The New South Wales Government is not ruling out further expansion of its forestry business after making its biggest acquisition since the 1980s. Source: ABC News
The Forestry Corporation has bought 7000 hectares of pine plantation and plantable land near the timber towns of Oberon, Tumut and Tumbarumba.
The state-owned corporation already manages about 220,000 hectares of softwood plantations as part of the $1.92 million industry.
New Lands and Forestry Minister Paul Toole made the announcement near Oberon, which falls within his local electorate of Bathurst and has the second-highest number of workers in the NSW forestry industry.
Locally in Oberon, the timber industry makes up about 20% of the region’s workforce, employing about 500 people.
Mr Toole said the acquisition, which was the equivalent of about 13,000 football fields, would help secure the industry.
“What we can see with private landholders is them closing their doors, locking up the estates, but what we’re seeing here with the Forestry Corporation is ensuring it is sustainable and viable for the future,” Mr Toole said.
“Seven thousand hectares is additional land that we’re going to see used for timber supply into the future.
“I believe this is the first step. I believe there will be other private plantations that will be acquired here in the state.”
Forestry Corporation regional manager Jason Molkentin said improvements in profitability and a reduction in debt had made the purchase possible.
“We have a significant plantation estate in New South Wales, but this is a significant supplementation of that resource,” Mr Molkentin said.
“Our improved financial position over the last five years has certainly allowed us to be in a position to purchase acquisitions when they’re available.”
Local councils concerned about amount of unrateable land Several regional councils hosting state-owned plantations have previously raised concerns about their inability to generate revenue, due to large swathes of land being unrateable.
Up to 50% of the land in Oberon Council is unrateable, but Mr Toole said the most recent acquisition would not affect the council’s rate base. He said councils would continue to receive rates from any new land acquired by the state-owned corporation.
“What I want to do is to make sure that any private land holdings that come across to the Forestry Corporation, they continue to remain rateable land,” he said. “There’ll be no impact on the existing rates that we see on private holdings already that may go under Forestry Corporation.”
