Production of Jarrah and Karri timber banned from WA's native forests

The State Government's ban on commercial production of Jarrah and Karri timber harvested from WA's native forests has come into effect.

Transcript

00:00 The end of an era for dozens of south west timber mills.

00:06 The ban brings to a close a history stretching back 150 years.

00:12 Labour has a strategy to create new jobs in the south.

00:15 The shutdown signalled by Labour in 2001.

00:19 The final decision 20 years later.

00:21 We are going to stop logging in our native forests.

00:23 Blindsided industry.

00:25 Anything we were forewarned about or consulted about or anything like that we all, you know,

00:31 business owners, employees, everybody just found out via social media.

00:36 Last week the government revealed a new 10 year forest plan, sourcing chara in part from

00:42 bauxite miners clearfelling the forest.

00:45 We'll be doing what's called ecological thinning and so that's only where we are thinning trees

00:50 for forest health purposes.

00:52 If a mining company has environmental approval to clear any state forest then we will use

00:58 that timber resource as well.

01:00 With concerns native hardwood will become scarce and expensive.

01:04 If you or I want to go and put in a new jarrah floor, where's that going to come from?

01:08 Oh we'll go down to Bunnings perhaps and buy some imported timber from some tropical country.

01:12 How silly is that?

01:13 There have been a number of challenges as a result of that decision that's been made

01:19 and a number of areas that still remain uncertain and everyone is just waiting for that greater

01:24 clarity to come through from government.

01:27 The new management plan welcomed by conservation groups.

01:32 Really importantly we're going to see an additional 400,000 hectares of forests properly and securely

01:37 protected.

01:38 Those forests will be protected from logging and also from mining in the conservation system

01:43 and that is a major breakthrough for WA.

01:46 The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions will produce a map of the

01:50 protected areas within five years.

01:52 [BLANK_AUDIO]