Social Assessment Report

SOCIAL ASSESSMENT REPORT

LOWER NORTH EAST NSW

COMPREHENSIVE REGIONAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE

REGIONAL FOREST AGREEMENT

November 1998

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