2017-06-07
Ms DUNN (Eastern Metropolitan) — My question is again for the Minister for Agriculture. It is in relation to the budget announcement regarding the establishment of plantation timber. I am wondering, Minister, if you can provide the house with any information on where these plantations might be sited and what species they might contain?
Ms PULFORD (Minister for Agriculture) — I thank Ms Dunn for her question and her interest in our government’s determination to increase the plantation timber sector in Victoria. There is, as Ms Dunn points out, $110 million allocated in the budget to that end. What we have commenced now — and this will continue in earnest — are initial discussions with the local councils throughout Gippsland and initial discussions with industry about where they believe demand will exist, in preparation for the establishment of those plantations. So we will work closely with local communities and we will work closely with industry to determine where the demand is, of course in the first instance exploring opportunities on public land but also, if and as it is appropriate, on private land as well. So I cannot give you a spot on a map right now, Ms Dunn, but we will certainly be working very closely with industry and the community to increase the amount of plantation timber available to industry going forward. This is something that has not happened in Victoria since the 1980s, and we are very pleased to be getting on with it.
Supplementary question
Ms DUNN (Eastern Metropolitan) — I thank you, Minister, for your answer. Minister, I am wondering in relation to plantations: are you able to rule out in terms of the siting of the plantations that we will not see a conversion of intact or already logged state forest?
Ms PULFORD (Minister for Agriculture) — As I think I indicated in my initial answer, we will work closely with all interested parties to determine the most appropriate location and also questions of species and develop this plantation sector further in close consultation and cooperation with existing players. So what I can indicate to Ms Dunn is that no decisions have been made around the specific location, other than of course that our statements to date have referred to the need to have this located proximate to the Latrobe Valley. The most significant player — not the only player in the industry but the most significant employer — in the timber products industry, of course being Australian Paper, is a business that I think has long made known its desire to have increasing supply from plantation timber, and we will continue to work closely to that end.