issue280

Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: [email protected] 1ISSUE 280 | 29.07.13 | PAGE

AUSTRALIAN timber importers have expressed concern that the new European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR) has been found ineffective in keeping illegally harvested wood out of the market.After six months of tracking illegal logs from the Congo rainforest to western Europe, a BBC TV investigation has exposed loopholes in the EUTR.It started with a two-day stakeout at the port of La Rochelle on France’s Atlantic coast. Some logs imported from the Congo, while marked in accordance with EUTR, showed the zone markings

appeared to have been altered to change the zone of origin.Under Australian illegal logging regulations, timber from countries recognised under the EUTR Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT), voluntary partnership agreements (VPA) are deemed legal.The EU has a FLEGT VPA with the Republic of Congo, but it appears this may not be preventing illegal timber from being exported from the region.Some importers have said that, given this situation, they believe the protection for Australian

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7774

ISSUE 280 | 29.07.13 | PAGE 1

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Congo logs escapenew EU timber laws

• industry launches marginal seats campaign• native forest waste stokes power option

taskforce review of nsw softwoods sector

• Bill nutting was driving force in industry

• Anxiety message at t.u.G. luncheon

• that’s not just a forest

• Biomass turns out ‘green gasoline’

THIS ISSUE

Illegally harvested wood enters themarket through back door in France

Loophole .. markings show Congo logs are entering Europe illegally.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.osmose.com.au


www.timtech.info

www.forestrystandard.org.au

Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: [email protected] PAgE | issuE 280 | 29.07.132

industry news

FREECALL

Melbourne

Sydney

Adelaide

Launceston

1800 177 001

(03) 9321 3500

(02) 8898 6990

(08) 8219 9028

(03) 6331 6077

ABN: 58 006 212 693

[email protected]

www.forestworks.com.au

Improving our industry’s capacity

to develop and maintain a skilled

workforce ............................

Forest industry launchesmarginal seats campaignCandidates in 21 seats across 6 states targetedTHE Australian Forest Products Association has launched a marginal and forestry seats campaign to bring forest policy to the fore in the coming federal election.Candidates in 21 seats across six states, all with strong forestry or forest products interests, are being targeted. These seats will help determine the make-up of the next federal government.AFPA CEO Mr Ross Hampton said 200,000 Australian’s relied on forestry and forest products industries for their livelihood.“These voters will be looking for federal representatives of parliament who understand that these jobs sustain their regional and rural communities,” Mr Hampton said.“If these real jobs are not maintained many other service jobs in these communities – such as hospitality workers, accountants, hairdressers and shop assistants – are also put at risk.“The industry has weathered many storms in the last few

years and is still reeling from the ‘triple crunch’ of a high dollar, lack of resource security and high input costs. Now is the time for our politicians and candidates to show they understand this and have a plan to do something to help.”The AFPA marginal seats campaign will be targeting the electorates of Eden-Monaro, Page, Farrer and Lyne in New

South Wales; Corangamite, Gippsland, Wannon and Indi in Victoria; Forde, Leichhardt and Dawson in Queensland; Forrest, Canning and Pearce in Western Australia; Mayo and Barker in South Australia; and Braddon, Bass, Franklin, Lyons and Denison in Tasmania.Every nominated candidate will be surveyed and asked a range of questions relating to their support for forest industries in their electorate. The results will be reported to the local media in each area and included on the www.ausfpa.com.au website.Mr Hampton said forest products could play a very large role in satisfying the demands of a growing population for building and lifestyle materials which are sustainable.“They also underpin significant sustainable development and the creation of regional jobs,” he said.“Support for forestry and forest product industries is an environmental and economic win-win for any government.”

Ross Hampton .. support for forestry and forest product industries is an environmental and economic win-win for any government.

TASMANIA’S forest industry will receive almost a quarter of a $100 million forest peace deal.Visiting the state last week, the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd revealed the list of 31 projects to benefit from the money which will target displaced forestry workers.Four hundred applications were received for a share of the funding which is aimed at diversifying the state economy in response to the forestry downturnMalaysian-owned veneer producer Ta Ann will receive $7.5 million for a plywood mill in the state’s northwest which it promised to fund and build itself

if state parliament passed the forest peace deal legislation.Sawmiller Britton Timbers has been allocated $1.2 million to expand, while southern processor Oak Tasmania has been granted $4 million.Tasmanian Premier Lara Giddings says she is grateful for the federal government’s support in helping to restructure the forestry industry.“[It’s] a restructure we couldn’t avoid, one that we had to work through and one that we’re trying to assist local communities to be able to grow new jobs and have hope,” she said.“What you’re delivering here today with the $100 million

economic and jobs plan is

absolutely critical to this state.”

Other projects to be funded

under the Tasmanian Jobs

and Growth Plan are spread

throughout the state and cover

tourism, agriculture, aquaculture

and manufacturing.

There is $10 million for an

industry and innovation fund

and a $3.5 million tourism fund.

Mr Rudd says his government

wants to keep the Tasmanian

economy strong.

• treating tasmanians like mugs

– P. 9

$7.5m for ta Ann ply mill in forest peace deal


http://www.forestworks.com.au

http://www.ausfpa.com.au


Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: [email protected] 3issue 280 | 29.07.13 | Page

definition of the scope of laws for duediligence imperative for local industry

industry news

From Page 1

importers under the Australian regulation’s recognition of EUTR VPAs are weakened.“This situation shows the hazards of Australian law recognising bilateral agreements between two other countries,” a Sydney importer said.“We are a non-signatory to EU VPAs, and so have no control over these agreements nor over how they are administered or policed.“If an importer brought in timber from the Congo, thinking it was OK because it had an EU VPA, and then this timber was found illegal, the importer would be in an impossible situation. “Under the Australian Illegal Logging Act, they could be (criminally) convicted of importing illegal timber, yet have no recourse against the flawed EU VPA which failed to protect them under the Australian regulations.”The executive director of Greenpeace UK John Sauven said that under the new EU timber regulations, the import of this timber into France should have raised a red flag.“This is at the very highest risk of what these timber regulations are about,” he said.“The operator who was importing the timber should have been held to account.“It is absolutely urgent that France sets up a proper body to deal with it because if France or other countries don’t participate properly and effectively within the European timber regulation, then it will weaken it and it won’t work in the way it was set up to do.”In May, the London-based watchdog group Global Witness found that only 300 of Ghana’s 800 logging permits met EU timber regulation standards.[The UK government put the EU

regulation on imported timber and wood products into force on March 3. The EUTR aims to outlaw the trade in these products and asks operators importing or producing timber to identify the country of origin of the timber and its legality.

