{"id":2791,"date":"2023-02-28T03:19:48","date_gmt":"2023-02-28T03:19:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/?p=2791"},"modified":"2024-12-22T16:11:14","modified_gmt":"2024-12-22T06:11:14","slug":"ernst-young-report-exposes-folly-of-labor-greens-plan-for-nsw-koala-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/ernst-young-report-exposes-folly-of-labor-greens-plan-for-nsw-koala-park\/","title":{"rendered":"EY Report: Northern NSW Forests Generate $2.9B Industry!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Supply of nation-building hardwood timber is critical to the NSW economy, providing thousands of jobs and skills right along the supply chain, according to a new <a href=\"https:\/\/nenswforestryhub.com.au\/news-reports\/reports\/report\/6-economic-contribution-of-the-nsw-hardwood-timber-industry\">Ernst + Young report.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The report, issued 34 days ahead of the NSW state election on March 25, says science-based election policies must safeguard local timber supply to meet the rising demand for wood products and support regional communities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The report shows that the NSW hardwood timber industry is vitally important to the state\u2019s rural and regional economy, contributing $2.9 billion in revenue, adding $1.1 billion to NSW\u2019s gross domestic product and employing almost 9000 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Timber NSW CEO Maree McCaskill, <a href=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/author\/marree-mccaskill\/\">a contributor to Wood Central<\/a> said: \u201cWe need to set out the facts. Hardwood timber is a sustainable, renewable and essential input into the construction, agriculture, mining and energy sectors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ms McCaskill said that contrary to self-serving announcements from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Australia faced strong and rising demand for nation-building timber supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe NSW timber industry is, in fact, a significant and growing part of the state\u2019s economy and has had this central role in our regional communities for more than a century,\u201d Ms McCaskill said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Ernst + Young Report shows that northeast NSW supplies two-thirds of the state\u2019s nation-building hardwood timber, which makes an important contribution to the state\u2019s economy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMisguided plans by the ALP and Greens to create a State Koala Park from state forest land will mean thousands of job losses and more timber imports, without any conservation benefits,\u201d Ms McCaskill said.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" src=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/image002-39-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2806\" srcset=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/image002-39-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/image002-39.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The NSW timber industry is a significant and growing part of the state\u2019s economy and has had this central role in regional communities for more than a century. (Forestry Corporation photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cTo meet rising demand for timber and support northeast communities, science-based policies must safeguard local timber supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn a context of rising demand for nation-building timber supplies, how can NSW policymakers plan to allocate hundreds of thousands of hectares of state forest to a koala park? Extensive&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nrc.nsw.gov.au\/news\/60-updated-koala-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">scientific research<\/a>&nbsp;shows that the koala populations in northeast NSW state forests are stable and not being impacted by timber harvesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt will do nothing except decimate jobs in the NSW timber industry and hike timber imports from less regulated neighbouring countries. We need to safeguard local timber supplies and keep these jobs and skills in NSW.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The NSW timber industry undertakes highly selective native forestry that is certified to the highest forest management standard. Hardwood timber in NSW is supplied from a mix of native forestry (80%) conducted primarily in NSW state forests and plantations (20%), in line with strict timber harvesting and environmental regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nenswforestryhub.com.au\/news-reports\/reports\/report\/6-economic-contribution-of-the-nsw-hardwood-timber-industry\">Ernst + Young\u2019s report<\/a>, commissioned by the commonwealth-funded <a href=\"https:\/\/nenswforestryhub.com.au\/\">North East NSW<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.agriculture.gov.au\/agriculture-land\/forestry\/regional-forestry-hubs#new-south-wales\">South East NSW Regional Forestry Hubs<\/a>, tracks the hardwood timber industry\u2019s direct and indirect economic impact. It shows the critical importance of the industry to the Northern NSW economy, contributing $1.8 billion in revenue, adding $700 million to NSW GDP and employing 5700 people in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maree McCaskill said: \u201cHardwood timber is a growing part of the state\u2019s economy; it\u2019s a sustainable, renewable and essential input into the construction, infrastructure, agriculture, mining and energy sectors. The strength of this demand for hardwood timber is driving its increasing value.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The NSW timber industry undertakes highly selective native forestry that is certified to the highest forest management standard. Hardwood timber in NSW is supplied from a mix of native forestry (80%) conducted primarily in NSW state forests and&nbsp;<a>plantations (20%), in line with strict timber harvesting and environmental regulations.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Subscribe to WoodCentral.com.au for the latest timber coverage of the NSW election today, including exclusives from industry leaders and the latest news on the hardwood industry. Stay informed on the latest developments in the timber industry with our exclusive coverage and analysis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supply of nation-building hardwood timber is critical to the NSW economy, providing thousands of jobs and skills right along the supply chain, according to a new Ernst + Young report. The report, issued 34 days ahead of the NSW state election on March 25, says science-based election policies must safeguard local timber supply to meet [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22867,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[50,33,2,46,85,44],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[69],"class_list":{"0":"post-2791","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-australia","8":"category-editors-picks","9":"category-featured","10":"category-industry","11":"category-new-south-wales","12":"category-sustainable-forest-management"},"authors":[{"term_id":69,"user_id":1,"is_guest":0,"slug":"woodcentral","display_name":"Wood Central","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/MASTER-BRAND-MARK_POS_RGB-e1676449549955.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/MASTER-BRAND-MARK_POS_RGB-e1676449549955.jpg"},"0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2791"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2791\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14014,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2791\/revisions\/14014"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2791"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=2791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}