ACCC proposes to allow Tasmanian softwood sawlog joint venture arrangements

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has accepted that the Softwood Tasmania Joint Venture arrangements provide greater access to capital resulting in the further development of Tasmanian forestry assets, and proposes granting authorisation to the arrangements for 10 years.

The joint venture has been operating since 1999 and involves Forestry Tasmania, Tasmanian Softwood Fund and Southern Hemisphere Softwood Strategies. The parties jointly plant, harvest and sell softwood logs grown in Tasmania.

Authorisation provides protection from court action for conduct or arrangements that might otherwise raise concerns under the competition provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974. Authorisation is granted where the ACCC is satisfied that the benefit to the public from the conduct outweighs any public detriment.

The ACCC invites submissions in relation to this draft determination prior to making a final decision. Parties wishing to make submissions should do so by 25 June 2009.

The ACCC's determination will be available from the ACCC website.