SOCIAL ASSESSMENT REPORT
LOWER NORTH EAST NSW
COMPREHENSIVE REGIONAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE
REGIONAL FOREST AGREEMENT
November 1998
For more information, contactThe Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Forest Assessment Branch (Social Assessment Unit)
GPO Box 858
CANBERRA 2601
Phone:02 6622 3183 (Lismore Office)
02 6271 6698 (Canberra Office)
Preparation of this report has been possible through the participation of key stakeholder groups, forest management agencies, forest industries, their employees and contractors, and communities. The Social Assessment Unit acknowledges this important contribution.
While every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that this document is correct at time of printing, the Commonwealth of Australia, its agents and employees, do not assume any responsibility and shall have no liability, consequential or otherwise, of any kind, arising from the use or reliance on any of the information contained in this document
© Commonwealth of Australia, November 1998
CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...... v
Social indicators used in the social assessment...... v
Regional profile...... v
Summary results of case study communities...... vi
Summary results of forest-related occupational communities...... xv
Locational impact of forest-based industry expenditure...... xviii
Community attitudes survey — Lower North East region...... xxi
Survey of mitigation and adjustment processes...... xxi
Social impact assessment modelling...... xxi
1INTRODUCTION...... 1
Social assessment within the Regional Forest Agreement process...... 1
2METHODOLOGIES...... 5
Post impact analysis and regional profile methodology...... 5
Community case studies methodology...... 5
Profiling occupational communities methodology...... 6
Community attitudes to forest in the region — methodology...... 9
Locational impacts of forest industry expenditure methodology...... 10
Modelling...... 12
3POST IMPACT STUDIES ANALYSIS...... 15
Forests and forest industry in the Lower North East region of New South Wales..16
Some trends in rural communities — social issues...... 18
Change in rural communities...... 20
Focus of this study...... 21
Recent policy changes affecting the New South Wales timber industry...... 22
Conclusion...... 33
4REGIONAL PROFILE...... 35
Overview...... 35
Summary of characteristics in relation to forest use and management...... 37
Armidale LGA...... 39
Bellingen LGA...... 42
Cessnock LGA...... 46
Dumaresq LGA...... 49
Dungog LGA...... 52
Gloucester LGA...... 55
Gosford LGA...... 58
Great Lakes LGA...... 62
Greater Taree LGA...... 65
Hastings LGA...... 69
Kempsey LGA...... 72
Lake Macquarie LGA...... 76
Maitland LGA...... 80
Muswellbrook LGA...... 83
Nambucca LGA...... 86
Newcastle LGA...... 90
Nundle LGA...... 93
Port Stephens LGA...... 96
Scone LGA...... 100
Singleton LGA...... 103
Uralla LGA...... 106
Walcha LGA...... 109
Wyong LGA...... 112
5SOCIAL VALUES OF FORESTS...... 115
Community case studies...... 115
Surveys of occupational communities...... 208
Community attitudes...... 217
6REVIEW OF FOREST INDUSTRY MITIGATION MEASURES...... 261
7LOCATIONAL IMPACTS OF FOREST BASED INDUSTRY EXPENDITURE263
The project...... 263
The timber industry in Lower North East New South Wales...... 268
Views of mills and contractors...... 275
Timber industry supply...... 278
Timber industry dependent businesses...... 280
8SOCIAL MODELLING PROJECT...... 293
REFERENCES...... 321
Social Assessment — Lower North East NSW1