In the UK this means that the authorities can confiscate illegal timber and prosecute importers who have no system in place to assess the risk that the timber is illegal. Much of the illegal timber traded globally comes from central Africa and southeast Asian countries].

Getting the definition of the scope of laws right for due diligence is imperative for Australian industry as an open-ended scope of laws is open to abuse.Industry observers say there needs to be more work done on the regulation this year by a newly-elected federal government so the scope of laws is restricted to legal right to harvest (i.e. legal origin) rather than compliance with all harvesting laws.Due diligence for processors from November 2014 means they will have to show that their supplies are low (not zero) risk of being illegally harvested. One way of doing this will be to assess supply against risk factors such as prevalence of illegal logging in the area of harvest; prevalence of illegal logging of that species in that area; and any other information that a reasonable person should know which indicates that the log is illegally logged.Meanwhile, nine European forest organisations have signed a letter expressing their concern that the European Commission has delayed

publishing the new EU Forest Strategy.The organisations say that ‘’the European Commission is overlooking the importance of forests and forestry in EU policy by postponing publication of the strategy, even though forests represent 40% of land use in Europe.’’‘’The clock is ticking. Further delay in proposing a coherent approach on Europe’s forests can only lead to more fragmented and possibly contradictory decisions’’, chairman of the EU Advisory Group on Forestry Juah Hakarainen said.Furthermore, the organisations complained that the EC is hesitant in embracing a coherent strategy on forests and forestry. Despite numerous requests addressed to the commission to release the strategy, so that it could be examined by the European Parliament and the EU Council, no action has been taken.The new EU Forest Strategy would replace the existing one which dates back to 1998. It faces new challenges such as climate change, renewable energy, biodiversity, resource efficiency and the green economy and needs to establish a coherent framework with other policy areas.

EU regulations fail .. reports shows illegal logs are still entering Europe.

John Sauven .. import of timber into France should have raised a red flag.

there needs to be more work done on the regulation this year by a newly-elected federal

government’ – industry observers



By JiM BOwden

DEPRESSION and anxiety and politics were an interesting mix in an address by business professional and former ACT chief minister Kate Carnell AO at a timber industry luncheon in Brisbane this month.“An estimated 45% of people will experience a mental health condition in their lifetime,” said Ms Carnell who is CEO of the national depression organisation Beyond Blue, based in Melbourne.Speaking to a gathering of 48 representatives of industry, organised by the Timber United Group (T.U.G.) at Fratelli Restaurant on July 19, Ms Carnell said around one million Australian adults, in any one year, had depression and more than two million had anxiety.“While depression and anxiety are different conditions, it is not uncommon for them to occur at the same time,” she said. “Over half of those who experience depression also experience symptoms of anxiety. In some cases, one can lead to the onset of the other.”Ms Carnell said Beyond Blue’s mission to provide national leadership to reduce the impact of depression and anxiety in the community had achieved encouraging results – an outreach to a growing health problem.

This had increased awareness

of the problem, reduced stigma

and discrimination, improved

help seeking and facilitated

learning, collaboration,

innovation and research.

Ms Carnell, a former CEO of the National Association of Forest Industries and chair of the Cooperative Research Centre for Forestry, is the granddaughter of Queensland’s first Conservator of Forests Victor Grenning.

She was elected Chief Minister of the ACT in 1995 and re-elected in 1998, becoming the first Liberal woman to be elected as Chief Minister or Premier in Australian political history.

Drawn on the subject of the approaching federal election, Ms Carnell said Queensland voters would decide the outcome.

She said both contenders, Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott, had moved the election battleground to regional areas and seven Queensland seats hung in the balance.

[Among the Queensland key seats up for grabs are the LNP-held Flynn, Longman, Brisbane and Forde and the ALP-held Capricornia, Petrie and Moreton].

The Timber United Group is administered by Brisbane Hoo-Hoo Club 218. The day raised more than $1500 for children’s charities.

eVents

Message about anxiety problemstugs at hearts of luncheon guests

Beyond Blue has increased the awareness of the problem and reduced stigma and

discrimination

Catching up at T.U.G … John Crooke of Queensland Sawmills (left) and Colin MacKenzie, timber application and use manager, Timber Queensland.

Forest friends have a lot in common

Enjoying the T.U.G. luncheon are Graham Leddy and Jenni Day of Versace Timbers, Brisbane, Charlie Henry of Charlie Henry Enterprises, Sanctuary Bay, and Alicia Oelkers, Queensland manager, TABMA Australia.

Forest friends .. guest speaker at the T.U.G. luncheon in Brisbane Kate Carnell AO mixes with Queensland foresters Tom Ryan, Dr Gary Bacon, and Dick Pegg. This turned into an historic photo as Ms Carnell is the granddaughter of Queensland’s first Conservator of Forests Victor Grenning and Tom Ryan was the last person in forestry to carry the title Conservator of Forests. The late Victor Grenning retired in 1964 after steering forestry in the state through the turbulent times of war and reconstruction into the relatively stable 1960s. Under his direction the area of reserved forested land and softwood plantations in Queensland increased significantly and research was undertaken in timber use and seasoning, plantation tending, fire detection and control, and other forestry matters. He was also the chairman of the board of trustees of Brisbane Grammar School for many years, which probably accounts for so many students from BGS joining Queensland Forestry. Dick Pegg, a former BGS student, said Mr Grenning’s teachings had influenced his decision to enter a career in forestry in Queensland more than 60 years ago.



eVents

wHAt’s On?

Australia’s forest, wood, pulp and paper products industry now has a stronger voice in dealings with government, the community and in key negotiations on the industry’s future, as two peak associations have merged to form a single national association.

The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) has been formed through the merger of the Australian Plantations Products and Paper Industry Council (A3P) and the National Association of Forest Industries (NAFI).

AFPA was established to cover all aspects of Australia’s forest industry:

- Forest growing; - Harvest and haulage; - Sawmilling and other

wood processing; - Pulp and paper processing; and

- Forest product exporting.

For more information on the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) or to enquire about membership , please call (02) 6285 3833.

AUGUST

8-9: dAnA 2013: Oceania Plantation, Forest and wood Products trade Conference.Bayview Eden Hotel, Melbourne.Email: [email protected]/danamelbourne2013

16: institute of Foresters of Australia (Qld division) AGM and seminar. Tattersall’s Club, Brisbane, 2pm. RSVP Monday, August 12. Contact: Emma Leslie-Mohr, IFA QLD division secretary on 0429 270 622. Email: [email protected]

24: (saturday): the Cat Goes Gold. Brisbane Hoo-Hoo Club 218 50th anniversary celebration. Fratelli Italian Ristorante, 103 Crosby Road, Albion, Brisbane. $79 p.p. for three-course meal and wines. $75 p.p. for tables of 10. Payments and bookings to PO Box 3236, Sunnybank South Qld 4109. Contact 0401 312 087 or 0428 745 455 for bookings.

sePteMBer

3-5: woodeXPO 13 – Albury, nsw.

