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Job axe alert: cost of end to clearfell
15 Jun 2004
An economist said yesterday that an end to clearfelling in Tasmania's old-growth forests by 2010 would cost the state 1,345 jobs. Dr Bruce Felmingham co-authored a report for the Forest Industries Association of Tasmania but said it was completely independent.
The key finding of the report is the extent of job losses if clearfelling ended: 511 jobs would go in Forestry Tasmania, 713 in timber processing and 121 in all other industries. The total workforce of the Tasmanian forest and wood product industry is 10,693, making it an important contribution to the state's economy, Dr Felmingham said.
Other findings of the report were: log quality would be reduced, severely damaging the high-value veneer sector; profitability of sawmilling and timber-processing businesses would be reduced; the area of Tasmanian native forest harvested annually would increase as more area of lower-quality forests would be harvested to reach the same volume of sawlogs; the average price of timber would be reduced because of the lower quality.
The Mercury, 15/6/04.
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