Irreplaceable wood

David Pollard, VicForests, Melbourne
The Age (letter), 22 October 2010

CINZIA Mariolini (Letters, 21/10) claims that plantations can already provide 98 per cent of Victoria's timber and paper products. Plantations in Victoria are grown primarily to produce pulp and paper products, or pine timber for light construction. Victoria's hardwood native forests are harvested and regenerated every 70 to 120 years to allow this timber to develop vital properties such as strength, durability and visual appearance.

This native hardwood can't be replaced by softwood or the short-rotation hardwood plantations that exist in Victoria.

The Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Regional Economics says Australia already has a $2 billion trade deficit in wood and wood products.

To suggest we could lock up our native forests and not affect the supply of wood and wood products in Victoria is incorrect.