Minister rejects Timber Queensland claims
Published Friday, 19 September, 2008 at 03:55 PM
Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries
The Honourable Tim Mulherin
Primary Industries and Fisheries Minister Tim Mulherin today rejected claims by Timber Queensland that the government’s plantation forest corporation Forestry Plantations Queensland had failed to support the State’s timber industry.
“FPQ deals productively with the State’s timber industry on a daily basis to ensure it receives the resource supply and other support needed to maintain this vital industry sector,” Mr Mulherin said.
Mr Mulherin said Timber Queensland claims that the government was “destroying” the timber industry were untrue.
“In 2007-08, FPQ invested more than $20.1 million for 7,000 hectares of land to expand its plantations to support the Queensland timber industry’s future,” Mr Mulherin said.
He said Timber Queensland seemed to conveniently forget FPQ’s significant and ongoing financial support provided directly to the industry.
These include timber price concessions to Hyne and Son totalling $459,687 in 2005-06, and concessions to Yarraman Pine totalling $122,689 over the two years 2005-06 and 2006-07, to allow the companies to invest in technology upgrades.
“Yarraman Pine also received a $300,000 State Government assistance package when its mill suffered a fire in 2002,” Mr Mulherin said.
He said Timber Queensland was also to receive a State Government grant of $150,000 to assist industry with “Chain of Custody” certification under the Australian Forestry Standard.
“FPQ is providing $50,000 towards this grant,” he said.
Mr Mulherin said recent Timber Queensland claims were motivated to leverage support for increased government assistance.
“Timber Queensland disputed FPQ’s 2007 hoop pine valuation reviews that resulted in the first price increase for the timber since 2002,” Mr Mulherin said.
The review, which occurs every five years, resulted in a hoop pine price increase of between 8 and 13 per cent in south-east Queensland.
“Notwithstanding that prices had not changed since 2002, these increases were still below CPI increases.
“Yet some industry representatives, supported by Timber Queensland, wanted a price decrease of 2.8 per cent on the 2002 price.
“Far from accusing FPQ of price gouging, as Timber Queensland has, the people of Queensland might well question the amount of tax-payer support given to the private sector if FPQ continued to sell a public asset for an ever decreasing return,” Mr Mulherin said.
Mr Mulherin confirmed FPQ had terminated a sale agreement with Victorian company Pentarch Forest Products for north Queensland timber when that company consistently paid around one third of the agreed price for the timber it was harvesting.
“The agreement had a termination clause should this occur and FPQ exercised this, as would most businesses in this position.
“FPQ is now working with north Queensland company Mareeba Sawmills to provide a supply agreement for timber that sawmill was previously purchasing from Pentarch Forest Products,” he said.
Mr Mulherin said the Queensland Government, through FPQ, had a strong record of assisting Timber Queensland and the wider timber industry.
He said recent examples of this included annual contributions of more than $60,000 to the Australian Plantation Products and Paper Industry Council (A3P) and a three-year $100,000-per-annum commitment to the Forest and Wood Products Australia group to promote the interests of the industry and ongoing industry-based research and development.
“While it is unfortunate that Timber Queensland has chosen to air its grievances in public, the organisation can be assured that FPQ will continue to work productively with its members and the wider timber industry,” Mr Mulherin said.
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“FPQ deals productively with the State’s timber industry on a daily basis to ensure it receives the resource supply and other support needed to maintain this vital industry sector,” Mr Mulherin said.
Mr Mulherin said Timber Queensland claims that the government was “destroying” the timber industry were untrue.
“In 2007-08, FPQ invested more than $20.1 million for 7,000 hectares of land to expand its plantations to support the Queensland timber industry’s future,” Mr Mulherin said.
He said Timber Queensland seemed to conveniently forget FPQ’s significant and ongoing financial support provided directly to the industry.
These include timber price concessions to Hyne and Son totalling $459,687 in 2005-06, and concessions to Yarraman Pine totalling $122,689 over the two years 2005-06 and 2006-07, to allow the companies to invest in technology upgrades.
“Yarraman Pine also received a $300,000 State Government assistance package when its mill suffered a fire in 2002,” Mr Mulherin said.
He said Timber Queensland was also to receive a State Government grant of $150,000 to assist industry with “Chain of Custody” certification under the Australian Forestry Standard.
“FPQ is providing $50,000 towards this grant,” he said.
Mr Mulherin said recent Timber Queensland claims were motivated to leverage support for increased government assistance.
“Timber Queensland disputed FPQ’s 2007 hoop pine valuation reviews that resulted in the first price increase for the timber since 2002,” Mr Mulherin said.
The review, which occurs every five years, resulted in a hoop pine price increase of between 8 and 13 per cent in south-east Queensland.
“Notwithstanding that prices had not changed since 2002, these increases were still below CPI increases.
“Yet some industry representatives, supported by Timber Queensland, wanted a price decrease of 2.8 per cent on the 2002 price.
“Far from accusing FPQ of price gouging, as Timber Queensland has, the people of Queensland might well question the amount of tax-payer support given to the private sector if FPQ continued to sell a public asset for an ever decreasing return,” Mr Mulherin said.
Mr Mulherin confirmed FPQ had terminated a sale agreement with Victorian company Pentarch Forest Products for north Queensland timber when that company consistently paid around one third of the agreed price for the timber it was harvesting.
“The agreement had a termination clause should this occur and FPQ exercised this, as would most businesses in this position.
“FPQ is now working with north Queensland company Mareeba Sawmills to provide a supply agreement for timber that sawmill was previously purchasing from Pentarch Forest Products,” he said.
Mr Mulherin said the Queensland Government, through FPQ, had a strong record of assisting Timber Queensland and the wider timber industry.
He said recent examples of this included annual contributions of more than $60,000 to the Australian Plantation Products and Paper Industry Council (A3P) and a three-year $100,000-per-annum commitment to the Forest and Wood Products Australia group to promote the interests of the industry and ongoing industry-based research and development.
“While it is unfortunate that Timber Queensland has chosen to air its grievances in public, the organisation can be assured that FPQ will continue to work productively with its members and the wider timber industry,” Mr Mulherin said.
Media: 3239 6530