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Last Friday, the Bracks Government gave its blessing to one of the least productive industries in the state when it signed the Western Regional Forest Agreement. It effectively guaranteed the jobs of workers in an industry that owes at least $6 million in unpaid royalties and licence fees (The Age, 31/3); an industry that relies on selling up to 70 per cent of its product as lowgrade woodchips; an industry that has had virtually unfettered access to public forests and has consistently resisted efforts to move to plantations.
Where, in the RFA consultation process, were the same economic rationalists who have guided the Victorian bureaucracy for the past decade? Where were the bean-counters demanding a comparison between income generated by tourism and that generated by the logging industry? Where were the number-crunchers putting a dollar value on scarce water resources? Where were the accountants demanding that the logging industry prove its productivity?
The native forest timber industry has not proved that it is economically sustainable. It should be accountable for the war in which it utilises a public resource.
The State Government has knowingly signed an RFA that has ignored this necessity for accountability. As one of 8000 put out of a job because we couldn't account for our productivity, I'd like to know why jobs in the logging industry appear to be sacrosanct.
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