SANDALWOOD HARVEST
115. Hon DIANE EVERS to the Minister for Environment:
I refer to the harvesting of wild
sandalwood in Western Australia.
(1) How has the
annual harvest quota allocation of 10 per cent by private owners and 90 per
cent by the Forest Products Commission been determined, and how often is it
reviewed?
(2) The
Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions' flora
licensing information sheet provides that native title determined areas,
including crown land, are considered private property and included in the
annual 10 per cent quota. Has the government considered increasing the
percentage of wild sandalwood allocation for Indigenous owners by allowing them
to participate in the 90 per cent crown land allocation, acknowledging their
resource rights, to provide income and employment opportunities for remote
communities?
(3) If no to (2), why not?
(4) If yes to (2), why has the
native title allocation amount not increased?
(5) Is the
government aware that the DBCA consideration of applying native title under the
private land 10 per cent allocation is restricting Indigenous owners'
rights to this resource, thereby implying that Indigenous owners have less
right to the resource than the FPC?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) The annual
harvest quota was set through the Sandalwood (Limitation of Removal of
Sandalwood) Order 1996, which applies to 30 June 2026. This was last reviewed
in 2015. The allocation and the quota were informed through the sandalwood
working group recommendations in 2015.
(2)–(5) The government is currently exploring options to
facilitate the participation of Aboriginal native title holders in the sandalwood industry. Information has been
sent to current licence holders, potential licence applicants and some
Aboriginal groups, to enable the issuing of licences for sandalwood harvest in
2019–20.