A government-owned business that reported one of its divisions made a massive loss has been urged to rethink its priorities. Forestry Corporation of NSW revealed in its 2023-2024 annual report that $29 million had been lost keeping afloat its Hardwood Division which harvests native forests and its hardwood plantations.
Victoria and Western Australia recently announced they were ceasing similar operations, but in NSW the Minns Government has backed native forest logging even though losses have continued to balloon over the last four years, totalling $73 million.
Conservationists seized on the Corporation’s report, with the North East Forest Alliance calling native forest harvesting an “economic basket case”.
“Rather than subsidising degradation of our public native forests, if we protect them we can turn this loss into an economic benefit to the community from increased recreation, tourism, water yields and the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,” spokesperson Dailan Pugh said.
Independent agency questions long-term feasibility of native timber harvesting
In a separate report, the NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) analysed the future prospects of the Corporation.
It noted agreements struck between the Corporation and sawmills has not adequately covered harvesting, haulage, contract and administrative costs for 10 years. With most of its agreements set to expire in 2028, it called for them to be reviewed so the Corporation remains “economically viable”.
“If this is not possible, we recommend that the NSW Government reviews the long-term feasibility of native timber harvesting in its NSW Forestry Industry Action Plan,” it suggested.
Want more stories about our weird and wonderful natural world? 😳🪲 Subscribe to our newsletter.
Pictures taken by Forestry Corporation of NSW show native forests where harvesting has taken place multiple times over the past 100 years. Source: Supplied
The Corporation told Yahoo News another reason for losses over the last reporting period were “unprecedented interruptions” to forestry operations by protests and legal challenges.
But it believes a new expert panel set up by the government to inform the future of the state’s forestry industry will be important. “[It] will set out the future of forestry for the next 30 years, whether it be softwood, hardwood or plantation,” it said.
Plan to end native timber harvesting
Along with harvesting native forests, the Corporation also invests heavily in timber plantations, splashing $92 million on expanding its estate. Although a decline in housing construction impacted sales, this arm of the business was profitable.
“Softwood plantations have not attracted the challenges of legal challenges and regulatory change which have impacted the native forests and hardwood plantations in recent years,” a Corporation spokesperson told Yahoo.
Conservationists believe the state’s timber industry’s future is in plantations. They argue a transition to hardwood and softwood plantations could support jobs lost in native timber harvesting.
One group backing this change is the Nature Conservation Council of NSW which urged the Minns government to “immediately transition” to 100 per cent plantation timber.
“The continued public subsidisation of Forestry Corporation NSW’s native hardwood division is both destructive and wasteful. It’s long past time to end native forest logging in this state,” its forests campaigner Steve Ryan said.
The Australian Biodiversity Council also backs a complete transition to plantation timber. It noted most trees felled are milled into low-value woodchips, a business case its chair Dr Ken Henry called an “economic and environmental failure”.
After reviewing the Corporation’s Annual Report he added, “These results confirm what we’ve long known — native forest logging is an economic and environmental failure that survives only by reaching deep into the pocket of taxpayers. Most taxpayers would be appalled to learn that they paid $29 million last year for the privilege of destroying native forests and endangering koalas and gliders.”
Love Australia’s weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week’s best stories.