Many years ago now, the Rocky Point sugar mill, [on the broad water between the Gold coast & Brisbane, was using bagasse to power the mill. This is the remains of the crushed cane. The Qld government, installed, at our great expense, a power plant to burn the excess bagasse to produce power for the main grid. One of those win win ideas.

The plan was to burn the cane waste during the crushing season, & import "some other" waste to burn during the rest of the year.

The bagasse produced just enough power to pay for itself, but that's where the problem arose. For a number of costly years, they tried a host of different fuels, but none worked.

Some fuel did not produce enough heat, some far too much residue, others worked but cost much more to transport, than the power was worth.

After many very expensive to the tax payer years of failure, they shut the plant down. Some years later, after the press had forgotten the thing, they auctioned the whole plant off, at huge loss.

Those wanting to force these ideas should remember, Micky Mouse is great at Disneyland, but Mickey Mouse little versions of industrial units are really just cartoons.

Hasbeen first, yes I worked a harvest in a mill, but holidayed often near broad water NSW .
Its mil burned baggas and forest timbers, not now.
Rechtub, long work life 13 to 66 but yes Dad and his dad cut timber.
I from age 8 swung on the end of a cross cut with dad .
Became a sawer briefly tailor out and union official looking after foresters and national parks.
Know what you say,this scheme fixes that cash return on it makes clean up profitable.
Lexi, yes but,please under stand not being rude.
You see the issue from a wrong view point.
This product,right now,sits in timber mills all over the east coast, as saw dust but too as waste generated by the cutting process.
It ,millions of tonnes,is stacked already in forests right now,its only fate without change is to burn there in extremely hot bush fires.
Right now NSW is trying to dump its forest workers, including fire fighters.
You and I can BOTH WIN.
Employ these folk as inspectors, send only felled timber only waste timber to the furnaces.
I just MUST say this,Greens on this and many issues are countering good conservation!
Coal and oil burn now it could be the timber,wasted now ,no use as Bio-Mass
And cut green house gasses too.
Every effort must be made to use such as this
We could expend every cent returned to growing two trees for every one cut down,for 50 years then maintain the number forever.
We can not do that with coal.
Like Oakshot or not lets look at this win win idea.
Conservation is mainsteam property.
PS if we fund the site maybe we can post photos to back up our words?
Bush fires are going to be very bad this summer.

Dear Belly,

Thanks for that. I didn't quite understand the full scope
of the issue. Lets see what Parliament decides. At least
Rob Oakeshott is trying to come up with something new.
And perhaps others can add to his suggestion and make it
even better.

I want other contributors too to under stand Oakshot and me are not talking of removing habituate.
These waste logs are stacked up to two meters high and can cover an acre.
The log dumps not regenerated are some times a hectare.
Put together massive and wasteful.
My words about photos come because a local mill has ten acres of wood.solid waste stacked and it will be burned one summer night just bet on it,I would have liked to post photos of many such stacks.
And invite greens to take an enjoyable weekend exploring these forest waste sites.
we can improve on this.

I really would have liked to have seen the views of the greens on this issue.
I think they see trees being felled to provide wood.
Or habituate being removed.
On this issue surely we can talk ,if average Aussie saw the waste wood and knew about its possible use?
We will this summer, be seeing horrific bush fires it is the nature of our country.
Every summer without them brings one with bad ones.
Shame these stacks will fuel, even start many .

Was it the name Oakshot?
Was it the green propaganda, the thought burning Forrest timber is cutting everything down to burn?
Or just lack of understanding?
In my childhood the many timber mills in the southern highlands all saw hundreds of tons of saw dust along side.
Last man out set fire to them, it just was the way.
Burned for months, some never went out.
Apart from a few bags sold to butcher shops that was its fate.
Well change came, two brothers started an industry, chicken mass production.
Saw dust was wanted,and another found cash in it combined with chicken droppings.
Today? that sawdust is not burned,although one firm chares it and convinces us it is potting mix, it is used, always.
But those stacks? timber off cuts? in the bush and the mills stay well weathered and wait, to be burned.
For some reason, maybe it burned too fast? wood fire owners want log wood not it.
We, thanks Greens thanks too ALP, see it unused,and know as sure as the sun rises it will burn in the place it lays.
Fueling in a season that will terrify us all,bush fires, it may well be this year.
In those ashes will be the hope for a new sustainable industry a carbon cutting alternative one.
Thanks to the power greens so badly miss use to kill jobs and hope in the bush they north shore dwellers, never understood.