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On 1 November 1916, the Forestry Department was abolished and the Forestry Commission of New South Wales was established by the Forestry Act 1916 (Act No.55, 1916). The creation of a Commission was in response to the recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Forestry which had reported in 1908. (1) The Forestry Commission consisted of three members appointed for a term of seven years. One of the members was the Chief Commissioner and Richard Dalrymple Hay held this position from 1918 to 1926 after being appointed Permanent Head of the Forestry Department in July 1916. Hay was succeeded by N.W. Jolly in 1926.
The purpose of the Commission was to administer the Forestry Act, 1916, which provided for the control and management of the state forests and timber reserves, the training of forest officers, the conduct of research work and for the collection of statistics in connection with forestry.
On 8 June 1944, (2) a Minister for Conservation was appointed, and the Forestry Commission, together with the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission and the Soil Conservation Service were administered by the Department of Conservation, until the Conservation Authority of New South Wales Act, 1949 (Act No.8, 1949) established the Conservation Authority to manage the interrelated activities of these three bodies. (3)
The Forestry Conservation Authority of New South Wales and Other Acts (Amendment) Act, 1972 was assented to 13 November 1972, (4) abolishing the Conservation Authority, and redefining the powers and functions of the Forestry Commission. The Act included provisions relating to timber and timber products, and enabled the Forestry Commission to issue licenses for the removal of protected wild flowers and native plants in certain circumstances. On 3 January 1975, the Acts relating to Forestry previously held by the Minister for Conservation were transferred to the newly appointed Minister for Forests. (5)
Ministerial control of the Commission was in a constant state of change. By October 1977 the Forestry Commission was under the control of the Minister for Conservation and Water Resources, then subsequently transferred to the Minister for Conservation, in 1982 to the Minister for Lands, to the Minister for Natural Resources in 1985, the Minister for Agriculture in 1987, the Minister for Natural Resources in 1989, the Minister for Lands and Forests in 1990. In January 1992 the Commission was under the portfolio of the Minister for Conservation and Land Management.
During August 1993, the Forestry Commission was named State Forests of NSW, and traded under this name as a registered business. The new State Forests organisation was monitored by a board of Governance, which ensured the commercial focus and environmental accountability of State Forests, as well as overseeing the transition to total reliance on regrowth and plantation timber for hardwood log supplies and preparing State Forests for future corporatisation. (6) The Director General of the Department of Infrastructure Planning and Natural Resources was appointed Commissioner for Forests.
In April 2003, the New South Wales Government initiated a major reorganisation of State agencies involved in natural resource management within the newly created Department of Infrastructure Planning and Natural Resources. As a result, the Natural Resources Commission was established and replaced the State Forests Board in providing advice to the Minister and guidance to State Forests’ management. (7)
In 2003 State Forests consisted of the following sections:
i) Forest Policy and Resources; responsible for Policy and Ministerial Liaison, Environmental Management and Forest Practices Directorate, Forest Resources, and Fire and Aircraft Services;
ii) Planted Forests Division; Future Forests (Grafton), Softwood Regions; Tumut (Hume), Bathurst (Macquarie), Bombala (Monaro), Walcha (Northern), Albury (Div. HQ);
iii) Native Forests; management of the following native forest regions: Eden (South East), Dubbo (Western), Coffs Harbour (North East), Deniliquin (Riverina), Batemans Bay (South Coast), Wauchope (Mid North Coast), Newcastle (Hunter);
iv) Finance and Administration Division; responsible for corporate support, legal services, financial services, information technology, records management, mechanical and radio services, and building services;
v) Marketing Division – marketing policy, timber merchandising, timber services, sales, credit management;
vi) Technology and Service Division; nurseries, research and development, civil engineering;
vii) Investment Services Division; business development, investor services, Carbon Accounting, greenhouse strategy, and environmental services;
viii) Human Resources Division; HR Policy, self insurance, staff development, employee relations, equity, pay and conditions;
ix) Performance Improvement Group; OH&S, safety systems, training systems, strategic performance, improvement projects. (8)
On 1 July 2004, the Forestry Commission of New South Wales, known by its registered trading name of State Forests of NSW, was abolished as a department of the public service under the Public Sector Employment and Management (Department of Primary Industries) Order 2004. Its branches, along with the branches of the former Departments of Mineral Resources, NSW Fisheries, and NSW Agriculture, were transferred to the newly created Department of Primary Industries. The Director General of the NSW Department of Primary Industries was appointed Commissioner for Forests upon the Department’s establishment. (9)
The Forestry Commission of New South Wales adopted the new brand name of Forests NSW (officially from 24 November 2005) and became part of Primary Industries Trading, a public trading enterprise within the Department of Primary Industries. (10) Primary Industries Trading incorporates Forests NSW business activities and all other Department of Primary Industry activities that are traded in the commercial market place.
