Can NSW Transition to a Koala Park Without Losing Jobs? WWF's Surprising Findings!

Chris Minns: Balancing Conservation and Employment

Chris Minns can indeed have his Koala Park and support regional jobs simultaneously. A recent report by Frontier Economics for the World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia (WWF) suggests that the NSW government could create a surplus of new jobs by ending native forest logging.

Key Findings of the Report

The 74-page report highlights that transitioning away from native forestry could transform two million hectares of NSW State Forests into protected forests. While this would initially lead to a loss of 1,070 jobs across northern, southern, and western NSW, it could be offset by the creation of 1,200 new full-time roles in areas like plantations, manufacturing, and forest restoration.

“A plan to support employment in bush economies is crucial to ending the destruction caused by native forest logging,” says Jailene Santana, a Forest Futures Specialist at WWF-Australia.

The Need for Structural Support

The report emphasizes that a carefully planned transition can prevent job losses. It proposes a structural reform package to support the expansion of hardwood plantations and promote regenerative forestry and agroforestry. This approach not only aids employment but also enhances biodiversity and resilience against extreme weather.

Innovative Solutions in Forestry

With the introduction of new technologies, such as 3RT technology, which converts plantation thinnings into structural-grade hardwood products, there is potential for earlier financial returns from hardwood plantations. This would help ensure that Australia can source its own building supplies instead of relying on imports.

Community Adaptation and Investment

Regions like Bega Valley and Port Macquarie-Hastings have shown adaptability to changes in public native forest logging. According to Graham Phelan, the government’s role in coordinating this transition is vital to attracting investment for a more sustainable hardwood sector.

Industry Pushback

However, Maree McCaskill, CEO of Timber NSW, challenges the report's figures, arguing that they do not fully account for the downstream value chain and the broader employment landscape within the hardwood industry. The Ernst + Young report indicated that the hardwood industry employs over 8,900 full-time-equivalent positions, suggesting a more complex job market than what the WWF report outlines.

Last year, Wood Central revealed that thinnings and pulpwood from NSW state forests were being utilized in innovative hybrid timber-cardboard sandwich panels.