Gavin butcher photo Manjimup-Bridgetown Times
Dave Kelly, WA’s Minister for Forestry, has come up with a grab-bag of reasons to explain his decision to abandon an industry he is meant to champion. Each of his reasons come straight from the green activists’ playbook, rather than from scientists and the industry.
CLAIM 1. Native forest harvesting isn’t sustainable
While I am not sure of Kelly’s qualifications in making this judgment, as Minister for the past five years he should be aware that the management of WA’s forests has achieved high levels of international certification for sustainable practices. Actually, WA’s is the only State agency to meet the greenest of those standards – Forest Stewardship Council, a system supported by WWF.
This claim signals no confidence in the work of the State’s conservation agency who calculated the “sustained yield” of timber and defining sustainable management practices. The yield is adjusted every 10 years to take account of changed circumstances.
There is no better demonstration of sustainability than the 150 years of harvesting in WA’s forests. Unlike elsewhere around the State, not one species has become extinct from those forests. A recent review of the 63 most endangered species in Australia did not contain one species from our southwest forests. The Minister fails to recognise responsible management of our forests over generations and the dedicated public servants who have worked hard to for it.
VERDICT – FALSE
CLAIM 2. Science has shown that climate change and reductions in rainfall result in no more wood being available
The Minister has repeated this claim on several occasions. This was echoed by a recent media comment from a government spokesperson indicating that there were ‘reports’ that supported this position. No published report can be found.
Forest scientists employed by the government’s conservation agency carefully measure the standing trees available for harvest and monitor their growth. This is done to calculate the sustained yield of timber. The most recent calculation in 2014 using CSIRO’s most recent forecast of climate change and its impact on growth rates. Even with this full recognition of the drying and warming climate. sawlog yields were calculated to provide 132,000 m3 of jarrah and 59,000 m3 of karri each year for 70 years.
These calculations were independently reviewed by Australia’s leading forest modelling scientists.
VERDICT – FALSE
CLAIM 3. 400-year-old trees are being cut down
Kelly has stated that he no longer wishes to see 400-year-old trees being harvested. With all old growth forests reserved from harvesting and up to 13 habitat trees per hectare being retained in harvest coupes inevitably sees most large trees remaining standing.
Only a very small number of trees reach an age of 400 years, even in undisturbed forests. If you visit most harvesting coupes the trees will be much smaller than the 1.2 to 1.5 metres of diameter required to reach that age with most trees being regrowth.
It seems out of proportion to close an industry when Mr Kelly could have reserved a few large trees.
VERDICT – Gross exaggeration
CLAIM 4. Communities will be better off through the development of alternative industries
Kelly has indicated that he believes it is time for the South West region to move onto other industries which will provide a better, sustainable future. He implies that tourism will replace timber harvesting, processing and manufacture of timber goods.
While there is a belief that the timber industry can be replaced by other emerging industries there is no evidence, and the government has no blueprint or action proposed to promote alternative industries. It is hard to believe that if people want to go to see the karri forest they don’t say…” I’m not going because there’s timber harvesting in the region.”
The same “tourism jobs” rhetoric was used by the Gallop government when all old growth forest was reserved. Studies from the region showed the level of tourism fell by 10% (as measured by hotel bed nights).
VERDICT – Urban Myth
CLAIM 5. Stopping native forest harvesting will reduce carbon emissions
As a former Minister for Science Mr Kelly should know better. No explanation has been provided for this claim. Clearly using wood releases some CO2 however it is only one part of the carbon story, however the lifecycle of the products being created, the regrowth of the forest and the carbon emissions of the products used to substitute for wood tells a different story.
In 2013 the government’s conservation agency calculated that forests including timber harvesting would soak up an additional 30 million tonnes of CO2 over the next 10 years. Healthy regrowth forests growing quickly easily compensate for any harvest emissions. This doesn’t take into account the storage of wood in products, or the carbon or environmental cost of the substitutes, like aluminium.
VERDICT – cherry picking.
CLAIM 6. Native forest industry is only a small industry, comprising 10% of overall timber production
Is Kelly insinuating that because the industry is small, it doesn’t matter? At last count around 800 people worked directly in the industry.
Firstly, he needs to get his statistics correct. In 2021, the FPC reported a timber production of 1.6 million tonnes, including 574,000 tonnes from native forests, that’s around 36% of the government production. This excludes the private blue gum sector that is entirely based on export and not considered in the same context. The high level of local value adding of native timber in furniture, flooring and decking, and by artisans and craftspeople, indicates that there are many layers of benefit, far greater than the statistics suggest.
More than that, the industry could have been significantly larger had the government not stood on the hose on the use of native timber residue sales for biomass. This would have seen residue wood replace coal.
It appears that you are only important if you are big enough. The Minister comes from United Voice representing some of the lowest paid in society you’d think there would be greater compassion.
VERDICT – Arrogant
Mr Butcher is a professional forester, a member of Forestry Australia, and a recently retired director at the Forest Products Commission.
