The Nature Conservation Council of NSW has today released a new report from Frontier Economics which reveals for the first time that hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars have been gifted to the taxpayer owned logging business Forestry Corporation NSW over the past five years.
The report finds the taxpayer-owned logging business received $246.9 million worth of grants since 2019/20 financial year, while the hardwood division (which is responsible for native forest logging) made a loss of $28.2 million over the same period.
‘Our government is wasting millions of dollars propping up this dying and destructive industry,’ NCC Chief Executive Officer Jacqui Mumford said today.
‘In what other instance is it acceptable for a company to run at an almost $30 million loss after being given $250 million in taxpayer money? This money could provide at least 150 extra firefighters or nurses in regional towns.’
Increased scrutiny
The report comes at a time of increased scrutiny over Forestry Corporation NSW.
The taxpayer owned agency is facing prosecutions for several incidents and has recently been exposed for having failed to find endangered Southern Greater Gliders before beginning logging after it ‘surveyed’ for the nocturnal animal during the day.
In budget estimates this month CEO of the Environmental Protection Authority Tony Chappel revealed they are considering changing the rules which currently allow Forestry Corp to survey for nocturnal animals during the day.
This comes after NCC lodged a series of Breach Reports that found Forestry Corp is logging forests with the highest known numbers of the endangered Southern Greater Glider.
Key findings from the Frontier Economics Report Public native forest logging: a large and growing taxpayer burden include that state-owned logging companies, and the private industry itself, are being propped up through generous government subsidies and cross-subsidisation from the profitable plantation sector.
Additionally, public native forest logging has poor financial performance across all Australian jurisdictions. This places an unnecessary economic burden and risk to state governments, whilst also having a negative impact upon native forests and the wildlife that call them home.
Growing risks
The report suggests that the continuation of this industry exposes governments and the taxpayer to an increasing level of financial risk, with long-standing market changes reducing the demand for native forest products and putting downward pressure on prices.
Market changes include; the increase in competition in the domestic structural timber market from plantation softwoods, the increase in competition in solid wood markets from domestic and imported engineered wood products, and the increase in competition in export woodchip markets from domestic and foreign plantations.
NCC Chief Executive Officer Jacqui Mumford said, ‘The NSW Government needs to come to terms with the fact that native forest logging is a dying industry and make a plan for a transition.
‘How much more taxpayer money has to be wasted and endangered animals killed before this reality sinks in?
‘Forests are the lungs of the earth,’ she said. ‘They are essential to clean air, a sustainable climate and healthy ecosystems where plants and animals can thrive.
‘We’ve already destroyed far too much of the NSW bush. The remaining homes for our precious wildlife should be protected, not pulped.’
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