Claims by Thomas Brabin (9/6) concerning employment associated with woodchipping are, unfortunately, not substantiated by facts. For example, a woodchip mill, processing four million tonnes of forest logs per annum, can have less than 10 full-time jobs. Mechanisation of felling and transport associated with industrial forestry, relies heavily on machinery and employs relatively few people, a trend evident in the decline of jobs in the industry over the past 10 years. Woodchip volumes have increased, while jobs have declined.
The economic benefits quoted are also dubious -- in Victoria, logging in native forests is subsidised by the taxpayer to the tune of $10 million a year. Claims that woodchips utilise unusable residues are ridiculous - over 90 per cent of logs from some coupes are woodchipped. Make no mistake, woodchips are the main product of this unsustainable industry.
In addition, the much-heralded Regional Forest Agreement for East Gippsland
is shown to be a farce by those who conducted scientific studies 6f the
Goolengook Forest Block (Dr Lunt, 9/6). All the inquiries conducted into
the industry to date have only succeeded in whitewashing the economic and
environmental disaster of woodchipping. A royal commission is urgently
needed to examine the veracity of industry claims. We need to determine
why an industry that is clearly not operating in the best interest of the
Australian public enjoys ongoing support from Government bodies such as
Victoria's Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the Australian
Heritage Commission. Let's get some real facts on the table before it is
too late.