BY SEAN HEALY
SYDNEY — NSW Premier Bob Carr's Labor government appears hell-bent on committing 230,000 tonnes of predominantly old-growth timber from north-east NSW to be burned each year for charcoal at Gunnedah, the North East Forest Alliance said on July 31.
The premier's "support for this proposal shows how far his government has retreated from its 1995 election promise to protect old-growth forests", said NEFA spokesperson Susie Russell.
Two reports obtained by NEFA confirm the plan. One from the CSIRO, which investigates fuel sources for the Lithgow silicon smelter, emphasises that old-growth trees will be targeted for conversion to charcoal in the Gunnedah charcoal plant. Another report, this time from State Forests, proposes to truck 230,000 tonnes of timber annually from public lands in north-east NSW for the next 18 years.
"The CSIRO report states clearly that old-growth has the density to give the purity of product and thus is to be the first choice, and that while plantation timber may be suitable, it is not as effective as old-growth and wood from mature trees", Russell said. "The report, commissioned by the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning and obtained by NEFA, shows that there are alternatives to using old-growth hardwood, but none look so easy as the fire sale offered by State Forests."
Russell said that the second report shows, "State Forests have ignored their existing commitments and tweaked the knobs on their timber modelling software to make it look like they can supply the Gunnedah plant".
"The public is being misled about this proposal", Russell claimed. "We are being told by senior government ministers that no additional trees will be felled for this project. Well, NEFA has the documents, commissioned by State Forests, which show this is clearly not the case.
"The charcoal plant is aimed squarely at not only the forests of north-east NSW, but at the Piliga State Forest, which is situated just to the west of Gunnedah, and private forest in the Coonabarabran area. If allowed to go ahead it will no doubt consume trees from a radius of several hundred kilometres, and will go on consuming them for several decades.
"Is this really what the people of NSW want to see happen to their forests and woodland? I don't think so."