COMMERCE — SAWMILLS — INVESTMENT
SECURITY GUARANTEES
1209. Hon LYNN MacLAREN to the Minister
for Commerce:
(1) Which sawmills have investment
security guarantees?
(2) If the Forest
Products Commission reduces the log timber intake specified in its contracts
with sawmills and the exceptions to payment of compensation do not apply, what
amount of compensation will be payable to each sawmill and in total?
(3) What are the exceptions to the
payment of compensation?
Hon MICHAEL MISCHIN
replied:
I note that this question is
identical to questions on notice 2247 asked on 17 February 2015 and 2248 asked
on 10 March 2015 and that the answer is the same.
(1) Auswest Timbers Pty Ltd.
(2) Compensation
is applicable only if the recipient is not offered a new contract with similar
terms and conditions in 2024. If it is offered a new contract with a reduced
volume or lower quality products, the compensation amount may be reduced. The
maximum compensation payable is a one-off payment and is based on a full log
timber intake—approximately 45 000 tonnes per annum—multiplied
by the compensation rate of $261.96 per tonne, which is a total of $11.8 million.
(3) The Western Australian
government is not liable to pay compensation if a change in state government
policy that causes a refusal to offer a rollover contract was influenced by
climate change or an increase in the estimated spread of dieback and either or
both have caused a reduction in the sustainable yield of log timber.
I look forward to the next question
being asked sometime after March next year, so I can give the member the same
answer all over again!