Latest News & Media

22/07/2008

NEW - A3P response to climate change greenpaper

The Australian Plantation Products and Paper Industry Council (A3P) supports the treatment of forestry in the proposed carbon pollution reduction policy outlined by the Federal government. Section 2.8 of the greenpaper - available in the reports section of this website - deals with forestry.

Access Media Release

13/02/2008

FWPA consultation meetings

The newly formed Forests and Wood Products Australia is conducting a series of workshops to consult with levy payers and industry stakeholders on the development of FWPA.

Download Meeting Notice

11/05/2007

New 2020 Vision Coordinator

The plantation timber industry is delighted to welcome the appointment of Mr David
Thompson as the new National Plantations Strategy Coordinator for Plantations for
Australia: The 2020 Vision.

Download Media Release

09/05/2007

Secondary Markets in Plantations - Budget Answers A3P's Call

A3P welcomes the Government's 2007 Budget commitment to facilitate secondary market trading for immature plantations as a means to attract greater investment in longer-rotation plantations.

Download Media Release

06/02/2007

Non-Forestry Managed Investment Schemes

Following the announcement on 21/12/2006 regarding new arrangements for taxation of plantation forestry investment, Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer, Peter Dutton, today announced that the Government has decided that it is 'not disposed to introduce a similar taxation arrangement for investments in non-forestry agribusiness MIS'.

Investors in non-forestry MIS would no longer be able to claim upfront deductions for thier contributions to the MIS on the basis that the investor is 'carrying on a business'.

Download Media Release

21/12/2006

Announcement re Review of the Taxation of Plantation Forestry

Forestry and Conservation Minister, Senator Eric Abetz, and Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer, Peter Dutton, today announced new arrangements for the taxation of investments in forestry managed investment schemes (MIS).

Download Media Release

1/12/2006

Local Government to Form National 'Timber Councils Taskforce'

Local Government Mayors, Councillors and CEOs, representing councils from across Australia unanimously agreed to form a 'National Timber Councils Taskforce' at a breakfast meeting hosted by Timber Towns Victoria in conjunction with the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) National General Assembly in Canberra yesterday.

Download Media Release

31/08/2006

New Code of Practice for Timber Plantations in WA released

The Forest Industries Federation of WA today released its Code of Practice for Timber Plantations in WA. The Code is a best-practice manual for the establishment and management of hardwood and softwood plantations in W.A.

Download Media Release

29/08/2006

Howard Government Invests $3.8 M in WA Invention - Lignor ESL

A clever invention is a step closer to the market place today follwoing the latest round of Australian Government innovation grants. Member for O'Connor, Wilson Tuckey today announced local company Lignor has received $3,854,187 to help develop its groundbreaking new process to create Engineered Strand Lumber using Australian eucalypt timbers.

Download Media Release

22/08/2006

New era in value-adding for plantation sector

Lignor Ltd, the company developing the Engineered Strand Lumber Plant (ESL) in Albany Western Australia, and Great Southern Plantations Limited (GSP) today announced the signing of an Agreement for the supply of up to 200,000 tonnes per year of blue gum logs to Lignor starting in 2009.

Download Media Release

18/08/2006

Tree Project Good For the Environment and for Business (WA)

Almost 25 million trees will be planted on farms across Western Australia by 2008 thanks to a $64million project launched by the Australian and Western Australian Governments. Run in partnership by regional groups and the Forest Products Commission, the Strategic Tree-Farming initiative is the largest publicly-funded tree planting scheme in Australia. It is also the biggest project under the joint National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality program. Australian and Western Australian Ministers celebrated the launch with communities and landholders today at a property near Mount Barker in the State's south.

Download Media Release

16/08/2006

Reflex achieves FSC

A3P has congratulated member organisation Australian Paper for achieving Forest Stewardship Council Chain of Custody Certification for its Reflex paper produced at the Maryvale Mill in Victoria.

Download Media Release

15/08/2006

Government Response To The Report Of The Taskforce On Reducing The Regulatory Burdens On Business

The Australian Government is announcing immediate actions to address a number of the recommendations of the Report of the Taskforce on Reducing the Regulatory Burdens on Business – Rethinking Regulation. Over-regulation is a major concern to all businesses and especially small businesses. Effective regulation is also an important tool for delivering Australia’s social and economic goals. We are committed to getting the balance right.