11-13: woodeXPO 13, Rotorua, NZ. World leaders in wood processing, manufacturing and new product technologies will speak at the region’s fi rst ‘business-to-business’ wood industry show. The new expo will provide local companies – management as well as production staff – exposure to new technologies that can improve their own effi ciencies and productive capability. Leading technology providers from Europe, North America and Asia will join with each of the main equipment

and product suppliers from New Zealand and Australia. Full details on the expo, summit and technology workshops are available on www.woodexpo2013.com

27: FsC Friday.A global celebration of the world’sforests highlighting the importanceof responsible forest management.Every year, schools, businesses,individuals, forest owners/managersand other organisations around theworld get involved in spreading theword about FSC and responsibleforestry. Visit http://www.fscfriday.org/index.htm

OCtOBer

11: Forest and wood Products Australian AGM. In conjunction with meeting of the Australian Timber Importers Federation and an industry value chain seminar. An industry dinner is planned for Thursday evening, October 10. Information about the AGM and seminar will be circulated at a later date.

11: Forest and wood Products Australia (FwPA) AGM and research forum. Time: 8:30-10:30 am. Venue: Novotel Rockford Darling Harbour Hotel, Sydney. Inquiries to Ric Sinclair, FWPA (03) 9927 3200 or [email protected]

11: Building stronger value chains – Australian timber industry seminar. Time: 10.30 am-5 pm. Venue: Novotel Rockford Darling Harbour Hotel, Sydney. Joint hosts: Forest and Wood Products Australia (FWPA); the Australian Timber Importers Federation (ATIF) and Timber Merchants and Building Material Association (TABMA). This

will be the industry’s ‘must-attend’ event for 2013. Inquiries to John Halkett, ATIF (02) 9356 3826; Colin Fitzpatrick, TABMA (02) 9277 3100 Ric Sinclair, FWPA (03) 9927 3200 or Eileen Newbury, Leading Edge Events International (03) 9597 0948. Seminar sponsorship inquiries to John Halkett.

11: Australian timber industry annual gala dinner and awards presentation. Time 7:30 pm onwards. Timber and Building Material Association (TABMA) Doltone House, Pyrmont, Sydney. Pre-dinner drinks 6:30 pm. Inquiries to Colin Fitzpatrick, TABMA (02) 9277 3100 or [email protected]

nOVeMBer

23: tABMA Queensland timber industry gala dinner. Moda Events Portside Level 2, Portside Wharf Hamilton. Contact Alicia on (07) 3254 3166 or [email protected]

deCeMBer

4-5. Focus on improvingtransport and logistics in theforestry sector. It will build on the excellent program designed by the Forest Industry Engineering Association.Visit www.foresttechevents.com

FeBruAry 2014

17-21: Gottstein wood science Course, Melbourne. Inquiries to Dr Silvia Pongracic (Gottstein Trust), 0418 764 954 or [email protected] or www.gottsteintrust.org


http://www.prcc.com.au/


http://www.woodexpo2013.com

http://www.fscfriday


http://www.foresttechevents.com

http://www.gottsteintrust.org



www.holtec.org


eVents

Meeting up at the Timber United Group luncheon in Brisbane .. Stephen Walker, Queensland president, Institute of Foresters of Australia (second from right) with Agri-Science Queensland team Gary Hopewell, principal scientist, forest product innovations, Lesley Francis, research scientist, and Adam Redman wood scientist.

Pre-luncheon chat at the T.U.G meeting .. Tom Ryan, a former Queensland Conservator of Forests, Ian (Chick) Robb, general manager, Tree Crop Technologies, Brisbane, Jack Norton of Jack Norton Timber Protection, Brisbane, and Tim Evans, Coast to Coast Pacific, Caboolture, Qld.

Enjoying a lunch under the eucalypts at Fratelli Restaurant .. Frank Withey, Gold Coast (formerly Standard Sawmilling), David Armstrong, formerly CEO, Queensland Timber Board, Don Towerton, Thora Wholesale Timbers, Coopers Plains, Brisbane, Alfred Chapple, truss and frame estimator, Loganlea, Qld, Noel Griffiths, Skyline Building Supplies, Seven Hills, and Tony Stokes, timber industry consultant, Carina, Brisbane.

Getting together at the T.U.G luncheon .. Robbie McGavin, research facility and project manager, DAFF Salisbury Research Centre, Brisbane, Matthew English, Greenwood International, Brisbane, Dr Henri Bailleres, team leader, process and product development, DAFF Salisbury, Simon Dorries, general manager, Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia, and Dennis Morrell, EWPAA administration.


http://www.calibre-equipment.com


THE NSW Environment Protection Authority is seeking comment on a draft regulation to exclude two additional types of materials from the definition of ‘native forest bio-material’ under the Protection of the Environment Operations (General) Regulation 2009.This will allow them to be burnt in electricity generating works with a capacity of over 200 kilowatts.The two materials proposed to be excluded are invasive native species cleared in accordance with a property vegetation plan, within the meaning of the Native Vegetation Act 2003; and certain material resulting from forestry operations carried out on land to which an Integrated Forestry Operations Approval (IFOA) applies under Part 5B of the Forestry Act 2012, as well as debris from clearing carried out in accordance with a private native forestry property vegetation plan.The executive director of the NSW Forest Products Association Russ Ainley said the change in regulation to allow biomaterial for electricity only applied to native forests; mill residues and plantation biomaterial were already allowed.“And it is allowable to use the material for anything other than electricity,” he said.“So the change just fixes the anomaly and an alternative market for woodchip exports.“There is no change to forest management and the AFS requirements will be met in exactly the same way as before.“For electricity production, there remains the problem of delivery cost of the resource to the generator. So nothing much will change for a long while.”The NSW Environment Protection Authority says the change will make better use of waste wood from logging.

