Download Fragment

Tuesday, 7 February 2012
Page: 294

Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement

(Question No. 1291)

Senator Bob Brown asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, upon notice, on 27 October 2011:

(1) Will the Minister abide by the Tasmanian Forests Agreement and give an assurance that: (a) there will be no increase in wood supply agreements to existing or new contracts; and (b) any wood supply quotas retired as part of the sawmillers' voluntary exit package will be retired and not reallocated to existing or new sawmill operators.

(2) Will the Minister guarantee that the purchasers of the Gunns Limited sawmills in Somerset and the Huon Valley will not have their wood supply agreements increased or extended.

(4) Will the Minister guarantee that the purchasers of the Gunns Limited sawmills in Deloraine and Western Junction have not and will not have new native forest wood supply agreements negotiated.

Senator Ludwig: The answer to the honourable senator's question is as follows:

(1) (a) The Tasmanian Forests Intergovernmental Agreement commits to honouring native forest wood supply contracts in existence at the time of signing the agreement, and to retiring sufficient volume of native forest sawlog supply to achieve the conservation and wood supply objectives of the Agreement. While there will be no increase in total contracted wood supply from public native forests, it is possible that individual contracts may be renewed or varied within the overall total. (b) The details of the voluntary sawlog contract buy-back program for sawmiller exits have yet to be finalised but it is the Commonwealth's expectation that at least some of the retired native forest wood supply contracts could be replaced by 'plantation priority' contracts at some time in the future, subject to availability of suitable plantation-sourced timber.

(2) See answer to (1) (a), above.

(4) See answer to (1) (a), above.