From: Marcus Tatton [mtatton@ozemail.com.au]
Sent: Monday, 26 August 2002 9:12 AM
To: RRAT, Committee (SEN)
Subject: Submission on Better Management of Plantations
In Tasmania there are only a small % of Plantations established for production of sawlog and Plywood on a 30 year plus rotation.
The Pulpwood industry has blinded the Foresters and Politicians to the benefits of increasing the margins received from the available land for Forestry use.
Evan Rolley says he has been in contact with New Zealand's Forest Research organisation where they are recommending and instigating a large % of plantations for plywood log and high grade sawlog production.
Not only in softwoods, NZ is also establishing Tasmanian blackwood plantations with silverculture regimes to put Tasmania out of the market in years to come.
With the initiatives of Forestry Tasmania to set up a Wood fired Power station there has been a public loss of credibility with the current Management.
We are all aware that pruning pine trees will cost around $6/ tonne in the early stages of the investment and that the returns are exponential. The same can be said for fencing blackwood plantations in their early years. Community benefits are employment and pride in a value adding industry. Today we are ashamed of the hardwood pulpwood process.
Please research the joint partnership projects established in New Zealand over the last 15 years. Roger Dickey is one enterprise who uses high value adding techniques in plantation management.
When Forestry Tasmania is forced to stop old growth falling they will require huge transitional funding to establish the longer term rotations required for a healthy industry.
Please allocate funds for this now.
My contact number is Marcus Tatton, 1422 Huon Road, Neika, Tasmania 7054.
Please contact me with a response to these points and any advice on how I can get the points mentioned above to be addressed comprehensibly by Forestry Tasmania and the Federal Government.
Sincerely,
Marcus Tatton