Under the changes, trees that might otherwise have been made into pulp might now be burnt for electricity.The plan has been welcomed by the logging industry, which called it a “common sense move’’ that gives sawmills the opportunity to use offcuts and woodchips that would otherwise have been left to lie on the groundGary Whytcross, a director of the NSW EPA, said the proposed changes had been designed to avoid any perverse outcomes

– and would not increase the intensity of harvesting.‘’The EPA will continue to regulate the forestry industry and penalise unlawful clearing,” he said.Greens MP John Kaye said the change was designed to rescue the state’s logging industry, which was already thought to be heavily propped up by government subsidies.Public exhibition on the draft regulation has commenced and comments will be received until August 20.

industry news

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Contact the Australian Lonza team for full details of the Lonza value package. phone:1300 650 636

native forest waste stokes poweroption in nsw regulation change

Russ Ainley .. proposed regulation fixes an anomaly


Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: [email protected] PAGE | ISSUE 280 | 29.07.138

eVents

Cedar coffee tablea valuable prize inclub charity raffl e

Returning to the action ..Brisbane Timber Industry

Hoo-Hoo Club 218’s ’77 Holden Kingswood is ready

for the 2013 Queensland Variety Club Bush Bash

from Emerald in central Queensland, via Winton and Mount Isa, to Mission Beach in Far North Queensland.

Members of the Brisbane Hoo-Hoo Club 218 Bush Bash team committee prepare for the Queensland Variety Club’s ‘Sun, Saddles & Surf’ Variety Bash starting in Emerald in central Queensland , west to Blackall and Stonehenge, up to Winton, across to Boulia, up to Mount Isa and further north to Normanton, then across to the coast via Georgetown and Mareeba to Mission Beach in North Queensland.

Brisbane Timber Industry Hoo-Hoo Club 218 has entered the 2013 Variety Club of Queensland Bush Bash from August 5 to 14 to raise funds for disadvantaged children, travelling in the clubs’ veteran Bush Bash performer – a 1977 Holden Kingswood.The Variety Bush Bash in the club’s major children’s charity event this year.Please support it and show how the forest and forest products industry can enrich the lives of underprivileged children.Your sponsorship will attract wide media coverage and is tax deductible.

For more information and to discuss sponsorship options contact one of the committee members:Alan Jones 0419 754 681 Don Towerton 0428 745 455 Tim Evans 0417 726 741 Jim Bowden 0401 312 087

We sincerely thank the following sponsors:

Major Sponsors

John Crooke, Queensland Sawmills

HQ Plantations

Advanced Timber Systems

Sponsors (to date)

EWPAA

Austbrokers Premier Insurance

Tim Tech Chemicals

Kop-Coat NZ

Frank Withey

Spiro Notaras (Notaras Bros, Grafton,NSW)

John Gill

Noel Griffiths (Skyline Building Services)

Nigel Turvey (Gro Group, NT)

David Alcock (Asia Pacific Timber Marketing)

Gerry Gardiner (iTreat Timber Pty Ltd)

Paul Anderson (IMEMS Pty Ltd)

Ron Bell

IT’S time had come. The dying giant red cedar (Toona australis) was laid down on David Southern’s property – only to live again in a many beautiful artifacts turned out by this English-born wood carver.“I salvaged about 4 cub m of boards and slabs from this magnifi cent tree,” said Mr Southern who has been working with wood for more than 20 years.One item from his prized collection is a coffee table crafted from the dead tree at his workshop at Curramore, 75 km from Brisbane on the western edge of the Blackall Range.The cedar table, valued at more than $1500, is fi rst prize in a raffl e organised by Brisbane Hoo-Hoo Timber Industry Club 218 to raise funds for children’s charities. It will be drawn at the club’s 50th anniversary dinner on August 24.The dinner – The Cat Goes Gold – at Fratelli Restaurant at Albion in Brisbane will cost $79 a ticket, which includes a three-course dinner and drinks, and is open to all of industry.Red cedar was ruthlessly felled by ealy timber-getters and was affectionately known by Australian settlers as ‘red gold’.

“It is still is highly sought after for its rich deep lustre and the ease of working with it,” Mr Southern said.

He is a member of Blackall Range Woodcrafters Guild and most of his work has been produced in the last nine years. He started his working life as an apprentice draughtsman and then spent six years in the British Army as a musician.

Mr Saunders, who is profi cient at the string base and euphonium, also makes guitars.

“Professional players tell me the sound and tone of the guitars are good, so I must be doing something right,” Mr Saunders said.

The raffl e tickets sell for $5 each, three for $10 and seven for $20 and offer a range of crafted wood prizes. The raffl e tickets can be purchased at the celebration dinner or in advance from Don Towerton, Thora Wholesale Timbers. Tel: 0428 745 455 or email: [email protected]

Bookings for the dinner, with discounts for tables of 10, can be made by telephoning Don or Jim Bowden on 0401 312 087.

Red gold .. David Southern with his prized red cedar coffee table to be raffl ed in August.



industry news

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rudd’s forest dealtreats Tasmanianslike mugs: senatorRECYCLED Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is treating Tasmanians like mugs – asking them to believe the government has done its homework on 400 applications for forest shutdown funding in just six days, says Coalition forestry spokesman Senator Richard Colbeck.He said that on July 9, in the face of vocal pressure from local government and business, State Economic Development Minister David O’Byrne announced a 10-day extension for applications to the scheme.“Then yesterday [July 24 ] in Launceston, just days after the new cut off, Mr Rudd unveiled the recipients,” Senator Colbeck said.“This is a disgusting display of pork barrelling of the highest order. “We have said from the outset this is a slush fund to salvage Labor’s shattered hopes in Tasmania – trying to distract from its appalling track record, having worked with Green partners to shut down forestry and lock more of the state into reserve.“It is an insult to the people here. Has Labor methodically worked through 400 submissions in six days? Of course not.“Do they seriously think a $90 million sugar fix heading into the election will compensate for $700 million a year in revenue we will lose from the forest industry?”Since June 11, after damning Auditor General reports into previous Labor-run forestry shut-down packages, Senator

Colbeck has repeatedly called for basic information which has been ignored: What was the application process to access the funding? Who was eligible? What were the terms and conditions? What is the process for assessing projects or applications? Who was on the panel with Professor West and how would they operate? What was the process for announcing the grants? What are the compliance arrangements?

“This is old school Kevin Rudd, riding his chaos train across the country,” Senator Colbeck said. “This is the bloke that brought us pink batts. Are we seriously going to trust him to get the rebuild of the Tasmanian economy right with a $100 million slush fund?

“Tasmanians will remember that this rebuild is required because of the havoc and destruction caused by Labor and its Green mates.”

Senator Colbeck .. disgusting display of pork barrelling.

