Welcoming the Tasmanian Forest Products Association (TFPA)
In June 2020, a key forest advocacy association was launched to defend, lobby and highlight the importance of sustainable forestry and forest management in Tasmania.
The Tasmanian Forest Products Association (TFPA) is a Committee of the Board of the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) with 14 founding members made up of local forest growers and processors in Tasmania.
TFPA members include: Britton Timbers, Forico, McKay Timbers, Midway, Neville-Smith Forest Products, Norske Skog Paper Mill, Pentarch Forestry, Porta, Reliance Forest Fibre, SFM Environmental Solutions, Ta Ann Tasmania, Timberlands Pacific, Timberlink, Patriarch Resources / Wood Based Products.
The TFPA’s Governing Council is made up of Bryan Hayes (Chair), Tony Price (Deputy Chair), Shawn Britton, Steven Brown, Owen Hoffman, Andrew Morgan, Andrew Walker and Arnold Willems.
TFPA Chief Executive Officer Nick Steel said the vision for the TFPA is centred around maintaining a sustainable industry for the long term.
“We should and will be demonstrating our sustainable industry to every Tasmanian and sharing information about how our industry harvests, manages and regrows trees,” he said.
TFPA plays a central role in shaping and prioritising policy and advocacy matters of our developing industry,” he said.
“We want to work with our members and the industry to raise its profile and inform the Tasmanian public and Tasmanian Government about sustainable forest management.
The TFPA wants to achieve great things for the Tasmanian forest industry and will continue to maintain a member focus and provide security and certainty to the broader industry.
Mr Steel is hopeful that in a years’ time, the TFPA can grow its membership base, build cohesive networks and improve the strength of our sustainable industry.
“In 5 years from now, it would be great to be able to say the public understand that we have sustainably managed forests and are sharing the narrative about what we do and why it’s so important in Tasmania.”
Mr Steel said the TFPA also has a core responsibility to provide assistance and contribution to policy activities run by AFPA.
“Our policy work is crucial because it gives us a backbone to confidently lobby and advocate for the industry.”
Currently, the TFPA is actively working on advocacy for the native forest industry in Tasmania amidst the Bob Brown Foundation Court Case against the Federal and State Governments and Sustainable Timber Tasmania.
“The TFPA will play a key role in helping the industry through the court case and helping to carve out a plan for the future,” Mr Steel said.
“As part of this we are also excited to be working together with the Tasmanian Forest and Forest Products Industry and its members.
“With the TFPA to lobby and advocate policy and core issues on behalf of the industry, the TFFPN to facilitate communications and engagement with industry members and the public, and the work of the North-Northwest Tasmania Regional Forestry Hub to support the forest value chain, we are all actively contributing to a greater future for forestry in Tasmania.”