Forestry minister Eric Abetz released a discussion paper recently containing several recommendations on how to tackle illegal timber imports.
He said a blanket ban would also prevent some legal timber entering Australia, and instead opted for voluntary schemes within the industry.
Australian Timber Importers Federation (ATIF) chairman Barry Warren said international trade in illegally logged timber cost governments billions of dollars in lost revenue and lowered the price of timber in importing countries.
He said the ATIF was taking significant steps to guard against the future importation of illegally sourced timber.
“We will most certainly be working co-operatively with the minister and the industry to inhibit the import of timber that cannot be verified as having come from legal forest operations,” said Mr Warren.
Timber and Building Materials Association of Australia national president Danny Gattone confirmed that voluntary compliance procedures struck the right balance, and would receive industry backing.
“A blanket ban would merely serve to damage legal timber operations,” he said.
