Australia is a major importer of timber and timber products. Although it has a considerable domestic timber industry, domestic production does not meet demand and Australia is dependent on imported timber from other countries in the region and elsewhere. Moreover, many imported timber products are not manufactured in Australia and they have to be introduced from overseas (JP Consulting 2005: 5). It is widely anticipated that demand will continue at the same level or may rise, thus imports of timber and timber products are equally expected to increase (Australian Government DAFF 2006: 7; JP Consulting 2005: 16–17).
The bulk of timber imports includes paper products (about A$2,387m) and wooden furniture (about A$1,000m). Furthermore, in 2007 Australia imported 622,000 cubic metres of sawn timber, 222,000 cubic metres of plywood and 29,000 cubic metres of veneer. The levels of import have been relatively steady in recent years (ITTO 2007: 54; JP Consulting 2005: 5, 6–12) (Table 25). The total value of all timber and timber product imports into Australia is estimated to be approximately A$5b (JP Consulting 2005: 6–12;) (Table 25). Imports of raw logs into Australia are limited (ITTO 2007: 54).
The level and modus operandi of illegal importation of timber and timber products into Australia have thus far attracted little research by government agencies and academic scholars. Consequently, accurate data and estimates about the extent of the problem in Australia are extremely limited, and it is impossible to identify any trends and developments.
In 2005, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) commissioned a consultancy firm to assess the current and future ‘impact on the Australian forest product imports of the overseas trade in illegal or suspect forest products’ (JP Consulting 2005: ii).
This report estimated that approximately nine percent or A$452m of all timber and timber products imported into Australia come from an illicit source (Table 25).
Table 25: Licit and illicit timber imports in Australia by type, 2003–04
Type of product
Total imports 2003–04 Import from illicit source (estimates) Volume
(’000m3) Value
(A$’000) Volume
(’000m3) Value
(A$’000) Percentage of total
Sawntimber 871 501,900 72 50,000 8
Wood-based panelsa 320 112,800 37 23,000 11
Plywood 176 112,800 – – 19
Veneer – – – – 16
Wood pulp 377 236,000 – – –
Paper products – 2,387,000 – – –
Printing + writing paper
– – – 56,000 4
Tissues – – – 11,000 11
Packaging – – – 3,300 1
Wooden furnitureb – 1,000,000 162,000 22
Miscellaneous (incl.
doors, mouldings, etc.)
– 584,000 112 83,000 14
Total – 4,893,000 – 452,000 9
a: Wood-based panels include reconstituted and solid wood panel products. The reconstituted panels include particleboard, medium-density fibreboard (MDF) and others such as fibreboard and hardboard. The solid wood group includes veneers and plywood.
b: Based on 2002–03 imports Source: JP Consulting (2005: 6–12)
The generally held view is that importation of timber and timber products from illicit sources is particularly high for wooden furniture (JP Consulting 2005: 18). Estimates suggest that in 2003–04 approximately 22 percent or A$162m of all wooden furniture imported into Australia came from an illicit source. High percentages of imported plywood (19%), veneer (16%), other wood-based panels (11%), tissue paper (11%), and miscellaneous imports such as doors and mouldings (14%) also come from illicit sources, while levels of illegal imports are lower for sawn timber (4%), printing and writing paper (4%), and packaging (1%) (JP Consulting 2005: 6–12) (Table 25).
Given the difficulties of tracing most imports and the lack of any documentation and certification, information about the sources of the illicit timber and timber products is limited. It is often equally difficult to establish the routes along which illegal timber is traded and identify the recipients and facilitators in Australia. From available information, it appears that most importers in Australia obtain their supply from overseas in good faith or may occasionally be careless about the source and legitimacy of their supplies. There are few known examples in which importers deliberately brought illegal timber into the country, knowing that the product was illicit. For example, in 2004, reports published by Greenpeace linked a specific timber import company in Brisbane with illegal logging in PNG stating that
‘[t]his company sells illegal and destructively logged timber to many small companies and individuals in Australia. This timber is then turned into mouldings and other building components’ (Greenpeace 2004: 17).
Evidently, products that have been processed abroad and are subsequently imported into Australia have higher levels of illegal or suspicious volumes compared with products processed domestically (JP Consulting 2005: 10). The limited research available largely attributes a high percentage of suspicious products to imports from Indonesia, especially in the case of wooden furniture and hardwood plywood imports (JP Consulting 2005: 7).
Imported tissue paper also frequently comes from Indonesia and potentially includes timber from illicit sources (JP Consulting 2005: 10). Products classified here as ‘miscellaneous’
involve a range of items including doors, mouldings, parquetry and engineered flooring panels, carpenters’ pieces, and cork and cooperage for the wine industry. Most of these products are of high value and frequently based on rare tropical timber species, especially ramin. Until ramin was listed in the CITES Appendix, it was the major import for mouldings and handles in Australia. While trade in ramin has decreased considerably, illegal imports from Indonesia in the form of, for example, mouldings remain of great concern
(JP Consulting 2005: 10).
Some paper products, too, are imported into Australia from Indonesia, which is seen as the main source of potentially illegal supplies (JP Consulting 2005: 9). The majority of paper products, in particular in the form of printing and writing paper, is imported into Australia from Finland using logs of Russian origin. While logging in Finland is tightly controlled, imports from Russia into Finland can frequently involve logs from illicit sources (JP Consulting 2005: 9; see section ‘Country profiles: Russia’, pp. 65–70). Softwood from illegal sources in Russia and China may also be used to manufacture packaging products imported into Australia. These products are made largely from recycled paper and some softwood pulp.