‘do they seriously think a $90 million sugar fix heading into the election will compensate for

$700 million a year in revenue loss?’ – richard Colbeck






www.naturallybetter.com.au


A DRIVING force in the Queensland timber industry who for almost 70 years helped steer the Bretts timber and hardware family business to iconic status in the building trade has died in Brisbane, aged 87.The life of William (Bill) Gerald Nutting was celebrated last Monday when more than 350 colleagues, friends and family members gathered at St Augustine’s Anglican Church in the Brisbane riverside suburb of Hamilton.The church was built only nine years before Mr Nutting was born on May 31, 1926, in Upper Lancaster Road, Ascot. Like the church, Mr Nutting’s life was deeply rooted in the community, a life that started just around the corner, and almost all of it in or near the water within the villages of Ascot and Hamilton.Mr Nutting was the son of Gerald and Eileen Nutting. His mother was a Brett which accounts for the linking of the two families with the Bretts company, a part of the state’s timber and building landscape for almost a century.Mr Nutting joined the family company in 1946 after serving in the Royal Australian Navy. He became chief coxswain on the Coongoola at the age of 18 and served on the ship in 1944 and 1945. Based in Darwin, the ship was used to lay mines to keep Japanese submarines out of Darwin Harbour.His first year at Bretts was as assistant manager at Manubar Timber Co, west of Gympie, a company originally owned and run by his father. He stayed with the company six months before accepting a post-war full-time rehabilitation course in accountancy.

He then moved to Western Timber Co, based in Dalby, as assistant manager and paymaster. Bretts had six sawmills and timber processing plants in the district. Part of his role was to visit all the Bretts’ mills with, as he recalled, “the payroll cash in one hand and a hand gun for protection in the other”.From Dalby, Mr Nutting moved to Inglewood in southwest Queensland to manage Bretts’ cypress mill, completing four years as a bush sawmiller from 1948 to 1951.Up until the advent of particleboard sheet flooring, the mill predominantly produced low-cost T&G flooring for the building industry. The sawmill was recently sold to a group of Melbourne wholesale timber merchants as part of a longer

term strategy by Bretts to get out of wholesaling completely and focus entirely on retailing to builders and the Brisbane DIY marketDuring his time at Inglewood, Bill Nutting met his wife Pat Roberts, a nurse from Toowoomba, and they married on December 16, 1950.Mr Nutting’s passions in life were boats, fishing, friendship and family. He had an incredible mind and always loved a joke and a good story.His professional life was forever woven through the state’s timber industry. He was chairman of the Queensland Timber Board 1968-70, a director of the Timber Research and Development Advisory Council, a director of the Plywood Association of Australasia, and a pioneer and

founding member of Brisbane Hoo-Hoo Club 218.He lived to see the third generation company of Bretts Timber & Hardware – now run by his son Bill jnr – join forces with the Home Timber & Hardware group, as the family-run business reinvests and grows its operations by aligning to a national buying group.In rich eulogies delivered at the service, one remarked that “William Gerald Nutting was best known for his traits in equal proportions – generosity, loyalty, dedication and humour. He cherished every cent he earned as if it were his first and then splashed it around his friends and family like there was no tomorrow. His reward – the joy and smiles on their faces”.Bill Nutting is survived by his wife Pat, children Penny, Felicity, Paula, Jill and Bill jnr, 13 grandchildren and sister Marion.

PASSAGES

Bill nutting was driving force inthe Queensland timber industry350 celebrated a rich life at Brisbane service

Bill Nutting (centre) who managed Inglewood cypress mill in his early days with Bretts, is pictured at a Brisbane function in the late 1990s with David Armstrong, then general manager, Queensland Timber Board (third from right), and friends in the cypress industry, from left, Harvey Goodchild, Yuleba Cypress, Miles, Charles Achilles, Hyne, Chinchilla, the late Guy Simon, Simon Pty Ltd, Toowoomba, Errol Wildman, Wildman Timbers, Toowoomba, and Bob McKay, McKay Sawmills, Dalby and Roma. – Picture Jim Bowden

‘william Gerald nutting was best known for his traits in equal proportions – generosity,

loyalty, dedication and humour’



industry news

Cont Page 17

NSW taskforce reviews softwoodforest and wood processing sector

You’re walkingthe plank if youput your trust in

imported untestednon-certified woodThe risk is too great.• Damage to your business• Possible loss of life• Legal action• Media exposure

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Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia

Tel: +61 7 3250 3700 Fax: +61 7 3252 4769 Email:

[email protected] Web: www.ewp.asn.au

Not everything is what it seems. Trust only tested and certified products that are guaranteed*. Untested and non-certified structural plywood, wood panels, LVL and

formply can cause serious accidents – even deaths – on building sites, resulting in litigation. They can be

traced to the source of supply.

The NSW Forest Industries Taskforce focused on softwood-related forestry and wood processing activities at its meeting and field trip last week. Meeting in Tumut, the taskforce, chaired by the NSW Parliamentary Secretary for Natural Resources Troy Grant, reviewed a range of critical issues for the softwood plantation sector, ongoing native forest-based operational issues and related topics, including wood processing, residue utilisation and public land management.Tumut Mayor Trina Thomson stressed the values in terms of jobs and community benefits to the region from the substantial forest and wood processing industry.This had enabled Tumut to buck the declining population and employment trends currently faced by other rural centres, she said.Ms Thomson, however, emphasised the need to pay attention to and resource regional infrastructure and road upgrading to support the industry and local government authorities in that part of the state.The taskforce also visited the

NSW Forest Industries Taskforce members join with NSW Forestry Corporation and Visy staff to inspect early commercial thinning of radiata pine in Bago forest.

Inspecting nursery production operations .. David Dawson, Minister for Primary Industries office, Nick Roberts, CEO, NSW Forestry Corporation, Troy Grant, NSW Parliamentary Secretary for Natural Resources, and Andrew Hurford, chairman, NSW Forest Products Association.


http://www.ewp.asn.au


Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: [email protected] PAGE | ISSUE 280 | 29.07.1312

CHArity eVent

Celebrations start at 6:29 pm with pre-dinner drinks and antipasto platters on the restaurant deck under the eucalypts, followed at 7.29 pm by a three-course dinner accompanied by wines, beers and soft drinks

Celebrations start at 6:29 pm with pre-dinner drinks and antipasto platters on Celebrations start at 6:29 pm with pre-dinner drinks and antipasto platters on Celebrations start at 6:29 pm with pre-dinner drinks and antipasto platters on Celebrations start at 6:29 pm with pre-dinner drinks and antipasto platters on Celebrations start at 6:29 pm with pre-dinner drinks and antipasto platters on Celebrations start at 6:29 pm with pre-dinner drinks and antipasto platters on Celebrations start at 6:29 pm with pre-dinner drinks and antipasto platters on

Fratelli Restaurant

Prizes • Special Guest Speaker • A night also to honour club foundersDress: Smart casual • Plenty of parking space

Accommodation options within 10 minutes of venue:Brisbane Riverside Hotel, Cnr Kingsford Smih Drive and Hunt Street, Hamilton.

