Government axe misses mark

"The problem with today's policy is that it calls for voluntary measures, which means the industry self regulates," Greenpeace spokesman Tiy Chung said. 

"This would only require timber importers and retailers to voluntarily document their purchases, based on a set of flimsy guidelines. The Government can prohibit the importation of drugs, pornography and endangered species into Australia, why not illegally logged timber?"

According to the Government's own research, Australia imports at least $400 million worth of illegal timber products annually [1]. The World Bank believes that between 70 - 80% of timber products leaving Indonesia are logged illegally [2].

A voluntary code of conduct will also make a mockery of Malcolm Turnbull's Global Initiative on Forests and Climate, which states, "The Initiative will be committed to working with developing countries to establish effective regulatory and law enforcement arrangements to protect forests, including through preventing illegal logging".

"Without regulations in place, the Government's $200 million initiative will fail and Australia will be directly responsible for continued forest destruction and subsequent greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation," Mr Chung said.

"Illegal logging is one of the major drivers of forest destruction in our region."

Indonesia is trying to fight illegal logging domestically but needs help from consumer nations like Australia. In 2003, Indonesia's then Forest Minister Muhammed Prakosa said, "Expecting or asking one country to combat illegal logging while at the same time, receiving or importing illegal logs does not support the efforts to combat these forest crimes... in fact, allowing the import and trade of illegal timber products could be considered as an act to assist or even to conduct forest crime."

Mr Chung said, "The Australian Government is putting the onus on developing nations to stop illegal logging while sitting on their hands when it comes to the important role they can play to stop this destructive trade."

Greenpeace calls on the Government to abandon this new strategy and instead adopt a rigorous policy package that includes border controls on the import of illegal timber and wood products into Australia, and to phase in a system so that only credibly certified timber can be imported.

"Unless market countries move to regulate all illegal timber entering their markets by introducing comprehensive certification schemes it will be business as usual for illegal logging," Mr Chung said.