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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-06-02 Daily Xml
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FORESTRY

The Hon. L. STEVENS (Little Para) (14:33): My question is to the Minister for Forests. What initiative is the state government leading to ensure the sustainable development of plantation forestry?

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton—Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development) (14:33): The government and, I presume, everyone in the house are committed to the continuing development of a productive and sustainable forestry industry that provides optimal results to the South Australian economy through future investment in jobs, particularly in regional South Australia.

Mr Williams interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: Don't you support the forestry industry, Mitch? That is our fault, is it? You have to be kidding me. I apologise for responding to interjections, sir, which is just as disorderly as making them. We on this side and, I would have thought, those on the other side might have been interested in this, given that, to a very great extent, their core constituency is located in the areas where forests are

The government (and I will rephrase it), but apparently not the opposition, is acutely aware of the growing consumer preference for sustainably grown forest products. There is undoubtedly a broad consumer expectation that forest managers are aware of the critical need to look after the environment and engage with the communities in which they operate.

It is for this reason the government recently completed a review of previous forestry industry guidelines in consultation with key industries and other participants in this important sector, leading to the release of the new Guidelines for Plantation Forestry in South Australia 2009.

Since plantation forestry began in South Australia the industry has maintained a very high standard of land management, environment protection and viability of the forest estate, and in recent years there has been an expansion in areas established to plantation forestry in the higher rainfall regions of South Australia.

The Guidelines for Plantation Forestry in South Australia 2009 promote planning, establishment, management and harvesting of forest plantations in accordance with principles of ecologically sustainable forest practices. The guidelines are influenced by the commonwealth government's forest practices in the National Principles Related to Wood Production in Plantations statement. I know the opposition spokesperson is familiar with these principles.

The content of the guidelines is also consistent with other state forest management codes of practice or their equivalent, and they have been prepared to complement and refer to relevant commonwealth and state legislation standards, codes of practice and other guidelines. The guidelines include, amongst other things, proposed new buffer widths for unplanted strips of land adjacent to water courses, where water quality is the primary concern. This aspect brings the new guidelines into line with other state forest management codes of practice or their equivalent.

I think this is important: with the emergence of carbon offset programs, bio-energy and forests established for natural resource management benefits, further potential exists for sustainable growth of the plantation forest industry in South Australia. Forest management practices which are consistent with the guidelines will help to ensure that the forest industry in our state maintains a capacity to provide job and investment opportunities while simultaneously helping to deliver significant environmental outcomes that will benefit all South Australians.

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