About Us

OUR MISSION

FWCA’s primary mission is to give forest workers, timber communities and those who embrace natural timber a voice in government, regulatory authorities and the media on issues which affect them.

We Support

• The sustainable, renewable and carbon-storing timber industry.
• Ethical and lawful forest management, including safe workplaces.
• Fair and balanced political decisions affecting the timber industry.

We will fight against

• Corporate activism which capitalises on harming our industry.
• Malicious workplace activism which threatens worker safety.
• Anti-forestry “science” funded by corporate activism.

YOUR REPRESENTATIVES

Forest & Wood Communities Australia is a professionally run organisation with a board of directors and an Advisory Council.

The Advisory Council is made up of 16 people who work in or support Australian forestry and the communities it supports. It meets regularly to discuss issues which directly affect our membership, from telling the stories of hard-working foresters to dealing with illegal workplace invasions.

Our board is elected from the Advisory Council and we are growing as we are joined by more people who want to protect our timber communities.

Steve Dobbyns BSc (Forestry), Chairman

Steve is a third-generation forester who grew up in NSW forests and took a career in public and private sector forest management.

After completing a Bachelor of Science (Forestry) degree, Steve attained accreditation as a Registered Professional Forester having been assessed by expert practitioners and deemed to possess the experience, skills and knowledge identified by the RPF Registration Committee for that forester’s area/s of expertise.

Now with more than 30 years’ experience in forestry, Steve has a comprehensive knowledge of forest management and the people who work within it.

Steve also serves on the board of Timber NSW and is a member of the Institute of Foresters of Australia, NSW North-East Pilot Forestry Hub, and ForestFit Contractor Training and Certification Scheme Industry Reference Group.

Tom Marland, Director

Tom is a fifth-generation cattle and hard wood timber producer from the Gaeta district north of Bundaberg in Queensland.

He is practicing lawyer and specialises in agribusiness transactions. He also represents landholders across Queensland faced with coal, gas and infrastructure development on their land.

Tom is a passionate rural advocate who speaks widely on issues that impact rural and regional communities.

Tom believes that sustainable forest and timber management is critical in avoiding future bushfire disasters and also helping Australia meet its carbon emissions reduction targets.

He is also the author of a Facebook page Tom Marland – Food for Thought, Thought for Food.

Peter Rutherford BSc (Forestry), Director

As well as working in forest operational and management roles since 1972, Peter has been dedicated to protecting the forest industry and communities it sustains against what he describes as “political and activism bastardry”.

He joined the Forest Protection Society in the 1980s and saw it transition into Timber Communities Australia. As well as agreeing to becoming a foundation director of Forest & Wood Communities Australia, he serves as secretary for the South East Timber Association.

Peter has a unique understanding of the fabric of timber communities having worked as pine plantation gang member before completing a four-year forest science degree at ANU. He then worked for the NSW Forestry Commission for seven years including planning and harvesting native forests, roading, plantation establishment, fire mitigation and bushfire fighting.

He has worked in various roles including plantation development, managing waste-water irrigation trials and as a Group Captain in the NSW volunteer bushfire brigades. He managed Forestry Victoria for four years and spent two years in forest policy before moving to Eden to manage log supply to the chip mill, the company’s plantation program and CFA industry brigade.

Marcus Bastiaan, Director

Marcus Bastiaan is the director of The Specialty Group which owns and operates timber manufacturing businesses in Queensland, Victoria and South Australia. The companies make doors, jambs and custom timber components for the construction industry.

Marcus was born in Victoria and grew up on a small farm on the Mornington Peninsula, he spent time living in Queensland and today lives in the Adelaide Hills with his family.

Marcus believes Australia can lead the world in sustainable forestry and wants to see policies that strike a balance between industry, regional employment and the environment.

He recognises the forestry debate is dominated by politics ahead of science, and those impacted by activism and government decisions often have no way of standing up for their jobs and communities.

OUR CORE VALUES

FWCA commits to:

• Representing the interests of the 10s of thousands of people in Australian forestry, the communities they live in and contribute to, and their supporters.
• Demanding a fair go for foresters in the bush who are forced to endure malicious workplace invasions funded by irresponsible corporate activist organisations.
• Supporting effective native forest management which achieves ecological as well as socio-economic outcomes.
• Engaging in honest discussions about Australian forestry with focus on science and facts rather than ideology.
• Standing as a united voice against the tirade of destructive agenda-driven anti-forestry campaigning by corporate activism which profits from demonising sustainable forestry.