The comprehensive report, guided by the views of stakeholders representing industry, small business, consumers and government, makes 178 recommendations on actions to reduce red tape. While the report focuses on areas that are predominantly the responsibility of the Australian Government, it recognises that all three levels of government contribute to the regulatory burdens on business, and seeks to identify areas where there is overlap.

The report also details measures to address the underlying cause of over regulation.

Read Media Release and access full report.

Download Excerpt in relation to regulation of plantation forestry and native vegetation

15/08/2006

Minister Praises Australian Paper for Green Credentials

Victoria's Agriculture Minister, Bob Cameron and Member for Morwell Brendan Jenkins, have congratulated Australian Paper (AP) for achieving Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification for its Reflex paper produced at the Maryvale Mill in Gippsland. Certification is only issued to companies that ensure the environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable management of forests.

Download Media Release

08/08/2006

Growing Forests For Greenhouse Benefits

Growing forests to offset greenhouse gas emissions will become easier for landholders and land managers in rural and regional Australia with the release of a new guide to planning forest carbon sink projects. The Australian Government Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell, said the Planning Forest Sink Projects: A Guide to Forest Sink Planning, Management and Carbon Accounting would provide invaluable advice and information for those thinking of establishing a forest for greenhouse benefits.

Download Media Release

03/08/2006

$ 6.2 M for Mirambeena Timber Processing Precinct, Albany, WA

WA Government Great Southern Minister John Bowler today announced State Government support for common user infrastructure at the Mirambeena Timber Processing Precinct near Alban, W.A. The Mirambeena Timber Processing Precinct is designed to cater for businesses involved in value-adding to the region's vast plantation blue gum timber resource.

Download Media Release

03/08/2006

Impacts of changing landscapes on the communities of rural and regional Victoria and S.A.

A new research project identifying the impacts over time, of land-use change in the Green Triangle and Central Victoria, was launched in Hamilton today by the CRC for Forestry. When completed this research project will add to the growing body of knowledge about the socio- economic impacts of changing landuses - including cropping, dairy, energy generation grazing, plantation forestry and viticulture.

Download Media Release

18/07/2006

Central Victorias Action Plan for Private Forestry

Central Victoria has a new action plan to address private forestry development issues. Australia’s Forestry and Conservation Minister, Senator Eric Abetz, who launched the plan, Planting for a Sustainable Future, today, said the plan recognised and incorporated state and national policies on the direction of forestry, and looked at them in a regional context. Planned and appropriately managed forestry can provide great social, economic and environmental benefits, Senator Abetz said. This plan will help position new forests to meet multiple demands and make sure the forests fit in with the ambitions of the communities where they are located. The Australian Government contributed $69,000 to the plan’s development through the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality.

Download Media Release

22/06/2006

NSW Carbon Accounting System Recognised By BANKSIA Environmental Awards (NSW)

New South Wales Minister for Primary Industries, Mr Ian MacDonald has congratulated Forests NSW on its selection as a finalist in the Climate category of the Banksia Foundation Environmental Awards. Mr MacDonald said Forests NSW has developed the world's first dependable system for accounting for carbon stored in trees that led to the development of Australian and international carbon accounting standards.

Download Media Release

21/06/2006

Macfarlane tells A3P Members - What makes a successful industry?

Speaking at the A3P Annual Forum in Canberra, The Hon. Ian Macfarlane, Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, highlighted the features of a successful industry - investment in innovation, investment in people; and international competitiveness..

Download Media Release

16/06/2006

New State of the Art Timber Plant Opened in Colac

Congratulations to Associated Kiln Driers in Colac, SW, Victoria on the opening of their $2.4 milllion light oil solvent preservation (LOSP) timber treatment plant.

Download Media Release

25/05/2006

Plantation Industry Questions CSIRO 'Risk to Shared Water Resources' Report

A3P, the Australian Plantation Products and Paper Industry Council, have questioned the narrow focus and unrealistic tree planting scenarios used in the CSIRO report 'Risks to the Shared Water Resources of the Murray-Darling Basin ', released by the Murray Darling Basin Commission this week.

Download Media Release

15/05/2006

performance, people and prosperity - A3P Sustainability Action Plan Launched

Rob Lord, Executive Vice President of Norske Skog Australia Ltd and Chairman of A3P, launched performance, people and prosperity - the A3P Sustainability Action Plan, at the 7th National Business Leaders Forum on Sustainable Development being held today in Brisbane. The plan is a first for Australia's plantation products and paper industry, which creates and sells more than $5 billion of product each year.

