Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges that:

(a) some of Australia's leading forest scientists have acknowledged we have the knowledge, practical skills and regulatory framework to sustainably manage our native forests, including for timber harvesting on small, carefully targeted areas;

(b) we have a world-class and sustainable native hardwood timber industry in Australia which delivers social, economic, cultural and environmental benefits for our nation;

(c) timber industry workers provide invaluable skills and practical support to their communities during times of natural disasters, particularly bushfires;

(d) banning native timber harvesting in Australia will result in more imported timber products, often sourced from countries with poorer environmental protocols; and

(e) a sustainable native hardwood timber industry is part of the answer to reducing Australia's carbon emissions as timber products sequester carbon in our floorboards, furniture and other timber products;

(2) notes that the Victorian and New South Wales state governments have made illogical decisions to ban native hardwood timber harvesting which is based on political science, not environmental science; and

(3) urges the Government to:

(a) recognise that the sovereign capability to maintain a sustainable native hardwood timber industry is an issue of national importance because of the impact on house prices, supply chain considerations, carbon sequestration, biodiversity and community safety;

(b) support a taxpayer-funded public information campaign to explain the importance of the native hardwood timber industry and dispel the myths perpetuated by environmental activists; and

(c) resist any further attempts to ban the sustainable harvesting of native hardwood timber.

I must confess to a sense of deja vu here if not complete futility in bringing this motion to the attention of the House, because those opposite have demonstrated complete and utter contempt for the forest industry in Australia over the past 20 years. Driven by their desperate need to secure Green preferences in the city they have sold out blue-collar workers in regional communities, thousands of jobs have been lost, communities have been destroyed and the regions are less safe because we have lost the equipment and the skilled workforce which we've always relied on during major bushfire events. Labor governments in Western Australia, in Victoria and in New South Wales have either completely banned the native hardwood timber industry or decimated it to the point that it will struggle to remain viable. This is all in the name of political science. This has nothing to do with the environment. I've said many times in this place that you have two choices when it comes to timber: either you use your own in an environmentally sustainable way or you use someone else's.

Our nation already has a multibillion-dollar trade deficit in timber products. We have states like Victoria taking hardwood from other areas. Think of St Kilda pier, the West Gate Tunnel artwork project, Gippsland Lakes jetties in my electorate—all that timber came from other states. How is it a positive environmental outcome to be shipping and trucking timber thousands of kilometres to Victoria because the Victorian government banned the native hardwood timber industry in its own state? We have some of the strict environmental standards in the world, and when we ban harvesting of timber in Australia it's a very bad day for orangutans, because we just import more timber from developing nations. We have a world-class sustainable native hardwood timber industry in Australia which delivers social, economic, cultural and environmental benefits for our nation, and those timberworkers provide invaluable skills and practical support to their communities during times of natural disasters, particularly bushfires. I'd also add the sustainable native hub timber industry is part of the answer to reducing Australia's carbon emissions, as timber products actually sequester carbon in our floorboards, furniture and other products.

As the motion indicates, some of Australia's leading forest scientists have acknowledged we have the knowledge, the practical skills and the regulatory framework to sustainable manage our native forest, including for timber harvesting in small, carefully targeted areas. This is not dodgy science from environmental activists who they buy to get a compliant voice and mouthpiece to trump up their unfounded claims; these are real scientists with peer reviewed papers and years of practical experience. I refer to an article in particular, published earlier this year by four leading scientists, which called out the misinformation in the forest debate. Dr John Raison and Dr Sadanandan Nambiar are both former CSIRO chief research scientists, Dr Glen Kile is a former chief of the CSIRO division of forestry and Dr Tony Bartlett has extensive experience in managing native forests and is a leading expert in forest fire management and suppression. The article I refer to is worth reading for anyone with actual interest in the facts when it comes to forestry and the threat to biodiversity from wildfires in poorly managed forests. At a time when we are trying to build more homes, harvesting cutbacks by state governments have led to more imports and we are fed the lies that harvesting equals deforestation. Under our laws, harvested areas must be regenerated. Timber is the ultimate renewable resource. I will quote from their conclusions:

The public, policy makers and politicians should be wary of the increasing selective and unbalanced use of science wrapped in ideology to promote anti-forestry views.

They go on:

Rural communities and the nation can benefit in a number of ways by adopting science-based policies and management practices.

