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NITEN FACTS : |
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Fact 1.
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Raw
nitens – when trying to recover studs or building timber
out of a nitens only the biggest trees can be used and then it
must be milled immediately and then bound and strapped immediately
to prevent it from uncontrollably buckling and warping and ending
up like spaghetti. In quality native Tasmanian hardwoods, this
does not happen, they are much more stable. |
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Fact 2.
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It is very difficult to debark a niten, because the bark comes
off in thin strips instead of sections, (which is very unusual
for eucalypt) which clogs up bearings and knives on bark stripper
machinery. Millers we have spoken to hate them. |
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Fact 3.
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It is impossible to use nitens as a peeler timber as it is too
pithy. |
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Fact 4.
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Nitens
when dried naturally, appear pithy. Builders have expressed, if
you where using (this) to build with, you would need to frame
in a day and hope to god it wouldn’t buckle. |
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Fact 5.
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Nitens cannot
be dried for firewood as it quickly turns to pith, (crumbles and
disintegrates much quicker than normal eucalypt). |
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Fact 6.
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Treating
nitens - unless they are subjected to pressure treatment of 700psi
or greater it is not possible to adequately penetrate the timber
to a reasonable depth to ensure they will not rot. There is only
one place that can do that and that is in Smithton. After FEA
sent samples for testing, the nitens were still unstable and warped
uncontrollably. |
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Fact 7.
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FEA have
tried pressure treating nitens at Bell Bay, where they can only
pressure treat to 200psi, and have only been able to penetrate
the nitens to no greater than about 5ml. Which is inadequate to
ensure they will not rot. |
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Fact 8.
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Timber should
not be pressure treated unless it has been drying for 3 months,
by which time the timber has buckled. |
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Fact 9.
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Nitens have
severe knots which penetrate through the entire timber. |
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Fact 10.
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In comparison
pine treated at 200 psi remains relatively stable and the knots
are on the surface only. |
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Fact 11.
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Dogwood,
a natural Tasmanian understorey tree, (often found alongside Blackwood
forests) when pressure treated, reputedly can last longer than
pressure treated pine. It is completely destroyed and burnt when
clear felled, it is not harvested. Massive tracts of dogwood in
the far northwest alone have been, and will continue to be, totally
destroyed in the near future. Hence this industry DOES waste more
than it uses. |
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Fact 12.
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Nitens is
considered, by all the millers we have spoken to, as one of the
least stable and useless timbers available. |
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Fact 13.
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Ultimately,
Nitens are really only useful to make pulp. Traditionally, pulp
has been made from coniferous tree species such as pine. It creates
the preferred, premium priced, long fibre grade pulp, critical
for the consistency and strength required for making paper. In
comparison eucalyptus, creates a lower grade short fibre pulp.
Though apparently a single species pulp is still considered a
higher grade to mixed fibre pulp. Paper can only be made
from long fibre pulp and cannot be made from purely short fibre.
Though lower grade paper can be made from incorporating some cheaper
short fibre pulp into the long fibre pulp. With the addition of
financiers requiring the substantiation of the “feedlot”
plantations, Gunns determination to buy Auspine and secure its
plantations is obvious. |
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Fact 14.
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There are
more niten plantations in Tasmania, than any other type of tree
plantation. |
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Fact 15.
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Establishing
niten plantations in state forest has brought unprecedented weeds
to forest areas that previously had no such weeds. |
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Fact 16.
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Establishment
of niten plantations in state forest has caused the destruction
of years of quality building timber and specialty furniture and
craft timbers, tonnes of which was simply trashed, chipped or
burnt. |
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Fact 17.
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Niten plantations
suck much more water than native forest. |
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Fact 18.
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Niten plantations,
overall, do not support biodiversity. |
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Fact 19.
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Niten plantations
are no where near as “eco” friendly as they are sold
to be. |
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Fact 20.
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There is
only one reason to continue converting land to niten plantations
and that is to have so much it will support not one, but two pulp
mills. |
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Fact 21.
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The only
ones who gain the absolute most out of these plantations are Gunns
and MIS investors. |
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Fact 22.
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These trees
are becoming noxious weeds in other countries. |
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Fact 23.
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Once established
niten plantations create very little employment for many years.
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Fact 24.
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There are
a number of new pulp mills coming on line in the world in the
next few years. Wood chips and pulp is the lowest end of the market.
Tasmania is systematically destroying its amazingly rich and diverse
forests and any chance of balancing the environment and albeit
smaller, but locally more profitable, long term sustainable forest
industry for the benefit of the local population for an overseas
market that could have very little return. There has already been
a down turn in the market, due to oversupply. Oversupply
will see our forests, ecosystems, watercatchments, which, with
or without the pulp mill, will continue to be destroyed for woodchips
to supply overseas pulp mills, sold cheaply. With little real,
in the pocket, economic gain for Tasmanian citizens. |
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Fact 25.
