Forest Fact File - Plantations

Volume of Australian Plantations

955,000 Hectares

Reference: The Sunday Age 22/1/95 "Timber industry faces own danger." - page 17.

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De Bruin's Comment & Others (Plantations vs Native Forest industry).

"We're expecting a substantial increase in available plantation timber resource over the next three to four years. We'll get to the stage where we virtually donŐt have to log native forests at all in the next 2 to 5 years?", Adrian De bruin, SEAS Sapfor.

"If the hardwood industry packed up and left tomorrow we could do the whole job (in housing).", Lance Duvals, Associated Kiln Driers.

Reference: - The Sunday Age 22/1/95 page 17.
see also ?should be the date? ABC 7.00 pm News 30/1/95

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Decline of Native forest Logging in Favour of Planations - Clive Hamilton (ex RAC) Austrlian Article, 12/7/1995, now Head of Australian Institute

"the hardwood sector - whoose timber comes almost exclusively from native forests - is in rapid decline and the effect of subsidisation is only prolonging the inevitable end. What is now rapidly taking over is supply from softwood plantation forests. Softwood already make up 50% of the sawlogs for the building industry and this is going to climb more rapidly as more of these types of forests mature in a few more years."

Reference: John Macley (12/7/94) "Logger Heads." Australian.

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Planatation History

Large areas of plantation planted in the 1950's and 1960's by state governments.

Reference: The Sunday Age 22/1/95 "Timber industry faces own danger." - page 17.

In 1967 Major Softwood planting began with assistance of Commonwealth funding. Aiming for Australia to be self sufficient in wood products by the year 2000.

Reference: Anna-Louise Allen, (May 1993) Forest Changes, Published by Dept. Conservation and Natural Resources.

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Planatation Market Share Sawn Timber 75-90-95

		1995	1990	1975
Plant Vol m3	1.8 mil	-	0.7 mil
Plant %		40	28	17
Native Vol m3	1.7 mil	- 	2.7 mil
Native %	37	40	64
Import Vol m3	1.1 mil	-	-
Import %	24	-	-

Reference: The Sunday Age 22/1/95 "Timber industry faces own danger." - page 17.

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CNR Viewz

"Hardwoods are likely to continue to lose market share in house framing as increased softwood supplies become available (The Victoria Wood Products Working Party, 1993). This will require more species segregation, better marketing and quality control, and improved public perceptions of native forest logging if the industry is to remain viable. The recent CNR report on value adding opportunities for East Gippsland timbers underlines the future possibilities for native timbers.".

Reference: CNR, (1993), "A Research and Development Plan For Victoria's Native Forests, Draft No. 2"

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