Australian Forestry Standard lambasted for lack of transparency, green standards, by resigning CFMEU official as gap widens between union, forestry industry

Lorena Madrigal

LOS ANGELES , September 13, 2011 (Forestweb) – A key Australian forestry union official resigned from the board of the Australian Forestry Standard Ltd. (AFS) in a letter criticizing the organization's environmental standards, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Sept. 13.

The resignation by Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) policy research officer Travis Wacey increases the divide between the forestry industry and the union, once close allies.

In a letter to AFS chairman Geoff Gorrie, Wacey wrote that AFS standards hurt his professional reputation, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

AFS is a non-profit company which owns, manages and promotes standard development functions of the Australian Forest Certification Scheme, aiming to make it the dominant program in the country, according to the AFS website.

Wacey also criticized the appointment process for the new group's new CEO, Richard Stanton, as lacking transparency. Wacey called for an overhaul of governance systems used for the Yarralumla, Australia-based AFS.

The CFMEU last year said it would work toward a plantation-based future for the industry, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The union previously supported logging in native forests, but last year said it would begin talks with its former opponents, conservation groups.

The primary source of this article is The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, Australia, on Sept. 13, 2011.

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