A Select Committee of the Legislative Council has been established to inquire into and report on the exporting of wood fibre and other matters regarding the timber industry in the Limestone Coast and other regions of South Australia, with particular reference to:
(a) Whether the exporting of wood fibre is in compliance with the conditions of sale of the Radiata Pine forests in the Limestone Coast, sold by the previous State Labor Government;
(b) The volume of Radiata Pine log being exported from the Limestone Coast area and other regions by all growers;
(c) The economic benefit and employment opportunities that could be gained through additional wood fibre based industries should the current exported logs be made available for processing in South Australia;
(d) Options for increasing the availability of logs to South Australian processors;
(e) A review of water licensing laws applying to forest estates;
(f) Opportunities to strengthen the forest and timber products industries in the Limestone Coast and other regions of South Australia, and in particular:
i. Barriers to investment in timber resource and processing capacity;
ii. Opportunities to expand the plantation estate, including greater utilisation of
farm forestry;
iii. Strategies available to timber processing businesses to secure long term
timber supply;
iv. Strategies to grow domestic manufacturing;
v. Opportunities to maximise returns for timber processors from forest and
timber residues;
(g) Policies in other States to constrain resource for specified markets;
(h) Environmental impacts of the timber industry;
(i) The promotion of the economic contribution of the forest and timber products industry to the South Australian community; and
(j) Any other related matters.
Any person or organisation wishing to make a written submission to the Committee, or register an interest in presenting oral evidence to the Committee, is invited to do so by Friday, 28 April 2023.
Written submissions and expressions of interest should be addressed to the Secretary to the Committee, C/- Parliament House, GPO Box 572, Adelaide 5001, or by e-mail at sctimberindustry@parliament.sa.gov.au For any queries or to discuss the submission due date, please contact the Secretary by telephone on (08) 8237 9339 or as above.
Ms Emma Johnston
Secretary to the Committee