Former Australian Conservation Foundation boss Tricia Caswell will become the new face of Victoria’s logging industry, a move that has surprised some green groups - esp.

From The Age Melissa Fyfe Environment Reporter ( 6 April 2004, p1)

The Victorian Association of Forest Industries has told The Age that it hopes Ms Caswell’s appointment as chief executive will signal an era of co-operation with environmentalists and end the long-running battle over native forest logging.

Ms Caswell, a former trade unionist and the executive director of RMIT’s Global Sustainability Institute, said it was time to “get out of the trenches” and establish an industry Victorians could be proud of.

The appointment, to be announced today, shocked green groups mostly because Ms Caswell vehemently opposed woodchipping and the logging of old-growth forests during her time at ACF from 1992 to 1995.

Both practices still happen in Victoria. But ACF and the Wilderness Society have welcomed the move. ACF president Peter Garrett said it was a positive sign the industry was taking environmental issues seriously.

Wilderness Society campaigner Gavan McFadzean said Ms Caswell had a good understanding of “the destructiveness of the woodchipping industry” and community desires to protect forests, water catchments and threatened species.

But some long-time forest campaigners were disgusted at the appointment.

“Any money she takes from VAFI is blood money, and it is the blood of threatened species,” Wombat Forest activist Alan Gray said.
The forestry union is also angry. “We doubt there is any credibility in anyone who once worked representing trade unions now earning a lot of money representing bosses (VAFI),” the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union’s forestry division national secretary, Michael O’Connor, said.
“Nor is there any credibility in someone who campaigned to throw timber workers out of work now supporting wood-chippers. It is the most dramatic change at politics we’ve seen in 30 years.”
East Gippsland sawmiller Bob Humphreys, a timber worker for 40 years, said Ms Caswell’s appointment could be a wonder drug for an ailing industry.
“She will either be the masterstroke of the management committee of VAFI or it will be the sounding of the death knell,” he said.
The appointment is a risky strategy for VAFI, which The Age believes has angered conservative elements of the industry.
Since leaving ACF, Ms Caswell has made a name working with the companies she once fought bitterly. She has worked with BHP Billiton, WMC, and the Minerals Council of Australia, developers Lend Lease and the plastics and chemicals industry.
Her appointment follows year-long talks between environmentalists and the industry. They were spearheaded by Neville Smith Timbers, a large Gippsland logging company, and its consultant. Phillip Toyne, a leading environmentalist and also a former ACF head.
VAFI vice-president James Neville Smith said the talks found the two sides agreed on some things.
“Ms Caswell has been appointed to represent the industry, make no mistake about that.” he said. “But the reality is the industry is seeking a resolution to a long-term debate, as is the environment movement.”
Ms Caswell was unavailable for comment yesterday.
In a statement she said: “If we are going to ensure a sustainable forest future, we need an industry that cares for its people and their jobs and also looks after the forests now and for future generations.”
She will take up her position in June, replacing Graeme Gooding.