They go on:

… 'theoretical' claims that timber harvesting increases the intensity of wildfire, leads to greater net C emissions, reduces catchment water yields and threatens koalas have all been discredited in several detailed scientific analyses during the last few years.

I urge those opposite: read more about the native forestry debate. Don't rely on your pet scientists. Don't rely on the best money science can buy, like Professor David Lindenmayer. Trust the science from people have not been bought off to promote this religious ideology that all timber harvesting is bad. Ignore the zealots in this debate. This is dangerous for our communities. People and native animals die because of poorly managed forests, and the Labor Greens aren't just killing industry; they are killing regional communities. I urge the Labor Party to stop selling out blue collar jobs in the regions for Greens preferences in the city and support the Australian native hardwood timber industry.

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Emma Comer (Petrie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australia's forests are part of who we are. They tell a story of our continent—ancient, resilient, and rich in life. They sustain our wildlife, our soils and our water. They sustain communities right across regional Australia. A healthy forest means a healthy nation. That's why the Albanese Labor government stands unequivocally for a sustainable and innovative Australian forestry industry—one that protects our environment, strengthens our economy and provides secure, skilled jobs for regional Australians.

We don't see forestry as a choice between jobs and the environment; we see it as a partnership between people, science and the land itself. Australia's forestry sector is a pillar of the regional economy, supporting over 51,000 direct jobs and contributing billions to the economy every single year. Our government is steadfast in its support for a sustainable and innovative Australian forestry industry, which includes both native forestry and plantations. Our approach is about balance: protecting the forests while managing the industry responsibly so they continue to provide the essential renewable materials Australians rely on every day. Because, when forestry is managed with care, when it is guided by evidence and long-term vision, it becomes one of the most powerful tools in regional prosperity and in environmental protection.

This government has a clear, forward-looking plan for the future of forestry. We are backing the industry with record investment, supporting innovation, new skills and modern manufacturing that adds value right here at home. We're investing in the next generation of foresters, engineers and researchers through the National Institute for Forest Products Innovation, ensuring Australia remains at the forefront of sustainable timber science. This includes a landmark investment of $300 million to improve capacity, drive innovation and secure the jobs of the future in the forestry industry.

We are building a workforce for the future through the Forestry Workforce Training Program, because the people working in our forests are the backbone of regional economies and the custodians of these landscapes. We're partnering with industry through programs that modernise processing, improve efficiency and create low-carbon materials that will help Australia build the homes and infrastructure for the future.

We also recognise that forestry is more than just timber; it's about country. Over half of Australia's forested land lies on the Indigenous estate, a living testament to tens of thousands of years of stewardship. We are committed to working in partnership with First Nations peoples, learning from cultural knowledge that has sustained these ecosystems and prevented catastrophic fires for thousands of years. We continue to work closely with states, territories and industry through the Forestry Ministers' Meeting to ensure a stable and sustainable national framework that gives certainty to workers, businesses and communities alike.

Australia's forestry sector supports thousands of jobs and contributes billions to our national economy, but, beyond these figures, it supports communities, towns and families that depend on the land and who understand the importance of caring for it. Our latest State of the forests report shows that the total area of Australia's forests continues to grow, proof that sustainable management and environmental protection go hand in hand.

Forestry also plays a vital role in keeping our community safe. The industry's equipment, skills and experience are essential to fire management, from hazard reduction burns and firefighting to recovery after disasters. Our approach to forestry is rooted in balance—balancing conservation with jobs, sustainability with growth and tradition with innovation. We're investing in forest restoration, supporting new plantation projects and backing advanced manufacturing that adds value right here in Australia.

A strong forestry sector doesn't just mean strong exports; it means strong regional communities, good local jobs and a healthy environment for generations to come. Working together with industry, workers and First Nations custodians, we can ensure that Australia's forests remain a source of pride well into the future. The Albanese Labor government is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the forestry sector because this is an industry that doesn't look backwards. It grows forward, it grows jobs, it grows innovation and it grows hope—hope for a future where sustainability and prosperity walk hand in hand.

On this side of the House, we believe that the best way to protect our forests is to value them, not just as resources but as living systems that sustain our planet and our people. Through record investment, genuine collaboration and a deep respect for nature, we are ensuring that the forests we pass on to our children will be stronger, healthier and more resilient than the ones we inherited. That is Labor's vision: a sustainable, thriving forestry industry built on science, shaped by partnership and guided by the care of the land that sustains us all.

Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If only what the previous member said was true. What she said actually sounded quite reasonable to the naked ear if you were just listening to that debate. But what she was remiss in saying was that the state Labor governments and what they're doing here—it's exactly the opposite of what the previous member just said. I commend the member for Gippsland for bringing this debate on.

Firstly, I think we need to get clear—for people who may not know—the distinction between what a plantation is and what hardwood-selective harvesting is. Many people would have driven through the most common of pine plantations. You drive past them. They're planted. They're not biodiverse; they're literally planted for the timber that they produce. They grow for the next 20 or 30 years—however long it takes—and then they are just harvested. You'll drive past them, and they're flawed. You'll see hundreds of acres where that plantation has been cleared.

That's the difference between what you call plantations and what we're talking about here—hardwood harvesting. And what that is is that they're going into more diverse areas and biodiverse areas. In Australia, the forestry industry with departments have done this exceptionally well—world-leading, environmental best-standard. A logger can't just go in and start randomly cutting down hardwood. These trees are identified, they're selected in advance, and it's done in a very scientific, very environmental, best-science way. It's been going on for a long time. The foresters themselves—believe me—know that they need this industry to be sustainable. The type of timber that they get from this is very different from that from plantations. Everything the previous speaker said about sustainability, about enhancing the industry, is true. But what the state governments have done is exactly the opposite of that.

Now, there are the other perverse effects of this, because what the state governments are doing is locking it up. They're saying to loggers and harvesters, 'You can't go into these areas and you can't selectively harvest hardwood timber.' What does that mean? That means they're not going in there and doing this. So the result of that is that it's not kept. I've got many areas in my regions. I invite anyone opposite who speaks against this private member's motion to come and I'll show you exact examples in my patch. It's not kept. So what happens to it straight away? Weeds start to grow. We have a weed in our area called lantana. It takes over. There's actually scientific proof of this. What happens to koalas? They leave the national parks because they can't get around anymore because it's not kept. When they come down a tree, they can't go around the ground and go up another tree, so they actually leave the area. The numbers of koalas in that area—I'll show a report I saw just last week from the New South Wales government which supported that. So the desire of what they're trying to achieve is perverse to what they're getting.

The other thing that harvesters do, when they go and maintain fire trails, is maintain a system whereby, when there are fires, it's easy to manage and to do that. Of course, now what happens within national parks—what they're doing in New South Wales—is that those fire trails aren't kept up. Those companies would often, too, donate and give their equipment when there's a fire on to help fight fires and to go in and do management of that. That all disappears. So you can't get access to these places when you're trying to do firebreaks or you're trying to contain a fire outbreak. You can't get access to them. Of course, what you've also done is—our Indigenous brothers and sisters were mentioned earlier—the things that our Indigenous brothers and sisters would do all the time, what we call cultural burns. All Captain Cook, as he was sailing up the coast, was talking about was the fires he saw. They were doing that as a land-management process, which we do. When you lock up a national park, you pervert that, because you can't do the firebreaks that you used to do and, of course, there's more fuel and these things become a huge tinderbox as well.

The other thing—okay, you want to be righteous, and you still think that's a good idea—is that we still need the hardwood. Our demand—we want to build more houses, we want more furniture, you want to build some bridges and you want to do that carbon friendly. Guess what the most carbon-friendly way to do that is? Not concrete, not steel—it's actually timber, which sequesters carbon, as we know.

So what are we going to be doing now as Australia? The states who pre-led this and banned hardwood timber harvesting in the states have had to go to other states to get it. Now there will be less, so you know where we'll go now? Overseas. So we are now going to be importing hardwood timber into this country from countries who don't do it in the sustainable, environmental way we do this. I commend the member for bringing on this motion.

Anne Urquhart (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Albanese Labor government is unequivocal in its support for a sustainable and innovative Australian forestry industry. This means both native forestry and plantations. We recognise that native forests are a crucial and complementary source of wood products that plantations cannot supply. This reduces our reliance on importing this timber from countries that have weaker environmental standards.

I recently visited Britton Timbers in Smithton in the Circular Head region on the far north-west coast of Tasmania. Britton Timbers celebrated its centenary in 2007. Britton Timbers has been a provider of quality Tasmanian timber—timber like blackwood, Tasmanian hardwood and other timbers—for over 100 years, providing good jobs for locals. Around one-third of the employees have been with Britton's for more than 10 years, and 17 per cent have been with the company for over 20 years. Britton Timbers have invested significantly in new technology to provide for more product flexibility to meet their customer requirements. The imported timber that they use is sourced from suppliers who identify environmental sustainability as a principal factor. Their timbers are also sourced principally from forests with international certification. Sitting down and talking with Shawn Britton was not only educational but also refreshing—hearing about how they care about their resource and also about their environment.

