Forestry Tasmania's death throes

Unless Forestry Tasmania discovers gold it will be out of pocket when it knocks over the Mutual Valley coupe adjacent to the Blue Derby mountain bike trail.

The bike trail has recently been funded by governments to the tune of $3.4 million. The whole point of the trail is to attract tourists and help fill the employment gap left by the unprofitable forest industry.

Yet here we have FT, on its last legs in its current configuration, undermining the very industry chosen and funded by public policy makers to fill the void.

Not short of opponents FT is taking on the tourism industry as well.

The Mutual Valley coupe is larger than the contentious Lapoinya coupe with a harvest area at 66 hectares compared to 49 hectares.

There’s not much timber. The yield is well down, 150 tonnes per hectare (compared to 245 tonnes) giving an overall proposed harvest of 10,000 tonnes (12,500 tonnes at Lapoinya).

FT claim there’s a much higher % of Ta Ann peeler logs at Lapoinya and given the short cart distance to the Smithton mill is more profitable. By the time the 1,000 tonnes of peeler logs are transported to Smithton from Mutual Valley there won’t be much money left, maybe $10 per tonne as the effective stumpage return to FT. Mr Rolley’s mob don’t pay the extra cartage, it’s a mill door delivered contract.

The net stumpage of $10 is in line with FT’s recent history. In 2014/15 FT sold about 1.5 million tonnes of timber at an effective average stumpage price of $7.60 per tonne. In other words revenue less all post stump expenses such as harvesting, cartage, chipping, freight and shipping costs was only $7.60 per tonne, not enough to pay roading and regeneration costs which were $11 per tonne let alone wages and overheads for FT staff plus Bob Gordon’s super.

There’s a much higher % of chip logs at Mutual Valley, 67%, compared to Lapoinya at 52%, but woodchipping is more profitable for FT in the North West because it runs the chip facility that graces the Burnie port. In the North FT chipping and exporting is via Smart Fibre at Bell Bay and is not as profitable for FT.

The overall result at Mutual Valley looks like breakeven after the costs of roads and regeneration, insufficient to pay FT’s wages on the job. An overdraft will cover them in the short term until FT manages to sell our hardwood plantations at a fraction of the establishment costs

Tourism Minister Hodgman has got form when it comes to standing idly by as FT negatively impacts recently funded tourism infrastructure. The $24 million Tarkine Road project, at last starting to entice tourists west of Stanley, is about to be impacted by the proposed clearfelling of three coupes which border tourist roads, one on the Tarkine Drive itself and the other two on feeder roads.

FT and Mr Harriss both suggested appropriate signage to help tourists understand the history and context of forestry operations.

What will the signs say?

The devastation you are now viewing was undertaken for the sole purpose of honouring loss making contracts negotiated by Forestry Tasmania.