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FACT SHEET
FOREST MANAGEMENT BILL 2013
This legislation provides for a transition in Forestry Tasmania's business model to ensure sustainability
of the business into the long term. The Bill provides greater clarity of focus for Forestry Tasmania on its
commercial functions and will provide the framework within which to reduce the significant deficit
funding the business currently requires.
The core elements of the Bill are:
It repeals the Forestry Act 1920 but continues the Forestry Corporation (that is, Forestry
Tasmania) and brings the governance and operational structure of the Forestry corporation fully
under the Government Business Enterprises Act 1995.
o The Bill contains savings and transitional provisions that ensure that interests in
property now held by Forestry Tasmania, or any acts done by or with Forestry Tasmania
or any legal proceedings involving Forestry Tasmania continue.
It takes the land that is now "State forest" and, except for approximately 221,000 hectares of
current forest reserves, confers legislative naming of that land as "permanent timber production
zone land".
o To avoid inconsistency with the Tasmanian Forests Agreement Act 2013 (TFA Act), the
Bill provides that any permanent timber production zone land that is now Future
Reserve Land under the TFA Act must be managed in accordance with the TFA Act.
It establishes the Forestry Corporation as the Forest Manager for the permanent timber
production zone land.
o The Forest Manager has the functions of managing and controlling the permanent
timber production zone land and to undertake forest operations on that land.
Additional functions can be granted to the Forest Manager by the Minister and the
Treasurer.
o The Forest Manager is responsible for making available from the permanent timber
production zone land the minimum aggregate quantity of eucalypt veneer logs and
sawlogs of 137,000 cubic meters to the veneer and sawmilling industries, consistent
with the Tasmanian Forests Agreement.
The approximately 221,000 hectares of forest reserves are declared to be either regional
reserves or conservation areas under the Nature Conservation Act 2002. Responsibility for this
land is transferred to the Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment (DPIPWE).
o This land is separate from the land that is Future Reserve Land under the TFA Act.
o Employees of Forestry Tasmania, who within 3 months of resigning from Forestry
Tasmania take up a position offered by DPIPWE (to assist in the management of those
forest reserves as either regional reserves or conservation areas), will have their years of
service recognised for the purpose of long service leave in their new positions with
DPIPWE and any future redundancy program that might be offered under the State
service. The superannuation entitlements of Forestry Tasmania employees who make
this transition under these arrangements will not be affected.
It establishes revised processes for Crown land to be declared permanent timber production
zone land and for any land that is permanent timber production zone land to have that status
revoked.
The Bill preserves, protects and continues contractual arrangement and authorisation rights of
people and organisations to access and use permanent timber production zone land for the
range of purposes and activities they currently enjoy and undertake in what is now State Forest.
The activities and pursuits that people are licensed or permitted to do in forest reserves, as well
as contracts associated with those forest reserves, will continue when those lands are declared
to be either regional reserves or conservation areas. However, those contracts or activities and
any associated permits or licences or other authorisation would be managed by DPIPWE in the
future and not Forestry Tasmania.
The Forest Manager will be able to control and restrict access to the land it manages in order to
undertake it responsibilities by retaining the capacity to close forest roads and erect signs to
regulate access to the permanent timber production zone land.
o New powers will allow the Forest Manager to authorise persons who can request a
person not to enter or to leave a forest road or permanent timber production zone land.
These powers can be exercised in the interests of safety, or if those persons activities or
conduct is preventing, or would prevent, the Forest Manager from performing its
functions.
The Bill contains provisions that were used in the Forestry Act 1920 to assist Forestry Tasmania
undertake the role of the Forest Manager. These include: the capacity to appoint timber
classification officers and a set of requirements to manage, control the use of fire on permanent
timber production zone land.
The Bill continues to provide for the construction of and access to forest roads. In particular, all
existing forest roads will continue to be forest roads under this Bill, including those forest roads
that are in forest reserves that will become regional reserves or conservation areas.
o The ability to construct and maintain forest roads, by or for the Forest Manager, both in
and outside permanent timber production zone land is provided for in this Bill.
o The ability to construct and use new forest roads on land that is not permanent timber
production zone land is necessary to enable the Forest Manager to access timber
resources on permanent timber production zone land where such lands might be
isolated from other parts of the production estate by nonproduction land.
The Bill provides standard regulation making provisions with the legislation to be the
responsibility of the Minister for Energy and Resources, supported by the Department of
Infrastructure, Energy and Resources.