The logging industry has been on massive welfare payments for years, despite it claiming it is profitable. Our taxes pay to have our forests destroyed.
The industry is a dead loss in many ways.
May 28, 2015
The revised Renewable Energy Target (RET) currently before Parliament would provide a market for otherwise unsaleable timber, according to a document from Victoria’s state-owned forestry business, VicForests, obtained by the ABC. Environment Minister Greg Hunt introduced the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Bill yesterday. The legislation locks in the bipartisan deal for a new, lower, 2020 …
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May 28, 2015
Leaked business and corporate plans from Victoria’s state-owned forestry business, VicForests, reveal multi-million dollar taxpayer losses and logging operations in parts of the state that ‘are not commercial’. This is especially the case in East Gippsland, where weak demand for poor quality logs has made operations unprofitable over ‘many years’. The leaked ‘commercial in confidence’ …
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May 28, 2015
Leaked 3 year business plans from VicForests reveal multi-million dollar taxpayer losses. East Gippsland is especially ‘not commercial’. It’s been going on for years. ABC Radio National revealed the leaked ‘commercial in confidence’ documents also shows VicForests is keen to use native forests to generate electricity under the Renewable Energy Target, or RET. Environment Minister …
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May 8, 2015
Along with other proposed changes to the RET, the issue of RECs for native forest waste incinerators is expected to return to parliament, with crucial cross bench senators Ricky Muir and Jackie Lambie vocal in support. Changed conditions in forest markets could mean this has a bigger impact on Australian renewables that it has in …
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April 15, 2015
In early April, VicForests decided to move from Healesville to a cheap prefab in Woori Yallock. They’ll take 30 staff there including some from Melbourne. They’ve been cutting corners and fat to save money for ages and this is the latest move – cheaper rent in Woori Yallock than Bourke St. CEO, Robert Green said …
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April 10, 2015
It is not only hi-tech internationals like Microsoft, Google and Apple that are rorting the tax system to minimise declared profits and therefore pay less tax. Low-tech, state-owned native forest logging corporation, VicForests, has been at it for years. Since 2007 VicForests has posted total revenues of almost $1 billion raised from the sale of …
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April 9, 2015
Paper profits for political appearances VicForests Annual Report for 2014 is now available here and they are claiming a profit of $3.4 million this year, but this claimed profit is a mirage, created for political reasons. $2.6m seems to have been generated (on paper at least) by re-valuing “forestry assets”, see Note 3c, p.42 Another $1.1m …
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March 31, 2015
Australian Paper which manufactures REFLEX paper from the Central Highland ash forests, is Victoria’s major user of natural gas. The price of gas is set to rise astronomically due to increased sales offshore. This will be a serious financial burden for this Nippon owned pulp and paper mill. As a result it is pleading for …
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February 26, 2015
Australian Paper mill at Maryvale in the Latrobe Valley could close if it can’t find a way to make a profit. Australia’s biggest forest-devouring pulp and paper mill has been losing money for years. The Japanese owners have said: Japanese paper manufacturer Nippon Paper Industries (NPI), shares the long term vision of continuing to manufacture …
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January 20, 2015
Stopping logging in Victoria’s central highlands would drive tens of millions of dollars into state coffers if the move was included under the Abbott government’s emissions reduction fund. Fairfax Media has seen a confidential brief prepared for the federal environment minister, Greg Hunt, which found ending logging in the highland forests, north-east of Melbourne, would …
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