Tanya Plibersek has said that regional forestry agreements will be covered by upgraded federal environment laws, raising hopes the Albanese government will follow Victoria in banning native forest logging.
The environment minister made the comment in question time, after the forestry union and the New South Wales Nationals said they will continue to back native forest logging in the state despite a report by the previous Coalition government that found the industry could be ended without hurting the budget.
In Tuesday’s budget the Andrews government brought forward the end of native forest logging in Victoria from 2030 to 2024, following Western Australia’s looming ban.
Asked by the member for Wentworth, Allegra Spender, if the federal government will prevent native forest logging in Tasmania and New South Wales, Plibersek replied that Labor “believes that we need to protect more of what is precious, restore more of what is damaged and manage it better for the future”.
While it is “important to have a forestry industry here in Australia” and Labor supports expanding plantation forestry, Plibersek noted native forests are “very important carbon sequestration providers, [and] they are very important habitat”.
“So, we are determined to make sure, as we update the environment protection laws, that regional forest agreements come under new national environment standards.”
Environmental groups have welcomed the revelation that under the Perrottet government the NSW department assessed an industry closure for then environment minister James Griffin, saying it is proof that it could be done “if the political will is there”.
Guardian Australia understands Labor’s incoming environment minister, Penny Sharpe, was not briefed on the work that found carbon and biodiversity credit income from halting logging could pay for compensation to loggers and others affected by an end. The treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, who has responsibility for state-owned Forestry Corp NSW, has also been approached for comment.
Michael O’Connor, the national secretary of the Construction Forestry Maritime Mining Energy Union, warned against the cessation of the industry, saying it employs “thousands of workers” and is vital for the social fabric of many communities.
O’Connor predicted the NSW Labor government “won’t treat our members with the disrespect we’ve received from the Andrews government”.
“We’re confident NSW will be a lot more inclusive about how they make decisions,” he said.
Unions say there aren’t enough plantations to supply the market with sufficient hardwood, so demand will divert instead to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and other nations with looser rules than Australia.
However, Jacqui Mumford, the chief executive of the NSW Nature Conservation Council, said the existence of analysis supporting the industry’s closure showed “it can be done if the political will is there”.
“At a time when our forests are in peril, species are spiralling towards extinction, and NSW is struggling to meet its climate goals, ending native forest logging is a no-brainer to work towards solving these linked crises,” Mumford said. “Pressure is mounting on the Minns government to take action to protect NSW’s precious forests from logging.”
The Nationals leader, Dugald Saunders, did not deny his party had stymied the plan to phase out native forestry. In government “we always supported regional communities to ensure native forest harvesting in NSW is carefully managed under a robust regulatory framework to ensure the right balance is struck between environmental protection and forestry operations”.
“I appreciate there are a range of views in the community around forestry, particularly after the impact of the 2019-20 bushfires which impacted significant forested areas up and down the NSW coast,” Saunders told Guardian Australia.
“This is about balance, it is not a zero-sum game,” he said. “In government our priority was always to protect our environment, improve our sustainability and ensure our economic productivity in the long term.”
Labor’s resolve on the issue could be tested as soon as next month, with Mookhey and the finance minister, Courtney Houssos, required to sign off on Forestry Corp’s business plan by 30 June.
One focus will be on the corporation’s intent to log about 30,800 hectares, or almost one-fifth, of the region the Minns government plans to set aside for a new large national park in northern NSW.
“It’s absolutely critical that this plan doesn’t allow Forestry Corporation to destroy the forest slated to be protected as part of the great koala national park,” Mumford said.
In answer to a question from Higginson on Wednesday about Victoria’s exit from native forestry and the sector’s $27.2m loss over the past three years, Mookhey said it was important for state-owned firms to deliver a profit over the next decade.
Forestry “employs lots of people, and the government is mindful of the fact that lots of communities depend on those jobs”, he told parliament. Several ministers, though, “have already begun discussions about different policy approaches”.
“There are exciting opportunities when it comes to the future of forestry, particularly with the concept of carbon sinks,” Mookhey said, adding he “would very much like to ensure that Forestry Corporation is equipped to properly assess those opportunities”.