Tropical hardwoods are generally not used in the production, which reduces the likelihood that imports from illicit sources are involved (JP Consulting 2005: 10). Small volumes of tissue paper are imported into Australia from Taiwan and, depending on the source, may have illegally sourced logs in the feedstock (JP Consulting 2005: 10). Malaysia is seen as a potential source of illicit imports of mouldings and handles (JP Consulting 2005: 10).
Legislation relevant to importation of timber and timber products in Australia can be found in the Customs Act 1901 (Cth) and in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation Act 1999 (Cth). The Customs Act 1901 (Cth) sets out the general framework for imports into the country; it does not contain specific provisions for timber and timber products. The Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956 (Cth) contain some specific rules applicable to certain types of imported goods. In relation to timber, section 4Q of the Regulations prohibits importation of ‘round logs and timber products originating in Liberia’
unless prior permission has been granted. This provision only relates to so-called ‘conflict timber’ from Liberia (Brack, Gray & Hayman 2002: para 2.19; Thomson & Kanaan n.d.
1–32); it does not extend to imports from other countries or to specific timber species.
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) contains detailed provisions for imports involving protected timber species. The Act sets out procedures for the domestic operation of the CITES system, including the requirements for imports of CITES specimens (sections 303CD–303CK, 303FA–303FI). The Act also implements the obligations under the World Heritage Convention and the Biodiversity Convention into domestic law and includes a range of provisions relating to National Heritage places.
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) contains specific offences relating to importation of protected species; under section 303CD it is an offence to import any of the species listed in the CITES appendixes into Australia unless a permit has been issued for the importation (sections 303CD(2), 303CG, 303CB, 303GC), or the import is otherwise authorised (section 303CD(3)–(6)). The offence carries a penalty of 10 years imprisonment, 1,000 penalty units (A$110,000) or both (section 303CD). An additional offence for importation of certain ‘regulated live specimen’ (which also includes plants, section 303EA) is set out in section 303EK of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth). This offence applies to protected species that are listed in other statutory instruments and are not already covered in the CITES appendixes (section 303EB(5)) (Lipman 2002: 52–53).
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) contains no specific offences that outlaw imports of timber and timber products that come from protected areas. The Act does contain general offences in sections 18A and 19A criminalising conduct that ‘results or will result in’ (section 18A(1)) or ‘is likely to have’
(section 18A(2)) ‘a significant impact on (i) a listed threatened species, or (ii) a listed
threatened ecological community’. A further offence for actions causing (and likely to cause)
‘significant impact on the world heritage value of a declared World Heritage property’ can be found in section 15A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth). The Act contains no specific offences for forging import permits or for obtaining these permits by way of fraud or bribery. In these instances, liability for the general offences of forging Commonwealth documents and bribing Commonwealth officers under the Criminal Code (Cth) may arise.
In addition to statutory requirements under Australian law, some importers of timber and timber products have adopted industry policies and internal regulations to prevent importation, use and retail sale of products that may originate from illicit sources. A 2006 survey of Australia’s timber importing industry found that nearly three-quarters of the companies surveyed had some policy on illegal logging; 30 percent had a publicised policy, a further 30 percent had a written but unpublicised policy, 14 percent had an unwritten policy and 26 percent were found to have no policy regarding illegal timber imports (Timber Development Association of NSW 2006: 12). Furthermore, it was noted that most of these policies had been ‘instigated by a market force, namely the customer stipulating that they required demonstration that the supplied product is from a lawful source’ (Timber Development Association of NSW 2006: 14). Those importers found to have no policy
about illegal timber imports argued they had ‘no need to write or publicise a policy’ and instead preferred ‘to visit suppliers at their mills and develop business relationships and trust’ (Timber Development Association of NSW 2006: 14).
There is, to date, no accepted industry-wide policy and no uniform standard for importation of timber and timber products into Australia. The 2005 review of the Australian timber and timber product market found that the industry, including wholesalers, hardware stores and even industry associations such as the Australian Timber Importers Federation, lacked any policies and procedures to detect and restrict timber imports from illegal or suspicious sources (JP Consulting 2005: 13). The existing policies in some countries relating to exports also differ greatly and procurement of timber from overseas is treated inconsistently (Timber Development Association of NSW 2006: 16). However, more recent surveys found that most parts of the industry accept that there is a need for a consistent approach across the industry to protect legitimate operators and isolate those that import timber and timber products from illicit sources (Timber Development Association of NSW 2006: 16). Most importers in Australia recognise that ‘[t]here is evidence that the market is beginning to demand that timber be verified as originating from a lawful source and that environmental issues are being considered in specification and purchasing policies’ (Timber Development Association of NSW 2006: 29). The survey found that ‘older companies saw the drive for legal timber as basic business practice and necessary for the long-term perpetuation of business, whereas companies that have been around for a shorter period perceived that sustainability issues were more a market necessity’ (Timber Development Association of NSW 2006: 10).
Consumption
Australia is, after China and Japan, the third-biggest consumer of timber and timber products in the Asia–Pacific region. The ITTO projects that in 2007, Australia consumed nearly 28 million cubic metres of logs, 5 million cubic metres of sawn timber, 363,000 cubic metres of plywood and 31,000 cubic metres of veneer (ITTO 2007: 55). No figures are available that identify the levels of illegal or suspicious timber consumed in Australia. Earlier analysis in this study suggests that illegal timber is more frequently found in imported timber than in timber that has been produced in Australia.
The high level of consumption of timber and timber-based products reflects the high demand for timber in Australia. It is this demand, especially for cheap timber supplies, that fuels the trade in illegal timber and translates into higher levels of illegal logging abroad.
However, consumption of illegal timber is not criminalised and largely not regulated in Australia. There are, at present, no offences criminalising possession or purchase of illegal timber. Only a very small segment of the market has an interest in particular high-value timber species, such as ramin. In some instances, liability for possessing a protected species or a prohibited import may arise for customers of these products.