Download Media Release

Download Summary of performance, people and prosperity

Read more about A3P and access the full plan at: www.a3p.asn.au

09/05/2006

Proposed Taxation Arrangements for Plantation Forestry

The Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer, Peter Dutton, announced today that the Government is seeking the views of industry and other interested parties on proposed new taxation arrangements for investments in forestry managed investment schems (MIS).

Download Media Release and Summary of Proposed Taxation Arrangements 9 May 2006

Plantation industry associations, TIMA and TPA, have welcomed the Government's announcement that it will hold further industry consultations before deciding whether to apply new taxation arrangements for plantaiton forestry after 1 July 2008.

Download TIMA -TPA Media Release 9 May 2006

11/04/2006

Launch of New Forests

Senator Eric Abetz, Australian Government Minister for Forestry and Conservation, launched an important new book, New Forests - Wood Production and Environmental Services, that is a culmination of work and research from Ensis and the University of Melbourne addressing issues that arise when growing trees in low rainfall and saline agricultural landscapes, particularly focussing on the Murray-Darling Basin.

Download Media Release New Forests

Purchase the Book New Forests

2/01/2006

Forestry in the name of Climate Change

From the Washington Times: Patrick Moore, a co-founder of Greenpeace, writes about the contribution trees are making to reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide, the increasing need for active forest management, the importance of planting fast growing trees and details the real issues of the higher energy requirements for the production of wood substitutes like steel, plastic and cement. "One of the best ways to address climate change is to use more wood, not less. Wood is simply the most abundant, biodegradable and renewable material on the planet".
http://washingtontimes.com/commentary/20060121-104330-7044r.htm

19/01/06

Tree plantations still valid as carbon sinks

A recent article in the international science journal has reported for the first time that plants can directly emit methane. This is being used in the media to criticise the use of forests for carbon sequestration while The Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate meeting was taking place in Sydney. Ensis has released the following interpretation of and response to the research.  

Download the Media Release Ensis methane statement 19 Jan 06 (2 pages | 76kb) 
Link to the Nature Article (http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060109/full/439128a.html)

02/06/05

Australian forest, wood and paper sector welcome industry-government partnership

The Australian forest, wood products and paper manufacturing industry has welcomed the announcement of a new partnership between the Australian Government and forest products and paper manufacturing sector that will result in a Wood and Paper Industry Growth Strategy.

Download the Media Release (2 pages | 76kb)

10/05/05

Budget a boost to plantation timber industry

The Federal Budget’s two-year extension to 2008 of the 12-month prepayment rule for managed timber investments reaffirms the Government’s support for the continued growth of the plantation timber industry.

Download the Media Release (1 page | 32kb)

29/04/05

Plantations Continue to Grow

A new study has found the Australian plantation timber industry increased in size by over 50,000 hectares last year. Addressing the final in a series of investment workshops in Hobart today, the Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation, Senator Ian Macdonald, said the 2005 National Plantations Inventory update proves that investment in new plantations continues to be attractive.

The study revealed about 27 per cent more new plantations were established in 2004, compared to 2003, Senator Macdonald said. This is good news for the timber industry, investors and the environment. We now have over 1.7 million hectares of plantations, Senator Macdonald said.

Download the media release (1 page | 36kb)

For more information on the National Plantations Inventory update go to Reports and Resources.

01/04/05

Plantation forestry – growing trees and rural communities

The Bombala community in SE NSW yesterday celebrated the launch of a socio-economic analysis of private forestry in their region. The report ‘Plantations, Jobs and Investment in Regional NSW’, launched by Australian Forestry and Conservation Minister Senator Ian Macdonald, examines the contribution forestry companies like Willmott Forests make to communities in south-eastern NSW.

Download a copy of the media release that includes details of how to obtain a copy of the report (1 page | 36 kb PDF).

8/12/04

Regulator clears atrazine for continued use

Following a detailed investigation, the national regulator of pesticides and veterinary medicines, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA), has cleared the herbicide, atrazine, of links to cancer and other health concerns.

Download the APVMA media release (1 page | 44 kb PDF).

2/09/04

Senate Inquiry into Plantation Forestry

The Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee released its report on the inquiry into Australian forest plantations A review of Plantations for Australia: The 2020 Vision on 2 September 2004.

The report is available at the following site:
http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/rrat_ctte/completed_inquiries/2002-04/plantation_forests/index.htm