Although trading under the name Forests NSW the agency was constituted as the Forestry Commission by the Forestry Act 1916. (11)
Under the Act and its amendments, the Forestry Commission was required to:
1) conserve and utilise the timber on Crown-timber lands and land owned by the commission or otherwise under its control or management to the best advantage of the State;
2) provide adequate supplies of timber from Crown-timber lands and land owned by the commission or otherwise under its control or management for building, commercial, industrial, agricultural, mining and domestic purposes;
3) preserve and improve, in accordance with good forestry practice, the soil resources and water catchment capabilities of Crown-timber lands and land owned or otherwise under its control or management;
4) encourage the use of timber derived from trees grown in the State;
5) consistent with the use of State forests for the purposes of forestry and of flora reserves for the preservation of the native flora, promote and encourage their use as a recreation, and conserve birds and animals thereon; and
6) provide natural resource environmental services (whether within or outside of New South Wales). (12)
Structural changes were made to Forests NSW after its integration into the Department of Primary Industries. Under the new structure, the Senior Management Team was reduced from twelve General Managers to five Directors. Each Director was responsible for one of the following areas:
1) Native Forests Operations
2) Planted Forests Operations
3) Land Management and Technical Services
4) Finance & Operational Business Services
5) Commercial Services. (13)
Forests NSW remained committed to maintaining the economic, environmental and social values of its forests and the diversity and integrity of forest ecosystems across the landscape through ecologically sustainable forest management. Forests NSW were developing and implementing a Native Forests Environmental Management System and a Planted Forests Environmental Management System to ensure that ecologically sustainable forest management plans and practices would be applied systematically, rigorously, and consistently throughout the state's forests. (14)
On 1 January 2013 the Forestry Commission was dissolved by the Forestry Act 2012 (Act No.96, 2012), which repealed the Forestry Act 1916 and established the Forestry Corporation as a State Owned Corporation. It was held to be a continuation of the former Commission. The Corporation was to have a board of directors consisting of no fewer than 3 and not more than 7 directors appointed by the voting shareholders. (15)
The functions of the Forestry Corporation were as follows:
(a) to carry out or authorise the carrying out of forestry operations in accordance with good forestry practice on Crown-timber land or land owned by the Corporation,
(b) to take or authorise the taking of forest materials from State forests or land owned by the Corporation,
(c) to sell, supply or process timber, forest products or forest materials taken or harvested under paragraph (a) or (b),
(d) to establish and maintain plantations,
(e) to control and manage, subject to Part 5, forestry areas,
(f) subject to the Rural Fires Act 1997, to carry out measures on Crown-timber land for the protection from fire of timber and forest products on that land,
(g) to grant forestry rights in respect of State forests, timber reserves or land owned by it, including any such right that is for the benefit of the Corporation,
(h) to acquire, hold, sell or otherwise deal with or trade in carbon sequestration rights (including for the benefit of other persons). (16)
Endnotes
1. Royal Commission of Inquiry on Forestry, Final Report of the Commissioners 194. Summary of Recommendations. 3 the appointment of three Commissioners, NSW Parliamentary Papers, 1908, Second Session, Volume 1, p.232.
2. New South Wales Government Gazette No.53, 8 June 1944.
3. New South Wales Government Gazette No.86, 27 May 1949, p.1470.
4. New South Wales Government Gazette No.122, 17 November, 1972, p.4574.
5. New South Wales Government Gazette No.14, 10 January 1975.
6. Annual Report of State Forests, year ended 30th June 1995.
7. State Forests of New South Wales, Annual Report, 2002/03, p.1.
8. Ibid., p.7.
9. Department of Primary Industries website, http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/reader/dpi-about-us, accessed 2/2/2005, and State Forests of NSW Annual Report 2003/04, p4; Public Sector Employment and Management (Department of Primary Industries) Order 2004; NSW Government Gazette No.101, 23 June 2004, pp.3816-3817.
10. State Forests of New South Wales Annual Report 2003/04, p.4; Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (No 2) 2005 (Act No. 98, 2005) Schedule 1.11 [1] which was assented to 24 November 2005.
11. Forestry Act 1916 (Act No.55, 1916) s.7(1) and (4).
12. ibid., p.40.
13. ibid., p.5.
14. ibid., p.6.
15. Forestry Act 2012, Part 2 and Schedule 2 Part 2 sections 2 and 3; commencement (2012 No 96)
16. Ibid., s.11
References
1. Joint Volumes of the Parliamentary Papers of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly, 1916-1979.
2. Blue Books, 1916-1960.
3. NSW Statutes.
4. NSW Government Directory, 1977-1996 and online Government Directory.
5. Concise Guide to the Archives of New South Wales, Second Edition, "D-G", "Forestry Commission".
6. NSW Government Gazette, 1949-1975.
7. The Official Yearbook of NSW, 1909-74.
8. Annual Report of State Forests, 1995-96, 2003/2004
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