"Forty regional towns including Tumut and Tumbarumba stand to have their economic heart ripped out and left exposed to the ravages of bushfire if privatisation of State Forests' plantations goes ahead," a meeting in Tumut on Friday was told.

from the Tumut and Adelong Times

The government's investigations into the possible sell-off of the forests had all the hallmarks of "privatisation by stealth", the meeting of State Forests workers and senior officials of the Public Service Association was told.

The meeting was informed questions would be put to Treasurer Mr Egan and Premier Bob Carr this week over what plans they had for the thousands of families who stood to be affected by a sell-off of the timber plantations by the government.
PSA vice president George Dennett, PSA industrial officer Stewart Little and regional organiser Peter Hood met with some forty members at the Riverina Highlands Building where the local State Forests office is based, and promised the Association would do everything it could to convince the Government not to privatise its softwood and hardwood forests.

The meeting carried a unanimous resolution opposing any moves to privatise State Forests.

Members called on the State Government to show commitment to the regional communities that rely on public owned plantations.

The PSA is to call on the Labor Council to coordinate other unions and affected communities to oppose any privatisation move.

"The feeling amongst State Forests workers is one of anger and they have every right to feel that way," said Mr Little following the meeting.

"They are not taking this lightly and the PSA is supporting them 100 per cent.
"There has been no community consultation by the Government to this point, months after the government commissioned a Scoping Study on Plantations ownership - Options and appointed a merchant bank (ABN Amro) as consultants.

"There was no mention of it prior to the 2003 election, no mention at the Labor Party conference in October.
"Then out of the blue it's on the table for what would be a one-off bonanza for the coffers, an amount that would be lucky to run the health system for a month."

"You would have expected the government to speak with those potentially affected.
"We have heard the government might reap a figure of $1.2 billion based on the Victorian experience.

"But the big issue here is jobs for the bush. State Forests has between 1100 and 1200 permanent staff, not to mention the many contractors and harvesting personnel involved.

"In the forty regional communities involved State Forests and/or contractors provide the principal means of employment.

"Everywhere they have tried this, such as in New Zealand and Victoria, we are being told it has proven a disaster for people in regional centres."

Mr Little said the PSA had a meeting with Minister Kosta (the Minister assisting Natural Resources Minister Craig Knowles) and the State treasurer Mr Egan scheduled for Thursday.

Similar meetings that held in Tumut last Friday were scheduled to be held in Bathurst this week, and at Wa1cha next week.
"We hope the Labor Council will mount a solid campaign of opposition," he said.

Already the Australian Workers Union and the Pulp and Paper Workers branch of the CFMEU have expressed concern over the possibility of privatisation, claiming it would inevitably lead to job losses and impact on job security.

Australian secretary of the AWU Russ Collissen recently said State Forests had done a first rate job in managing the timber resource and he did not believe the efficiencies could be enhanced through a sale to private interests.
It was a view shared by the PSA officials who visited Tumut late last week.
“It’s disappointing to see the government come out and look at the possible sell-off for a one off bonanza, when it will undoubtedly mean long term pain" said Mr Little.
"Apart from jobs, what happens to the roads, and firefighting management?
"State Forests personnel have a front line role in co-ordinating bush. fires and the preservation of life and property. Their record is second to none. Even in the big California fires they were the first ones to be called in from overseas to assist in fighting those fires.

"When it comes to bushfires this organisation is without peer as demonstrated this time last year in your own area.

"The State Forests' plantations do make millions of dollars a year and should remain in public hands. There is no good reason for the government to flog them off."
Meanwhile the Plantations Ownership Options Scoping Study Steering Committee which visited Tumut, Tumbarumba, Holbrook, Albury ad Oberon earlier this month is still compiling its report.
The steering committee, made up of NSW Treasury and other department officials indicated at the time of its Tumut visit in discussions with local councils that it had several options to look at, a sell-off only one, and that it expected to make its report to the Minister next month.

There are some indications it may extend that time-frame.

Options range from the status-quo to separating plantations (to be run by a State controlled corporation) from non-plantations (native forests), to a private/public joint ventures, through to full privatisation.

Sub-options include regional based changes as opposed to the whole of State Forests plantations, and whether it would include the land or not.

"In looking at the options there is a need to evaluate financial considerations, industrial development and employment, fire management and security of supply," the steering committee chairman he told the Times.

He said the tour had been an opportunity to see close hand the nature of the industry and the forestry resource, and given the long term contracts in place he felt the Tumut-Tumbarumba area could take some comfort which might not necessarily exist in other areas.

The State Opposition has said many outstanding issues needed to be solved before any sale is even considered.
Those issues included the security of forestry jobs in NSW, land tenure, guaranteed re-plantings, current and long term security for existing contract holders, timber quality, continued recreational access, maintenance of existing fire protection programs and maintenance of public roads.

It says the government has failed to recognise timber production as a renewable resource industry and was ignoring the problems for regional employment and investment which a sale of the plantations would produce.
lt says no sale should go ahead unless the government could prove it is in the interests of NSW for them to proceed and not simply selling the asset to improve the Budget bottom line.

It has called on the Labor Government to make its plans known immediately, with downstream processors currently expanding or considering expansion.

Market sources have indicated the most likely buyer of the plantations would be overseas interests. There has been financial press speculation that the U.S. "super funds" investment company Hancocks could be interested, having purchased the former Victorian State Forests. Weyerhauser (which has a major sawmill in Tumut and is a huge lumber player overseas with substantial plantation interests), Prudential Timber and the Campbell Group. are all possible buyers.

Also suggested as a possible buyer is the Macquarie Bank group which could establish a special fund to invest in forest assets.