It is unbelievable to the 80,000 people who work in this industry that today the Government is standing by in silence as CSIRO management reportedly takes the axe to forestry research, ending 85 years of world leading, productivity-driving breakthroughs.
“Our competitor nations understand that in a carbon constrained global economy, with a global population forecast to grow to 9.5 billion in a few decades, we need to develop new uses for our renewable, recyclable and carbon neutral timber.
“While our competitor nations are backing forestry R&D, Australia is seemingly backing out. It makes no sense.”
Senator Madigan told ABC’s Lateline of the amazing research being done in New Zealand into alternative uses of timber such as biofuels and bioplastics.
“These people (CSIRO forestry scientists) are the world leaders in their field. Now what I fear is going to happen is that these people are going to places like Chile, Vietnam, China, possibly Canada and New Zealand,” said Senator Madigan.
The Forestry Products Association of Australia has written a letter to Mr Palmer, asking for his party’s influence at the ’11th hour’.
The CSIRO Staff Association said that it understands up to 40 jobs in the organisation’s ecosystem sciences division will be cut.
The Association maintains it has received formal advice on the job cuts from CSIRO management.
CSIRO Staff Association secretary, Sam Popovski, said that he is concerned that jobs in forestry system sciences – covering forest management and bushfire dynamics – will be particularly hard hit.
“In the five years since the Black Saturday bushfire catastrophe in particular, CSIRO has cemented its reputation as a national specialist in fire behaviour,” Mr Popovski said. “CSIRO’s research into understanding bushfires includes detailed reconstruction, fuel modelling, research into fire suppression and recurrence and management of the Pyrotron – a bushfire wind tunnel that allows researchers to conduct controlled experiments into fire behaviour.
“Many Australians would be deeply disturbed by the idea of Government cuts forcing out CSIRO’s bushfire scientists especially at a time when many communities are starting to back-burn and making preparations ahead of the fire season.
The Staff Association said that jobs would be cut in major capital cities and some smaller sites.
Canberra’s Black Mountain office would lose at least 12 positions, six jobs at Sandy Bay, in Hobart, while five will be axed at Perth’s Floreat laboratory.
Eight jobs will go in Queensland from worksites in Townsville, Atherton, Brisbane and Cairns, while four Northern Territory jobs will be cut from Darwin and Alice Springs.
Victoria will lose two positions in total from Parkville and Highett, and two jobs will be cut at Adelaide’s Waite campus.
The CSIRO said its ‘forestry’ section employs about 54 people and that the details of job cuts are still being worked out.
A spokesperson said the organisation’s potential to provide forestry research will remain, regardless of staff changes.
