Forestry in Tasmania
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
has been conducted since early European settlement. The logging of old growth native forests in the state has been opposed by environmentalists and others via means such as lobbying, legislation and blockades.
Early history
Forest conservation and reservation in the nineteenth century
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
was controlled under the title of the Waste Lands Act.
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Imperial Governments 1842 Act - enabled the
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...
Governor was able to grant "Licences for the felling, removal and sale of timber from such lands"
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Waste Land Act (1863) - made it possible for further licensing for forest activities was possible after Van Diemen's Land become Tasmania in 1856.
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Waste Lands Act (1881) - provided for land reservation for the preservation of timber. In 1885 the State Forests Act preservation and policing were not well organised and the management of forests was considered "chaotic".
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Crown Lands Act (1890) - saw the Crown Lands Act repealed and consolidated, along with the Waste Lands Act, and State Forests act of 1885.
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Forestry Act (1920) - established the Tasmania Forestry Department
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Kermandi Woodpulp and Paper Industry Act (1926)
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Florentine Valley Paper Industry Act (1932)
Troubles
The condition of the industry after the 1930s had created a situation where the following reports and commission attempted to resolve the issues:
* Galbraith Report 1940-1941
* Kessell report 1945
* Royal Commission of 1946
Resolution
* Forestry Commission 15 April 1947
Tasmanian Forest Administration
Current government administration of the forest estate is by
Forestry Tasmania
Sustainable Timber Tasmania, formerly Forestry Tasmania, is a government business enterprise owned by the Government of Tasmania, Australia. It is responsible for the management of public production forest in Tasmania, which is about 800,000 h ...
.
Districts
The older administrative regions were:
* North West Region
** Smithton (1)
** Burnie (2)
** Queenstown (3)
** Devonport (4)
* North East Region
** Deloraine (5)
** Launceston (6)
** Scottsdale (7)
** Fingal (8)
* South East Region
** Norfolk (9)
** Triabunna (10)
** Geeveston (11)
Exemption from Freedom of Information Act and subsequent repeal
After the passage of the Forestry Amendment (Forestry Corporation) Act 1994, the Tasmanian forest industry became exempt from requests to provide disclosure of sensitive public information under the Freedom of Information Act signed into legislation in 1991. This was done through the addition of section 32A into the Act expressly exempting Forestry Tasmania and the Forestry Corporation from requests under this law.
A later Bill of Parliament introduced into law in 2004 repealed section 32A of the Freedom of Information, thus reverting the exemption granted in 1994.
[Austlii - Tasmanian Bills, 2004 http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/tas/bill/foiarosfeb13o2004689/]
2010
The current administrative areas are:
* Murchison (formerly 1, 2, 3)
* Mersey (formerly 4, 5)
* Bass (formerly 6, 7, 8)
* Derwent (formerly 9, 10)
* Huon (formerly 11)
See also
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Forests of Australia
Australia has many forests of importance due to significant features, despite being one of the driest continents. , Australia has approximately 147 million hectares of native forest, which represents about 19% of Australia's land area. The majori ...
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Forests Commission Victoria
The Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) was the main government authority responsible for management and protection of State forests in Victoria, Australia between 1918 and 1983.
The Commission was responsible for ″forest policy, prevention an ...
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Forestry in New Zealand
Forestry in New Zealand has a history starting with European settlement in the 19th century and is now an industry worth seven percent of annual revenue. Much of the original native forest cover was burnt off and logged, however forests have been ...
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Woodchipping in Australia
Woodchipping is the act and industry of chipping wood for pulp. Timber is converted to woodchips and sold, primarily, for paper manufacture. In Australia, woodchips are produced by clearcutting or thinning of native forests or plantations. In o ...
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Upper Florentine Valley
The Upper Florentine Valley is a valley in the south of Tasmania, Australia, is an area recognised for its landscape and old growth forests. It is situated along the Gordon River Road near Maydena in the southwest of the island, roughly three ho ...
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Gunns Limited
Gunns Limited was a major forestry enterprise located in Tasmania, Australia. It had operations in forest management, woodchipping, sawmilling and veneer production. The company was placed into liquidation in March 2013.
History
Founded in ...
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Tasmanian Forests Intergovernmental Agreement
The Tasmanian Forests Intergovernmental Agreement (TFIA) is an agreement between the Commonwealth of Australia and the State of Tasmania. It is designed to create additional areas of forest reserves in the State of Tasmania, while ensuring ongoin ...
Further reading
Into the woods : the battle for Tasmania's forests/ Anna Krien ; book design by Thomas Deverall. - 2nd ed. - Collingwood, Vic. : Black Inc., 2012. -
ISBN 9781863955584 (pbk.)
Notes
{{Forestry
Forestry in Australia
Economy of Tasmania
Tasmanian forests