Question Time

FORESTRYSA

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (14:22): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Forests a question about rotation length.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: On Tuesday of this week, the Minister for Forests told the parliament that she did not know what rotation length had been agreed to in the forward sale of the South-East forests. For the benefit of the Adelaide-centric Labor members opposite who have never seen a forest because of the trees, the rotation length is not measured in length but in years. It is the time between cutting down a pine crop from one crop and the time the next crop is ready to be harvested.

The minister said she thought the rotation was about 30 years but she would check. Later that day, she came back with an answer: under the privatisation and forward sale the rotation length will be, and I quote, '25 to 30 years'. The timber industry is shocked by this admission made for the first time by any government minister. Neither the Premier nor the Treasurer nor the sell-out, Rory McEwen, had ever let that number slip before. I have a copy of an email from Mr Islay Robinson, Chief Executive of ForestrySA. I quote from the email:

Last year's area weighted rotation length was 38 years. For the current rotation the average clearfall age will drop to and stay between 32-35 years.

With the forward sale, by the minister's account, that will drop not just to 35 years, or 32, or even just 30 years, but could be as low as 25 years. My questions are:

1. Does the new quick rotation mean the new owners will be able to rip out the profits early and quickly at the expense of sustainable, high-profit mature products with rotations on a 38-year average?

2. If it is not being done for a quick buck, is this being done and driven by Treasury for simple extra revenue?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the Status of Women) (14:24): That was a nice try from the opposition. The opposition leader is being most misleading in this matter. Members will be aware that no specification of the appropriate rotation length or term of the sale has been released publicly.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: Until you let it slip on Tuesday.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Not at all. This is subject to negotiations, and no rotation length has been given—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: —and that has been quite clear. The government has been quite clear about that.

An honourable member interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: The honourable member indicated at one time during interjections that I did not know the length of a forest rotation. What I indicated to the honourable member was that I in fact did, and my statement was that the average length of a pine forest rotation is around 30 years I thought. That information is quite true. The average length of a forest plantation rotation is around 30 years. That was in response to the indication that I did not know the length of a forest rotation. I do. I gave the answer, and it is that there is some variation but I was right that it is, roughly, 30 years—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Sorry, 25 years; the honourable member is quite right that I originally said 25 years, or 25 to 30 years. That is the answer I was advised when I double-checked. I said I was not absolutely sure and I needed to go away, and the advice I received was that on average it was between 25 to 30 years. So, that indicated that my original answer was correct.

The honourable member is being deliberately mischievous. This government has not indicated the specification in the sale of the South-East forests; we have never indicated what the rotation length would be because it is under negotiation. It will go through a tender process. That information has never been released, nor are we going to release it at this point in time.

In terms of me knowing the average length of a pine forest plantation rotation, my answer was quite within the realms of correctness. On average, it is somewhere between 25 and 30 years. However, that was not the answer in relation to the contract, so the member is being quite misleading and mischievous here today—as usual. Instead of being constructive in assisting the state to go forward we see these games being played here. It is absolute mischief and downright misleading.