Forests NSW Restructure

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About this ItemSpeakers - Torbay Mr Richard Business - Private Members Statements, PRIV
FORESTS NSW RESTRUCTURE
Page: 22229
Mr RICHARD TORBAY (Northern Tablelands—Speaker) [7.00 p.m.]: The latest plan to cut front-line jobs in the Forests NSW restructure is a matter of public concern, not simply because jobs will be lost in regional areas, such as the Northern Tablelands, but because of the loss of expertise and changes to the regulatory system that will put native forests and their regeneration and protection at risk. I have been informed the restructure is being rushed to meet a 30 June deadline and that the focus has been on achieving short-term savings and profits at the expense of endangering our native forests and the environment. Today I call for a halt to this process until an independent assessment has been undertaken to inform the Government and the people of New South Wales exactly what impact this new deregulated system will have on native forests in all parts of the State. I also question the covert nature of this restructure, which has left workers with mixed messages about what is happening to their jobs.

The crux of the issue is that the majority of the 70 positions being jettisoned by Forests NSW are supervising forestry officers. These officers are responsible for checking harvesters and haulers to ensure that the contracts have the correct chip, salvage or quota loaded. They select the trees for harvesting to protect the best species and critical mass for forest regeneration and native habitat. When these monitoring positions go contractors will operate in a deregulated environment and will be expected to be self-managing in regard to the trees they take. In other words, the loss of those positions has the potential to offer open slather for contractors to clear-fell as they wish with no-one at the forest face to supervise harvesting practices and quantities. As one of the local people concerned about this issue said to me, "If you take away the sheriff the cowboys will run amok."

Supervising forestry officers have built up an expertise in maintaining native forests in the areas in which they work. In New England, for instance, because of the cold climate, regeneration of trees is more difficult. More species have to be preserved to ensure regrowth for the future. There is great concern in my region that the new regime proposed by Forests NSW does not take these environmental concerns into consideration and that contractors do not have the expertise or interest in sustainable forest regeneration. There is a vast difference between harvesting plantation timber, the abundant and more easily renewable coastal species, and harvesting the more precarious highland timbers in the region I represent. Removing local supervising officers who have been trained to protect specific forest environments is neither in the public interest nor in the interest of a long-term sustainable supply of timber for the market place. New South Wales, like the rest of Australia and the world, is expected to experience a severe timber shortage by 2020. We should be working towards improving and building our forestry stock, not eliminating it through sharp practices.

Another issue is fire management in native forests. All forestry staff are trained firefighters and much of their work is to mitigate fire risk and to be available 24/7 to fight and control fires as they occur. Reducing numbers in Walcha, for instance, from eight to four staff will reduce this capacity in the home area as well as in other regions at times when assistance is needed. The management of planned redundancies by Forests NSW is also a cause for concern because it has been poorly handled. The Minister has given an assurance that no-one will be sacked immediately, and that redundancy packages have been offered. However, staff have received information saying that 70 excess jobs will go by end of the 2012 financial year. Figures I have been given show that 35 field workers in Mandalong, Maitland, Dungog, Walcha, Wauchope and Taree will lose their jobs. I would like Forests NSW to outline the number of administrative jobs that have been cut in this restructure, as my understanding is that almost all have been saved and some upgraded.

It reflects poorly on Forests NSW that it has not been upfront about its restructure, nor has it explained its policy to supervise logging operations to ensure existing high environmental standards are maintained and native forests safeguarded from unsupervised contractors. In view of public disquiet, and in the public interest, I call on the Minister to put a halt to this restructure until independent assessors have measured its impact. Deregulation and corporatisation of government entities can have an upside, but in this instance the downside being reported across this State should be investigated without delay.