Tel: (07) 3862 1800Airport Ascot Motel, 550 Kingsford Smith Drive, Hamilton. Tel: (07) 3268 5266Kingsford Smith Motel, 610 Kingsford Smith Drive, Hamilton. Tel: 3868 4444

Riverview Motel, Riverview Terrace, Hamilton. Tel: (07) 3268 4666 Contact: 0401 312 087 or 0428 745 455 for celebration

dinner bookings. RSVP by August 16, 2013.Bookings and payments to

PO Box 3236, Sunnybank South Qld 4109

undersPrizes • Special Guest Speaker • A night also to honour club fothree-course dinner accompanied by wines, beers and soft drinks

undersundersthree-course dinner accompanied by wines, beers and soft drinksthree-course dinner accompanied by wines, beers and soft drinks

Brisbane Riverside Hotel, Cnr Kingsford Smih Drive and Hunt Street, Hamilton.

$79pp includes 3-course dinner & wine.Tables of 10 $75pp

Let’s all celebrate the 50th anniversary of Brisbane Hoo-Hoo Timber Industry Club 218

Saturday, August 24, 2013

103 Crosby Road, Albion, Brisbane(at entrance to Brothers Rugby Club)

The Cat Goes Gold!

Car 253 promotes timber industry,raises funds for kids along the wayMEMBERS of Brisbane Hoo-Hoo Timber Industry Club 218 in two weeks will be on the ‘bush bash’ road driving 6220 km through central and northern Queensland to raise funds for sick and disadvantaged children.The club has again entered the Queensland Variety Club Bash from August 5 to 14, this year travelling from Emerald in central Queensland to Mission Beach on the North Queensland Coast by way of the world class Mount Isa Rodeo – the largest rodeo event in the Southern Hemisphere.The club’s 1977 Holden Kingswood – badged the ‘Australian Forest Products Industry’ car – has been supported by donations from FWPA’s ‘Wood Naturally Better’ program, the Australian Forest Products Association, the Engineered Woods Products Association of Australasia

and industry companies and individuals.The Bash is staged by Variety to raise funds to assist in bringing about an improved quality of life for special children in Queensland. Since the fi rst Queensland Bash in 1990, in excess of $15 million has been

raised to help empower special Queensland kids to live, laugh and learn.Loading up the Brisbane Hoo-Hoo Club’s 1977 Holden Kingswood at the starting point at Emerald will be club members and co-drivers Tim Evan, Peter and Carolyn Mort and Peter

Webb, CEO of Independent Verifi cation Services, based in Hamilton, NZ.

They will join 400 drivers in more than 140 cars, all decked out in different themes for the 10-day event.

The ‘Bashers’ as they are affectionately known will drop off much-needed equipment to nine schools meeting more than 340 school children and teachers along the way.

Club 218’s Bush Car 253 will carry swags of wood promotion and educational material for teachers and schoolchildren. The car is emblazoned with the names of sponsors and fl ies the club’s Black Cat banner.

All members on the Club 218 driving team are meeting their own expenses for fuel, accommodation and tucker.

Checking out Car 253 before it takes off on the Bush Bash are Brisbane Club 218 members Carolyn Mort, Tim Evans (car captain), Jim Bowden, Alan Jones (Club 218 president), John Muller and Peter Mort.



wOrKPLACe, HeALtH And sAFety

7 steps to reduceOHs hazards thatcost $60bn a year

gottstein trust applications for 2014 awards

The closing date for applications is 6th September 2013. Applications should be forwarded to:Dr Silvia Pongracic, Secretary, J. W. Gottstein Memorial Trust Fund,Private Bag 10, Clayton South, VIC 3169Telephone: 0418 764 954Email: [email protected]

the Joseph william Gottstein Memorial trust invites applications from interested persons for Gottstein fellowships and Gottstein industry awards.

GOTTSTEIN FELLOWSHIPS

Fellowships are awarded to people from or associated withAustralian forest industries to further their experience, education or training either within or outside Australia. Project proposals on any relevant topic are welcome. Candidates will be selected on the value of the project, and on their ability to complete and disseminate the information acquired.

GOTTSTEIN INDUSTRY AWARDS

These awards are available to assist workers in the Australian forest industries to improve their industry knowledge and work skills. Applications focusing on small group study tours will be favourably viewed, although any relevant project topic may be proposed. Candidates will be selected on the value of the project.

INTERVIEWS

Applications for each category will be considered by the Trustees and promising applicants will be selected for interviews in October 2013.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Further details may be obtained from the Trust’s website at www.gottsteintrust.org, or from the Secretary.

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS








INTERVIEWS


FURTHER INFORMATION










INTERVIEWS


FURTHER INFORMATION










INTERVIEWS


FURTHER INFORMATION










INTERVIEWS


FURTHER INFORMATION










INTERVIEWS


FURTHER INFORMATION










INTERVIEWS


FURTHER INFORMATION



An accident about to happen .. train new employees who are new to ther workplace.

How safe is your workplace?

WORK-relagted injuries and illnesses have been known to cost Australia’s economy more than $60 billion in a single year, representing 4.8% of GDP.In 2010-11, of the 175,050 employees in Australia’s forestry, agriculture and fi shing industries, more than 3600 made serious claims as a result of workplace injury.As a result of these alarming fi gures, risk-management training provider SAI Global has designed an online scenario-based safety training course that meets critical criteria for OHS hazard audits – Online Auditing OHS Management Systems.“Inadequate risk plans can increase the rate of workplace injuries, and are mostly the result of a lack of resources and expertise,” said OHS trainer Ray Bedson, who trains hundreds of employees every year through SAI Global.“Employers can’t ignore the risks to their employees – a shoulder injury can cost an organisation $400,000 in accident compensation and prosecution costs, and a back

injury more than $1 million,” Mr Bedson said.The industry thought leader and trainer offers seven steps to developing an effective plan for identifying and reducing workplace risks.• Commit: A risk plan can’t be carried out once and put aside. It’s an ongoing commitment. All employees – not just OHS and risk managers – must be on board over the long term. In an organisation of 100 employees, a risk or OHS manager may need to commit 80 hours a moknth, while remaining employees may need to commit another 120 hours a month collectively.• Communicate: At least monthly, ask employees to recall any previous injuries and incidents – including near misses – and discuss why these happened. Encourage them to be vocal about potential hazards and the things that make them nervous, particularly where operational changes have taken place. Some employees don’t see the

