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Business View Australia - January-February 2016 139
TURING
per products collectively represent
6% of the total manufacturing value
added in Australia.
The paper industry has strong long-
term prospects as the demand for
tissue and paper packaging materi-
als is expected to grow steadily. Aus-
tralian companies have developed a
high degree of expertise in dealing
with renewable fibre and technolo-
gies. This ability has given industry
the ability to recycle paper products
and function in a manner that pro-
tects the environment.
Consumer awareness about the
need to protect the environment is
high, with 95% of Australian house-
holds reusing or recycling their pa-
per products.
AFPA has taken up a number of in-
itiatives to further the cause of the
forest product industry in the coun-
try. The recently launched multi-me-
dia campaign to restart plantations
seeks to bring into focus the crisis
facing this sector.
AFPA has also taken up the issue
of the need for the Australian Gov-
ernment to continue with sustaina-
ble paper procurement policies. Un-
der the “ICT Sustainability Plan”, all
office copy paper used by federal
government departments was to be
mandated as produced from 100%
recycled content from 1 July 2015.
The government recently announced
that it is not proceeding with this
plan. The AFPA has argued that it is
important to reinstate 100% recy-
cled content given the benefits from
recycling and avoided landfill from
paper waste in Australia.
The forest product industries annu-
al business confidence survey con-
ducted in early September 2015 has
found that over the last year compa-
nies are less optimistic about the
prospects of the external business
environment. The survey’s headline
Business Confidence Index for the
coming year reveals a drop of 30%.
Commenting on the results of the
survey, the Chairman of AFPA, Greg
McCormack said, “This somewhat
bearish sentiment however is not
translating to a retreat back to the
extreme focus on reducing costs
and outlays which accompanied the
GFC”.
“The industry has enormous po-
tential in a carbon constrained glob-
al economy if we can get the policy
and industry settings right to take
advantage of the world’s growing ap-
petite for all the things we get from
our sustainable natural and planta-
tion forest industries.”
“One of the things which would
make a big difference to business
sentiment in our industries was to be
assured that the Australian Govern-
ment has a national fibre and forest-
ry plan to drive sector-wide growth
of the integrated parts of the story.”