Mia Davies
The WA Government is leading Australia in promoting forestry and the expansion of softwood plantations, according to the industry’s peak lobby group. Source: The West Australian
Australian Forest Products Association chief executive Ross Hampton said the industry was delighted with plans to arrest an alarming slide in the size of softwood plantations in WA.
The Government will invest $21 million in expanding pine plantations in hubs around Dardanup and Neerabup. Dardanup is home to softwood sawmill Wespine, which produces timber for use in housing construction.
The Neerabup hub takes in Wesbeam’s $110 million plant producing laminated veneer lumber.
Forestry Minister Mia Davies said the plantation increase underpinned the Government’s new softwood industry strategy.
“Up to 10,000ha of softwood will be planted by the Forest Products Commission to expand our softwood estate over the next five years, the equivalent of two trees for every one harvested, or 2.7 million pine seedlings annually,” she said.
Ms Davies said sufficient scale in the forest estate was essential to safeguard jobs and avoid dependency on imported timber.
Mr Hampton said blue gum and pine plantations in WA had declined from about 425,000ha in 2010 to about 380,000ha.
“We have had virtually no trees planted, not just in WA but nationally,” he said. “WA is really leading the country in turning back to forestry. It is a massive growth industry around the world and Australia has been slow to recognise that it has the potential to really fill some of the gap left by the downturn in mining with jobs and good, high-tech jobs.”
Mr Hampton said the industry did not want to revisit the managed investment scheme era that saw vast blue gums plantings.
“We are focusing on softwood, which is used in the Australian housing market,” he said.
“Last year we weren’t able to meet demand so we responded as a nation by importing the largest amount of softwood on record.”
Mr Hampton said the WA plan involved growing “the right trees in the right places.”
The dividends the FPC (a commercial entity ultimately controlled by the Minister) pays the Government will be adjusted to fund the $21 million investment.
The industry employs more than 5000 people in WA.