Cont Page 17




By rOss HAMPtOnChief executive, Australian

Forest Products Association

WHEN the federal government announced the switch from carbon tax to carbon trading, it also quietly deferred $200 million which was supposed to help industry develop ‘carbon capture and storage’ technology.There has been little outcry because, by all accounts, innovations in this area are coming at a slow pace.Coincidentally, $200 million is exactly the figure which the forest industry has put before government for an alternate ‘carbon capture and storage’ scheme which is not only a sure bet but, ‘shovel ready’.I am talking about trees.Trees ‘capture’ carbon as they grow. When they are harvested for products, like furniture and house frames, they continue to ‘store’ the carbon for potentially hundreds of years. Following harvest, the forest regenerates (or plantations are replanted), with the new trees ‘capturing’ even more carbon from the atmosphere for storage in yet more products.It is the most perfectly virtuous of carbon cycles.The scientists at the IPCC (International Panel for Climate Change), who set the international carbon accounting rules, are unequivocally in favour of the ‘harvest and regrow’ scenario.They say, “In the long term, a sustainable forest management strategy aimed at maintaining or increasing carbon stocks, while producing an annual sustainable yield of timber,

fibre, or energy from the forest will generate the largest sustained mitigation benefits.”At home, our scientists have proven that a well managed, production forest is 240% better at storing carbon over the long term than the same area locked away.So why haven’t government programs turbo-charged best practice forestry as a given for a carbon constrained economy?The answer – trees take time.Trees are a long-term investment with long term benefits. However, in Australia, much about climate change programs has been geared to the short term.The big winners have been the ‘off-the-shelf’ solutions, which, courtesy of taxpayer subsidies, deliver a compelling ‘return on

investment’. The most striking example is the exponential growth of wind turbines. Thousands now dot our landscapes and, according to energy forecasts, they will soon be joined by tens of thousands more.The irony is that by attempting to address an uncosted ‘externality’ in carbon emissions we have, arguably, created a raft of other negative externalities.Industrial scale wind farms have some strident critics who point to their impact on the landscape, health and on communities.If we turned to trees to help solve our carbon conundrum, the externalities would all be positive – erosion and salinity prevention, biodiversity, picnic

areas, walking tracks, not to mention jobs and growth for our regions.

Trees give Australian policy makers the opportunity to turn the policy dial to these longer term, and net positive, settings.

All it takes is an agreement to bring forward payment to the time of planting for the carbon stocks which will accumulate in the trees. In effect the government would be hedging a future, and growing, market. This is a vital change to counteract the main disincentive to investment in new tree planting – the long wait for a return on high establishment costs.

It would be a ‘win-win’ for government and forest communities.

The government would ‘bank’ the carbon credits to sell in carbon markets. The trees, harvested and re-planted in rotation, would sustain the forest industry into the future.

Based on modest carbon price estimates, an initial investment of $200 million a year, over the first three years, would eventually become cost neutral, even paying back the ‘seeding’ funds.

At present, Australia’s plantations provide a carbon emissions offset of 4% against our national carbon emissions target. This policy would allow this to surge to 10% by 2050. Great for our carbon constrained future economy and great for our forestry communities.

Trees .. solving the carbon conundrum.

OPiniOn

that’s not just a forest .... that’s ‘carbon capture’, followed by‘storage’ in the timber for our homes

the irony is that by attempting to address an uncosted ‘externality’ in carbon emissions we

have, arguably, created a raft of other negative externalities



ONE of Canada’s largest forest products companies, founded in 1882 and employing 15,000 people, says it is willing to spend $1 billion on mill upgrades and silviculture if the provincial government will guarantee the companies enough long-term access to Crown land.J.D. Irving Ltd (JDI) has operations in Canada and the US and is also in the transport, shipbuilding and industrial marine business.Based at Saint John in the Canadian province of New Brunswick, the second largest province in the maritime provinces, JDI and other partners have assembled plans for positive investment in the forest sector, which could add up to $1 billion.“That amount is not exclusively with our company, although we do represent a signifi cant amount of what will be potentially invested,” JDI vice-president of communications Mary Keith said.The plan includes upgrades to Irving’s pulp and paper mill in Saint John, upgrades to “a number of sawmills” in various New Brunswick communities and a silviculture investment.The company’s pulp and paper mill produces 335,000 tonnes of pulp a year and employs

335 people. But the west side facility must be upgraded to stay competitive, according to Mary Keith.“On a global basis that mill is small and it needs an upgrade,” she said.In 2008, an Irving offi cial said the company had examined the possibility of moving its paper mill, located in east Saint John, to Quebec to take advantage of lower power prices.“These various projects are contingent on the company getting a longer-term view of its access to Crown timber,” Ms Keith said.

Long-term access to Crown land was required to give the

companies confi dence to invest in the province.“We’ve come to a point where investment is required,” Ms Keith said.“We think it is a good news story in terms of job creation and also in terms of the construction jobs that will put other contractors and suppliers to work as we undertake these investments, that we can do it with a solid investment and growing the forest and we can do it in balance with what the environmental objectives are.”The New Brunswick government released its 10-year forest plan last year, which is double the normal length of the previous forest management plans.The annual allowable cut for softwood, such as spruce, fi r and jack pine, is 3.27 million cub m, which is the same annual allowable cut as in the 2007-2012 management plan.Meanwhile, the Department of Natural Resources is cutting the annual allowable cut for hardwood to 1.41 million cub m from 1.77 million cub m in the 2007-2012 plan.It is not clear what commitments the Irving company wants in addition to the 2012 forestry plan.

Partner companies prepared toinvest $1 billion in forest sectorIndustry expansion if Crown land access assured

‘these various projects are contingent on the company getting a longer-term view of its

access to Crown timber’ – Mary Keith

Partners .. companies come together to invest $1 billion in forest sector in New Brunswick, Canada.

Mary Keith .. environmental balance.

Jobs down, but production up in Canada’s forest industryTHE reduction in employment in Canada’s forestry industry has been profound in the past two decades. In 1992, there were more than 77,000 people working directly in the forestry sector (not including downstream processing,

transportation, etc.) and now it is down to under 39,000.

