23 June 2009
DAFF09/282BJ

Joint media release

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry - Tony Burke
NSW Minister for Climate Change and the Environment - Carmel Tebbutt

A progress report on the implementation of the 20-year NSW Regional Forest Agreements shows nearly 90 per cent of the milestones are finalised or underway.

Australian Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Tony Burke and NSW Minister for Climate Change and the Environment Carmel Tebbutt today released the draft report, covering the Eden, North East and Southern Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs).

RFAs set the framework for the management of forests in key forestry regions, balancing conservation with sustainable harvesting of public native forests.

They were developed jointly by the Australian and NSW governments and signed between 1999 and 2001.

The progress report shows 124 of the 138 milestones have been concluded or are underway.

Information on two milestones is yet to be published and a further 12 milestones were found to be not applicable or not for review in this initial five-year period.

Mr Burke said the NSW forest and wood products industry was innovative and worked hard to create new business opportunities right along the supply chain.

“Our forest and wood products sector supports jobs and generates economic activity in many regional communities,” Mr Burke said.

“The Rudd Government will continue to support a sustainable forestry sector which is globally competitive and underpins local jobs.

“Regional Forest Agreements are the cornerstone of our national forest policy and the key mechanism for supporting jobs and industry and protecting biodiversity and threatened species.”
 
Ms Tebbutt said the NSW agreements had resulted in about 1.2 million hectares being added to the State’s system of national parks and reserves, while also providing long-term stability for the timber industry.

“These agreements have allowed us to protect key ecosystems and provided certainty for both conservation outcomes and the timber industry,” Ms Tebbutt said.

“The decisions behind these RFAs brought an end to decades of conflict over the use and allocation of forests, and both governments want to make sure the undertakings made in these agreements are being properly implemented.”

The key objectives of the Regional Forest Agreements are to:

• Protect the environmental values;
• Encourage job creation in forest-based industries, including tourism and wood production; and
• Manage our native forests in an ecologically sustainable way.

An independent reviewer will consider the draft report and public submissions and compile a report to both governments.