An economic analysis by The Australia Institute claims that native forest logging in NSW lost $79 million over the last seven years, but could be making a $40 million yearly profit if left standing and allowed access to the Federal Government’s Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF).
The Nature Conservation Council (NCC) and the National Parks Association of NSW, which jointly commissioned the report, has called upon the NSW government to cease “loss-making native forest logging” and to support a transition of wood supply from native forests to plantations.
The CEO of NCC Kate Smolski said there was little prospect that Forestry Corporation could turn around sustained losses of their native forest harvesting operations.
She said that the NSW government was “propping up” Forestry Corporation’s native forest logging operations by providing $136m of Community Service Obligation funds over the last ten years, but it was still running at a loss.
Rod Campbell, research director at The Australia Institute, said “Native forest logging is running at a fairly serious economic loss and it’s being cross-subsidised by softwood and plantation forestry”.
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