Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Before I turn to the substantive issue, I just want to concur with the member for Macnamara and his fine words that ask the Prime Minister to either start leading or resign immediately.

When you've had a difficult week like this one has been, and continues to be for those who work in this place, the business of politics can be quite dispiriting. The important work we do here in parliament can seem devalued, but discussing important and considerable pieces of work such as the report that we have before us today is an important reminder of the important work that does happen in this place. It reminds us that, apart from anything else, the work of this parliament and the people who work here is valued. I want to put on the record my thanks to all the staff here at Parliament House and, in particular, in relation to the tabling of this report, those who work in the secretariat and assisted us to finalise this report and make good recommendations.

It is a pleasure to rise and speak on this report. I was very proud to participate in the work of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Agriculture and Water Resources to produce it. Aussie logs for Aussie jobs is a product of an inquiry which began in June last year. We held five public hearings and took 31 separate submissions. We took submissions from experts, industry and government agencies at the state and federal level. The process of our inquiry and report preparation was ably chaired by the member for O'Connor and even more ably co-chaired by my friend, the member for Lyons. They work well together—the chair and deputy chair.

The title of our report, Aussie logs for Aussie jobs, is absolutely apt. Through our inquiry, we sought to find how we could achieve precisely what the title conveys. How can we use our own natural resources to create jobs here in Australia? How can we expand the sustainable timber industry to expand employment? When we are discussing the forestry industry in Australia, we are talking about an industry with considerable economic impact. The forest products industry has an annual turnover of $24 billion and contributes 0.5 per cent to Australia's GDP. The Bureau of Statistics tells us that, in the year 2017-18, there were 76,200 people employed in the forest products and forest manufacturing industries. Breaking that figure down, that means jobs in logging, sawmilling, paper and converted paper products. That's significant.

The Australian Forest Products Association told us that they estimate that around another 100,000 people are supported by the economic activity generated by the timber industry. We've seen as well that the impact of this industry is disproportionately felt in regional areas of Australia, like the one that I represent in the far north. In the Northern Territory, the forestry industry employs only 170 people at this stage, but there's clearly room for us to grow this figure, and I'll return to this in due course.

The backbone of the timber industry is the national plantation estate. It covers an area of 1.93 million hectares. To put that figure in perspective, forests overall cover 134 million hectares of Australia. That's 17 per cent of our landmass, and plantations make up only a small part of that. The forestry industry of the Northern Territory manages 42,000 hectares of plantation estate. The industry harvests each year $115 million worth of products for domestic and international markets. Altogether, the gross value of the forestry industry in the Northern Territory is $10 billion. It's fair to say that, despite the size of the economic impact of the industry and the breadth of the plantation estate, the timber industry in the Northern Territory could grow more, but it needs more support.

In 2016, the Forest Industry Advisory Council advised the federal government to establish forestry industry hubs in areas 'with varied, high-quality wood resources that are close to wood processors, pulp and paper mills or expert facilities.' The purpose of each hub is to bring together industry and different levels of government to plan and develop strategies to support the growth of the forestry industry in its respective regions. This includes considerations such as: identifying new plantation opportunities, adding value to existing processing and infrastructure assets, engaging in community participation, encouraging local mills to invest in expanding capacity and efficiency, and exploring opportunities for new product manufacturing.

The hub model is a good one. The government agreed as well and announced the creation of nine hubs. But these nine hubs that the government has committed to ignore some significant opportunities to further strengthen and expand the forestry industry. Our inquiry considered this, and our recommendations reflect the need to seize new opportunities. Indeed, the recommendation of greatest interest to me is recommendation 1:

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government establishes two additional Regional Forestry Hubs, in the north part of the Northern Territory—

That's the area that I represent, with the member for Lingiari—

and in south eastern New South Wales.

We came to this recommendation after engaging with industry groups and hearing from them about where we could facilitate industry growth. In particular, I'm grateful to the Forest Industry Association Northern Territory for their work with us on this question. On the opportunity of a regional forestry hub for the Northern Territory, the association told the inquiry:

A founding priority of the hub will be to establish a taskforce to analyse the factors that are limiting productivity and efficiency in the sector … The forestry hub will facilitate the Territory to achieve a CFI certification and will therefore allow the industry to participate in the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF).

There is already great work being done in the forestry industry in the Northern Territory. Last year, during another inquiry of this committee, which resulted in the report on growing Australian agriculture, I spoke to Mark Ashley, a general manager of the Tiwi Plantations Corporation. He told me about the Tiwi Plantation and how it is exporting 16 shiploads of timber to established global markets. When we spoke, he was also exploring interest from potential Indonesian markets.

Mark spoke to me about the significance of forestry as a major source of jobs and economic activity on the Tiwi Islands. Importantly, this means local jobs for local people through their harvesting operations. In 2019, forestry paid approximately $6.8 million in wages, including $2.3 million to employees on the Tiwis, making it a major commercial employer on the island. The plantation itself manages 32,000 hectares of Acacia pulpwood. The forestry product exported is primarily woodchips for pulp and bioenergy markets. The plantation includes woodchip processing and wharf facilities on Melville Island. There is an interest in replacing the pulpwood with hardwood to increase the yield and export value of the forestry product harvested from the Tiwi Islands.

The example of the Tiwi Plantations Corporation is a single example of the success of the forestry industry in the Northern Territory. The inclusion of a regional forestry hub in the territory will be a tremendous value-add for our industry. I'm excited about the prospect of expanding the Northern Territory forestry industry and the creation of new jobs for Territorians. I want to thank the executive of our Forest Industry Association Northern Territory, including Frank Miller, and also the work of Paul Burke. It's going to be great for the Territory moving forward: new jobs for Territorians in harvesting those logs.

I want to congratulate the chair and deputy chair of the committee for this report, and for really backing the Northern Territory forestry industry with recommending that a forestry hub be established in the Top End of Australia. It will be great for us to be able to harvest those Territory logs for Territory jobs.

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