Abstract

Summary In 1987 the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) revised its policy on forests, and it and the Forestry and Forest Products Industries Council (FAFPIC) made submissions to the Australian government concerning the forest industries. Both have proposed increasing the area of Australia's plantation estate, but for different reasons. These policies and proposals are compared with the policies of the Institute of Foresters of Australia and found to be similar in many respects. Although the ACF submission contained many matters with which Institute members would disagree, it did demonstrate substantial weaknesses in the economic and social basis on which Australian forest policies have been developed. Both submissions rested on many unproven assertions and lacked the factual and scientific base that it would be reasonable to expect in proposals put to government.