Aboriginal communities to benefit from new state-owned timber resource

The timber industry on Cape York will receive a boost with the Queensland Government preparing to competitively offer a quantity of state-owned native forest log timber to the market for harvesting.

Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner said the new sale fulfilled a Queensland Government commitment to support the native forest timber industry on Cape York.

“The timber industry in Cape York faces significant challenges due to the very large distances to markets, limited road, transport and other infrastructure and abbreviated operating periods because of the extended wet season,” the Minister said.

“This sale will help to address these economic and employment challenges by creating economic and employment opportunities for these remote communities, both in the harvesting and local processing of the resource.”

Offers will be assessed against a range of criteria, including potential operators’ financial ability and expertise and the anticipated commercial return for the harvested resource.

Consideration will also be given to the employment, training and economic opportunities that a successful operator would create for local Aboriginal-owned and operated enterprises and communities in the region.

The successful offeror will be issued a 10-year sales permit to harvest up to 5,000 cubic metres of state-owned timber per year from state leasehold land on Cape York, with the sales permit to cover the period from January 2019 to December 2028.

The competitive offer process will commence shortly, with sale information to be made available at www.daf.qld.gov.au

ENDS

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