FOREST TALK
Action Plan in place for forestry industry; WoodTECH 2020 goes digital; Competenz applauds vocational education funding; Biosecurity and conservation jobs earmarked for redeployed workers; Directors take the fall at Invercargill City Forests; FOA welcomes budget allocation for forestry; Forest Growers Levy Trust adjusts to changing market; International Forest Safety Conference with a difference; Back to work at last!; Proposed forestry legislation raises debate; Harvesting heads for all applications;
$8m log yard upgrade at Timaru port underway; New branding for Nelson Forests; University student picks up major award; Gisborne train link not on the table says KiwiRail; Support for devastated Australian forests.
IWAS RECENTLY ASKED TO TAKE PART IN A LOG PRICE SURVEY WITH my predictions for domestic and export log volumes and prices for the coming year. Let’s just say I had to take a big step back and think. With the world economy turned on its head, nobody is handing out crystal balls.
Like it or not, for now the industry looks to China for recovery. The optimistic feel as the first ships left port and the restocking of logs in China began, dropped off after the immediate lockdown recovery and all eyes are waiting to see if the hoped-for slow climb back materialises. As we go to print, that climb is underway, but these are volatile times and we are not out of the woods yet.
Jobs are still on the cutting board – the most recent tragedy being news from timber processing company, Carter Holt Harvey, that it plans to cut staff dramatically, having already closed its Whangārei mill this year. Then there’s the knock-on effect of related industries like Fletcher Building cutting 1000 local jobs.
It’s no accident that our special features this month focus on worker wellness. While the gleaming faces in our back-to-work pages are a refreshing sight, stress is a key factor in forestry work under the best of circumstances. With the added pressure of COVID-19 and all it brings with it, on both a social and economic level, forest workers may feel as though they are walking a tightrope.
Take a look at the advice gleaned by industry player turned academic, Trevor Best. The good news is that stress is a normal response to abnormal situations and circumstances, and not reflective of any weakness on the part of the affected person. Then there’s the ever-looming presence of drugs in the workplace. We take a practical approach to this growing concern, with a look at workplace testing in response to the toll drugs can take in this high-risk industry, where even the smallest misstep can lead to a fatal accident.
If there’s one thing these unprecedented times have taught us, it’s resilience. Just as we have picked up our tools and gone back to work, we are still raising our voices. Government and the forestry and wood-processing sector have joined hands to create a new Action Plan to attract skilled people into the industry. Never an industry to shy away from debate, another initiative, the proposed legislation for stricter regulation of forestry workers, has had a mixed response. Pointless bureaucratic nonsense or a tool for enabling fair trade? You decide. Turn to our Forest Talk pages for a round-up of the debate, as well as news on the ongoing industry support and response to COVID-19.
As you put on your hi vis and hard hat greeted by the winter morning chill and re-energise your stiff limbs after the, not necessarily welcomed, but welldeserved break, breathe in the fresh scent of the ngahere – problems or not, there’s no other place like it.
Until next time, stay safe.