With logging in native forests to be banned in Victoria and western Australia next year, the New South Wales timber industry is asking questions about its future. Native forests in that state have been battered by fires and floods, and a promised great koala national park could also see fewer forests open for harvesting in the north of the state.
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TVTranscript
00:00 The sprawling coastal forests of northeast New South Wales hold valuable stands of native
00:07 hardwood in forests coveted for both their timber and their wildlife.
00:13 The situation in other states certainly has led to a lot of unease within the industry
00:18 and within our communities and families that yes you see that happen and you think well
00:22 is that going to happen to us next. But I do know that in New South Wales we have 88
00:28 per cent of the state's native forest already fully preserved. We're working in 12 per
00:33 cent only of the remaining forest that's used for production of timber.
00:37 Our harvesting contracts have just been removed so we've got five years. That's if we don't
00:42 get the plug pulled on us early. I don't think there's any future for logging
00:47 of public native forests in New South Wales and I don't think forestry can justify it
00:52 in any way shape or form. These forests still bear scars from bushfires
00:57 that swept through the region almost four years ago. As they recover, the stakes are
01:03 high. The hardwood timber industry in the northeast, from the Hunter to the Queensland
01:08 border, contributes $700 million to the state's economy and employs 3,800 full-time workers
01:15 from primary production to distribution. In addition to national parks, around half
01:23 of the state forest is permanently set aside for conservation and recreation, while the
01:29 other half of state forest is available for timber production, some is inaccessible or
01:35 not commercial and large areas have to be set aside for environmental controls, leaving
01:41 around 12 per cent available for selective harvesting. Now a significant slice of this
01:48 available area is said to be protected as part of an election commitment under the Chris
01:53 Minns-led government. We will take steps to create the great Koala
01:58 National Park. That park will exist from Clarence all the way down to Coffs Harbour.
02:03 It's spurred a fresh round of timber wars. Protesters want an immediate ban on harvesting
02:10 in the proposed Koala Park. You are helping these guys destroy our land.
02:15 The state-run Forestry Corporation has paid police to escort timber workers.
02:20 It's increasingly hard for me because I drive the harbour so I make the call on which tree
02:27 we cut and the last thing I want to do is tip a tree off the stump and think, "Oh,
02:30 hell, there's a person." You know, I don't go to work for that.
02:41 At the village of Glenray, the annual Timber Festival is a chance for those working in
02:46 the industry to let off some steam and show off their skills. The next generation battling
02:53 it out. The harvester Alan Green, the future of his
03:04 work hangs in the balance. The bears are going to put us out of a job,
03:11 I think. You know, the proposed Koala Park is locking up so much bush.
03:13 It's jobs like his on the chopping block, but he believes adequate controls are in place
03:18 on the forestry front line to protect koalas. You do upset them at times, you know. You
03:25 brush a tree with one end and unfortunately you might fall a tree with a bear in it and
03:28 you'll see the bear. So we've got protocols we use. We leave that area and get the ecology
03:32 boys out from forestry and they do the searches and they can say, "Oh, well, he's moved."
03:36 But you generally find they're not stupid. They move. They know. Yeah, you know.
03:42 And probably the noise. Yeah, the noise upsets them, you know. And
03:46 the last thing I want to do is go to work and kill a koala. That's not what we're about.
03:50 You know, I'd love one for a pet because they're awesome looking little birds.
03:53 [BLANK_AUDIO]