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This current
forest industry has very few environmental scientific facts that
can support the continued establishment of these plantations.
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Fact 26.
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Some millers
believe marketing and selling nitens will ruin Tasmania’s
reputation for any of our selectively logged quality timber. They
want the nitens pulled out, roots and all, and planted back to
proper forest and timber. |
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Fact 27.
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It is not
just the residue from harvesting native sawlogs that is chipped,
it is the next generations building and furniture timber. |
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Fact 28.
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Establishing
niten plantations is not about growing sustainable quality timber,
for local communities, it is about growing pulp wood trees for
a monopoly. |
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Fact 29.
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Dangerous
Poisons which are banned in some other countries are used on and
around plantations, poisons that can enter waterways and drinking
water. |
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Fact 30.
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A probable
fact. Niten plantations have been stopped in state forest, because
it appears, besides biodiversity issues, planting native species
(though not a mixture, as was previously there) in the near future
is expected to reap more money as carbon credits than wood chips.
The likely scenario is although there are plenty of plantations
which can feed the pulp mill, the guise of clearing more state
forest to feed the mill (much just to keep it running) will also
give the opportunity to replant back to native species, thus earning
the extra bonus cash from carbon credits. Based on past performance,
the set-up will likely see the public again being the loser.
FT has NOT been a big wealth creator for the state. BUT Gunns
DOES buy mansions, vineyards and farm after farm after farm. Take
a visit to one of many such places in N/W Tas, Wilmot, and see
for yourself. (and the property’s for sale in between). |
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Fact 31.
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Pulp to
make paper can be sourced from much less destructive sources.
75% of the timber is wasted to retrieve just 25% of the required
product. The pulp industry does not need so much lower grade,
short fibre pulp destroying Tasmania’s important biodiversity
and carbon sink forests. |
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Fact 32.
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Pulp plantations
have never been about jobs or the economy, it’s about greed
– a money and land grab, and winning at all cost. If so wealth
creating why is this industry so constantly propped up with public
funds? |
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Fact 33.
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This forest
industry has not been saw log driven, it has been pulp wood plantation
driven, the current push for the biggest mill in the world tells
us that fact. |
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Fact 34.
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Hardwood,
(short fibre) based pulp mills, are the “cheaper” version
pulp mills. Establishing such a huge, eventually, to be mainly
niten based (though yet to be proven) pulp mill, is not because
the environment can sustain it, it is because pulp mills have
to be big to get the finance. As per the Center for International
Forestry Research document:
| Financing Pulp Mills -
An appraisal of risk assessment and safeguard procedures
- PDF
REPORT HERE |
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3.3
Commercial financings
@ 3.3.1
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"Size is a principal
criterium for market access, and this is true even for new
projects. E.M. Capital increased the size of its proposed
mill in Estonia from 210,000 tonnes per annum to 500,000
tonnes per annum because the former figure was too small
to attract financing. The mill never materialised, and the
plan was formally abandoned in 2004 because the company
could not find an operating partner. However, the message
about size is clear.” |
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6.1
Key Findings
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"Principally recognised
as a manufacturing investment, pulp mills have a much broader
impact on their environment as a result of the fibre they
consume. The irreversible nature of pulp mill investments
mean that the utmost effort should be made to structure
the project correctly from the start.” |
Unique nature
of pulp mills
"Pulp mills are highly capital intensive investments
that are generally made in locations close to a fibre resource,
as opposed to in highly industrialised locales, close to
ports and large pools of labour. They will often be the
single largest investment in a wide area, unless there is
a competitor upstream. Their operations will impact on the
environment, in terms of demand for fibre, land and water,
and in terms of increased traffic flows. A previously tranquil
locale will be turned into a factory site, with significant
impact on the surrounding environment. For some this spells
opportunity, others find their livelihoods threatened without
having the ability to adapt. When pulp mills are established
in countries with low levels of relevant regulation that
properly takes care of net negative beneficiaries, or where
the implementation of these regulations may not be effective,
they can cause considerable harm. This, combined with their
de-facto irreversible nature calls for great care in their
planning and establishment.” |
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The ultimate fact:
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This current
forest industry is imploding upon itself, NOT because of environmentalists,
conservationists, the greens, concerned citizens. It is destroying
itself because it spent more money and time trying to sell spin
and dodgy facts for a very small number of greedy people than
living up to its rhetoric. In trying to knee jerk reaction save
itself, these super dopey forest destroyers are now bumbling and
stumbling with hypocritical punch and Judas zeal, over how to
change its tack in continuing to blind the public to the facts.
But until there is integrity, some truthful facts from the key
players running this industry, or a massive push by concerned
citizens to hold the Government accountable, Tasmania will continue
to be sacrificed, just add up the facts. |
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NITEN
WOODCHIPS
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