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A plan to solve decades of neglect in Australia’s Forests and Forest Industries

Australia’s native forests provide us with clean air, clean water and homes for Australia’s iconic wildlife. 

They provide places for us to enjoy with our friends and family, but sadly they are in worse shape than ever. Invasive weeds and feral animals, damage from logging operations, and increasing threats from fires mean our forests – and the wildlife that depend on them like Koalas, Greater Gliders and Swift Parrots – are in serious trouble. 

Right now, our native forests in Tasmania, New South Wales and Queensland are being logged for mainly low value products, like firewood and woodchips. 

At the same time, there are problems with the way our commercial timber plantations are being managed that requires an urgent response. New plantations are not being established and eucalypt plantations are overwhelmingly being grown to be woodchipped rather than turned into high value products.  

 Over the years, government has invested billions of taxpayer dollars in growing commercial plantation trees, but without a clear plan for the industry, regional Australia is missing out on jobs and value adding manufacturing opportunities. 

Government should be backing investment in manufacturing new plantation-based timber products – like modular housing, veneers and laminated timber – and using these taxpayer-funded plantations better and more efficiently to support long-term regional jobs and wealth for the country. 

Australia’s existing national plan for forests and forestry was written in 1992. Australia’s economy and environment has changed dramatically since then. 

The nation needs a new National Forest Policy that meets the needs of our regional communities, protects native forests to store carbon and save wildlife, and supports households and businesses that rely on forest products.

What does a new plan for Australia’s forests need to do?

Grow Plantations

Commercial plantations are the future of Australia’s timber supply and long-term forestry jobs. 

Already, more than 90 percent of Australia’s construction timber is provided by pine plantations1. With the right government investment and policy, we can grow and reconfigure our plantations to produce reliable wood for all our needs including construction materials, and increase jobs by manufacturing new wood products, and replace the small volume of timber that is produced from environmentally harmful native forest logging. 

Protect Native Forests

Iconic animals like Koalas and Gliders are at risk of extinction and invasive species are threatening already vulnerable ecosystems. Australia needs to repair the damage by reforming our failed national environment laws, protecting the critical habitat of threatened plants and animals and by committing to a transition out of native forest logging.

Maximise Forest Value Through Carbon Credits

Australia’s native forests hold immense value as carbon sinks3, far surpassing their worth as logged timber4. By protecting these forests that are presently threatened by logging for carbon storage and nature protection, we can generate high-integrity carbon credits. These credits can be sold by state governments to companies needing to offset or reduce their carbon emissions, unlocking significant new revenue.

This revenue can be reinvested into practical forest management, including fire management, pest and weed control, and forest restoration. 

Investing in practical forest management not only creates jobs but also protects and restores nature. Now is the time to leverage billions of dollars from carbon credits to protect, restore, and manage our forests more effectively than ever before.

1. Analysis of ABARES, FAOSTAT, Forest and Wood Product Association data averages over FY18-22

2. Bradshaw CJA (2012) Little left to lose: deforestation and forest degradation in Australia since European colonisation, Journal of Plant Ecology, Vol 5, Issue 1. 111-112

3. Keith H, Mackey B & Lindenmayer D (2009) Re-evaluation of forest biomass carbon stocks and lessons for the world’s most carbon dense forests, Proceedings from the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,

4. Lindenmayer, D & Mackey, B (2015) Native forests can help hit emissions target - if we leave them alone, The Conversation https://www.anu.edu.au/news/