The forest industry, like all our resource based industries, have long value chains. The Tasmanian forestry industry's value chain is made up of forest managers, harvesting contractors, log-truck drivers, sawmill operators and timber wholesalers and retailers. This flows through to house builders and furniture makers—and we have some wonderful specialty furniture makers in Tasmania, who use some of the most stunning timber that we grow. And, of course, we have many craft product makers, who sell their products in the boutique galleries that support our tourism and visitor economy. Annually, in Tasmania, we have the wonderful Australian Wooden Boat Festival, which has grown to become the largest single regular event on the Tasmanian tourism and events calendar. These beautiful boats are built from timbers that the Tasmanian timber industry is famous for. The native hardwood timber sector alone contributed $278 million to the national economy in 2022-23. This very much outlines its ongoing importance to our regional communities, providing jobs with wages that are often spent in the local economy and in our regional communities.

In Somerset, a small town in Braddon, Forico have their plant nursery, which I recently visited with Minister Julie Collins. Forico is the largest private forestry management company in Tasmania and the largest hardwood replanting program in Australia. They currently breed and deploy species such as blue gum, shining gum and radiata pine. The nursery has capacity beyond Forico's internal needs and grows commercial seedlings for external clients both in Tasmania and on the south-east mainland of Australia.

Decisions about the day-to-day management of native forests are ultimately a matter for the state governments, and our government is committed to providing a stable national framework, like the Regional Forest Agreements, that allows for sustainable native forestry to continue to occur. This government has a positive, forward-looking plan for the entire forestry and wood product sector. Through record investment, genuine partnership and a commitment to innovation, we are ensuring a strong, sustainable and prosperous future for the industry—and also, more importantly, the regional communities that depend so heavily on it.

The Albanese government is backing the forestry industry with a landmark investment of $300 million to improve capacity, to drive innovation and to secure those jobs of the future. We're delivering where the previous government failed; while they promised a billion trees and delivered only one per cent, our $73.8 million Support Plantation Establishment program has already awarded funding for 25,000 hectares of new plantations. Through the Accelerated Option of Wood Processing Innovative Program, $89.49 million in grants has been provided to 30 projects to modernise manufacturing infrastructure and ensure our local processors remain at the cutting edge. There is a lot more that I could talk about in this. I am running out of time, but I do want to say that we are doing a lot more work within this area around forestry.

Mary Aldred (Monash, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a pleasure to support my friend and good colleague the member for Gippsland on this motion because I know how passionate he is about the timber industry, timber workers and regions like ours that grow, make and manufacture things. We have incredibly talented people that make world-leading products. The people that make them are world-beating people.

I am incredibly concerned about where our timber industry is headed Australia-wide, no more so than in our shared region of Gippsland. I'm proud to represent blue-collar workers. I look at the Victorian state Labor government. They have waged an absolute battle against regional communities, against blue-collar workers and particularly against our timber industry. Our entire forest estate in Victoria is about six per cent—sorry, of what we harvest—on 80-year rotation for the hardwood industry, which the Victorian state government has absolutely decimated. If you are going to harvest hardwood in Victoria, it is basically 1/80th of six per cent. That is the entire forest estate that was being harvested.

The ramifications of the closure of the hardwood industry in Victoria are absolutely profound. Don't even get me started on the fire risk as we approach a very hot, dry summer. Many farmers in Gippsland and my electorate of Monash are still drought-impacted—right now—so, heading into summer, we are heading into extreme fire danger. A lot of those timber workers are CFA volunteers. A lot of the harvesters use their harvesting equipment to be able to maintain a lot of that forest estate in a way that prevents and mitigates significant fire risk.

I'm proud to have had an association, prior to coming to this place, with Australian Sustainable Hardwoods, which is in the electorate of my good friend and colleague the member for Gippsland. They made a variety of incredible products using Victorian hardwood—Vic Ash—but now, because of the state Labor government's policies, that timber mill, like many timber mills in Victoria, is having to import timber and wood products from other areas, such as jarrah from WA and glacial oak from the United States. You will see a timber truck coming up the Monash Freeway with a trailer load of Tasmanian hardwood products, taking it to a manufacturing business like Australian Sustainable Hardwoods, and it will come back in the opposite direction with finished products. Now, that is just a crime against good economic management. It's a crime against good environmental stewardship as well.