In 1992, there were nearly 18 workers in the forestry sector for every 1000 in the economy as a whole. That has dropped to 13 in 2002 and to 7.9 in 2012

The good news is that output has rebounded and the value of exports is increasing again. The industry is smaller but much more productive. It now takes 9.5 full time equivalent jobs (direct and supply chain) to generate $1 million of

direct industry output in New Brunswick, considerably lower than both Nova Scotia and Quebec and similar to Ontario.British Columbia sets the pace in Canada for labour market productivity in forestry and logging.



internAtiOnAL FOCus

Biomass turns out ‘green gasoline’in industry expansion plan in usA

Emerging growth market in Central LouisianaCENTRAL Louisiana, the Bayou state in USA, appears to have struck gold, and workers don’t even have to dig for it. It’s just lying on the ground.The area has very quickly grabbed a significant share in the emerging biomass manufacturing market, with three large plant projects announced in the past 19 months.Local economic developers are optimistic that more activity is on the horizon.“We’re still seeing an unusual amount of opportunity in that area,” said Jim Clinton, president and chief executive officer of the Central Louisiana Economic Development Alliance.“I don’t think this will be the last opportunity we see.”All three projects are manufacturing plants that use wood products – mostly things that have been looked at as waste, such as leftover shavings or parts of the tree unsuitable for making lumber – in some way to create fuel that is more environmentally friendly than traditional fossil fuel.Colorado-based startup Sundrop Fuels Inc. announced in late 2011 that it is building

the pilot plant for its ‘green gasoline’ in the Rapides Station area near Boyce. The plant is expected to employ about 150 people and begin operation in late 2015.

The fuel can be used like normal transportation fuel, but

instead of being refined from petroleum, it is produced in a unique gasification process using natural gas and woody biomass.

The plant is expected to produce about 227.3 million litres of fuel a year. But that’s

just the beginning. Sundrop is hoping its new technology takes off and the company can follow through on building as many as four more plants, each producing more than 757.8 million litres of fuel a year.Local economic developers would love to see one of those ‘megaplants’ going up next to the pilot plant off Interstate 49.In April, wood pellet manufacturing giant German Pellets breathed life back into the tiny LaSalle Parish town of Urania when it announced a $300 million plant there.The plant will be on the site of the former Louisiana Pacific and Georgia Pacific plant that closed in 2002. It is expected to create 500 jobs and come online in March next year.Wood pellets are used extensively in other parts of the world, particularly Europe, to generate electricity and heat. They are most commonly made by pressing wood shavings and sawdust into a globe or cylinder shape.The facility in Urania is billed as the world’s largest pellet plant. It is expected to produce one million tonnes of pellets a year.– The Town Talk, Louisiana

Burgeoning biomass .. Sundrop Fuels CEO Wayne Simmons (centre) announces in 2011 that his company would build a $450 million biofuels plant in Rapides Station. The plant is expected to employ about 150 people and begin operation in late 2015. / Town Talk file photo

scouting around for trees: camp promotessustainable forestry to the next generationIT was a great week at the Boy Scouts of America’s 2013 National Jamboree, where the US Sustainable Forestry Initiative helped thousands of the 35,000 scouts, leaders and family members to learn more about sustainable forestry and responsible purchasing of forest products.

SFI Inc is a fully independent,

charitable organisation dedicated to promoting sustainable forest management.

Held at The Summit Bechtel Reserve, a new high-adventure scout camp near Beckley, West Virginia, the Jamboree included zip lines, water sports, climbing walls, scuba diving – and many opportunities for scouts to earn a range of merit badges and

special patches.

SFI volunteers staffed the SFI tent on the Jamboree’s conservation trail. Scouts participated in the ‘Conservation Challenge’ developed by the West Virginia Division of Forestry and co-sponsored by SFI, the West Virginia Forestry Association and the Society of American Foresters.

Here, scouts are learning concepts and facts and then completing an online quiz about forestry and sustainability.

The SFI booth features a 3-D wood puzzle for scouts to solve and a ‘tree cookie’ – a cross section of a tree more than a century old – for scouts to handle and to guess the tree’s age.

the fuel can be used like normal transportation fuel, but instead of being

refined from petroleum, it is produced in a unique gasification process using natural gas

and woody biomass



From Page 13

wOrKPLACe, HeALtH And sAFety

Awareness fi rst step in controlling hazardsrisks in the same way you might, so another tactic is to follow and observe an employee’s work for a few hours, and have discussions around safety – you will soon get a clear snapshot for potential hazards.Extremely busy managers can try to spot all hazards in a 30-minute walk through a work area, discuss with those who might be affected, and repeat the exercise every week until a thorough scope of the workplace has been made.• record: Note all the identifi ed hazards on a workplace inspection checklist – any employee can perform this in their own area. Writing it down makes it harder to ignore, and it lets your team know you’re considering solutions to any issues..• Prioritise: Use a Hazard Identifi cation, Risk Assessment & Control (HIRAC) format

to score each risk from negligible to extreme. Take into consideration the likelihood of an incident occurring and the level of consequence that this could have. This will allow you to prioritise your actions. HIRAC or Risk Assessment forms are available from your industry association or statutory Work Safe or Work Cover authority, and are best fi lled out by HR, safety or OHS coordinators, with the assistance of safety representatives who have a bit of knowledge.• Control and consult: It is best to implement a control that will eliminate the risk altogether, or minimise it through an engineering solution such as noise reduction. Note them down on the HIRAC form. Consult again with employees to ensure everyone agrees. Getting them involved will help ensure they implement the controls when the time comes.• Monitor and review: To

determine if your processes and controls are effective, and reducing incidents, review them at least monthly. Compare the number of incidents and their level of signifi cance. If there has been no improvement, it’s time to re-think your plan.• train new employees: Awareness is the fi rst step in controlling hazards. employees who are new to the workplace, inexperienced or untrained are

particularly at risk. Investing in their training and development can do more than just protect your business fi nancially and legally - it can save their life. There is no real ‘secret’ to optimum workplace safety. In fact, the most effective OHS risk management systems are practical, logical, and simple to implement and understand.

Visit www.saiglobal.com/ohs

From Page 11

NSW Forestry Corporation’s radiata pine production nursery and inspected plantation management operations at Bago forest

Other activities in a comprehensive sweep of the region’s forestry operations by the taskforce included a visit to the Visy kraft pulp and paper

mill and an inspection of the Hyne sawmill at Tumbarumba. The review of performance at the Hyne mill, the largest softwood sawmilling complex in the country, included a valuable, open discussion with mill management about operational effi ciencies and the improving prospects for softwood products in domestic and export markets.

Valuable open discussion

http://www.saiglobal.com/ohs



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illegal timber

micropro timber products

forest biomass

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forest products interests

forestry seats campaign

treated wood