I have real concerns for the communities and the blue-collar workers that are being left behind. This doesn't protect the environment, and it does nothing to advance blue-collar workers. Often one partner might work in a mill, and the other might be a teacher at the local school or a nurse at the local hospital. If you take that timber job out of a regional community, that whole family will go somewhere else. We have seen that in small rural communities Australia-wide, where those little communities have just been left to wither on the vine because of really poor decisions made in Melbourne or Canberra with no regard to regional communities. Those employers do so much good work in supporting the local Lions and Probus clubs. They are really good corporate community citizens in the towns in which they operate.

I have huge concern about where the future of our timber industry is heading under state and federal Labor governments. We need to make sure that we've got a manufacturing future in this country. Timber products are in high demand. They're in increasing demand for construction, for homes. If we want to build more homes and more buildings, we need timber and wood as a good renewable product. We replant in Victoria—or we did, with the hardwood industry—everything that was harvested. It is the ultimate renewable asset. I really condemn the direction that Labor and the Greens are taking the industry at a state and federal level, and I support wholeheartedly the motion of my friend and colleague the member for Gippsland on this issue.

Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm particularly proud to stand here on behalf of the Albanese government and talk about its unwavering and strong support for sustainable and innovative forestry industries in Australia—an industry that is vital not only to our national economy but to the lifeblood of regional communities like the one that I represent in Paterson. In fact, in Heddon Greta, the Cox Bros Timber mill has supplied and is today supplying timber. In fact, in my home I've got the receipts from the house that my grandfather built. He got the timber from that mill in Heddon Greta.

As member of the Parliamentary Friends of Forestry, Timber and Paper Products, I take personal interest in the vibrancy of this sector. In fact, it probably runs a little bit closer to the core than that, because, two years ago, my wonderful husband, Nick, gave up a 33-year career in business to go back to his roots. He started his own rural fencing contract business. He and his young offsider have been out in the heat and the wet and all the conditions for the last two years building rural fences. Let me tell you, I know more about iron bark, stringy bark, white mahogany, tallowwood—all of the hardwoods—because you need that to build rural fences. It is absolutely important to have a good and reliable hardwood supply. We've heard a lot about furniture. We've heard a lot about homes. But please don't underestimate the humble fence. Whether you're trying to keep them out or keep them in, it's very important. Fencing—don't let that go unnoticed.

This government recognises both native forestry and plantation timber. Native forests provide high-grade products such as flooring and furniture and structural timber—and the fencing, don't forget about that! Without access to these resources, we risk relying on imports from other countries. They have got less environmental control and less stringency in their controls often. It's not just a number; it is so important that we keep this $278 million sector alive in our economy. It sustains communities. It also plays such a role in those other businesses that are reliant on it. Let me be clear, the day-to-day management of native forests is the responsibility of state and territory governments, and it's a big responsibility. But, at the federal level, we provide a stable national framework, including the regional forest agreements, which balance environmental protection with industry certainty, ensuring our forestry sectors can thrive for generations to come.

The Albanese Labor government is investing in the future of forestry with a landmark $300 million package to improve capacity, drive innovation and secure jobs in the long-term. That is very important. There is $10 million alone in forestry workforce training and $8.6 million to extend the national network of regional forestry hubs. These are all really important initiatives. We want to keep our forestry going. We're also working hand in hand with forestry through initiatives like the Timber Fibre Strategy, linking forestry to national priorities such as housing and ensuring collaboration with state and territories governments, and we've taken a firm stand against illegal logging, with world-leading laws that give Australians confidence in the legality and sustainability of the timbers they buy.

Australia's forestry sector is a living legacy supporting over 51,000 direct jobs, contributing billions to the economy and safeguarding forests of over 134 million hectares. And—let me just say—it is also in very important to our Indigenous estates. More than half of this forest land sits on those Indigenous estates. Let me tell you, our First Nations people were the first foresters of this country. They involved themselves in clearing and cultural burning, and, from some of the research I've done and things I've seen over the years, our bush was better maintained then than this wild greenie theory of just letting it be bush. That doesn't work and, let me tell you, you've only got to stare down a bushfire to understand that. We need forestry. We need to manage our bush. It is vitally important. This government understands the balance between environmentally responsible and sustainable forestry and being able to keep this vital industry going on many levels.

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next day of sitting.