Summary

In 1992 the Kennett Government , with a policy of selling off government enterprises in areas that competed with the private sector, initiated plans to privatise government-owned plantations. This was just one of a number of other government enterprises that were set for privatisation. The previous Kirner Government had considered, but declined, to sell the plantations in 1991.

There were some preparatory matters to be resolved for a successful sale. The Government established the Victorian Plantations (VPC), a State-Owned Enterprise, as a vehicle to prepare the business for sale. Staff needed to be appointed and an organisational structure established. Initial goals defined by the new organisation were approved by the government. The goals included:

• producing high quality wood to meet market specifications from well managed high yielding plantations
• providing a safe and healthy work environment, and
• establishing a place in the community as an environmentally responsible plantation manager.

Prerequisites for the sale included establishing land tenure of the estate, commercialising government log supply agreements, establishing a fire protection organisation and demonstrating a transparent profitable business. This involved developing a commercial culture, establishing transparent commercial accounts and demonstrating a profitable business.

Establishing a commercial culture was achieved by a number of initiatives, important amongst those being the appointment of a commercially-experienced Board of Directors, adopting a commercial focus in the goal of producing high quality wood, incorporating backlog plantation works in the business plan to improve productivity, and applying rigorous cost-benefit analysis techniques to capital expenditure decisions to ensure commercial returns. The sale prerequisites were largely achieved. Some government log supply agreements were not commercialised before the business was offered for sale.

The sales and financial performances over the first four full year period were quite outstanding. Log production was increased from an initial 1.15 million cubic metres by 59% while net profit of was increased by 147% from $12.0 million. The total dividends of $47.9 million were paid to the government and the initial net assets of $197.5 million were increased by 64%. A number of future profit drivers were also put in place including increased log production and sales, moving operations to mill door sales, and a number of plantation management and development initiatives.

The business offered for sale in 1998 represented a substantially more attractive enterprise than the one the VPC inherited in 1993. By this judgement the VPC was a very successful vehicle for selling the government’s plantation business.

Hancock Victorian Plantations Pty Ltd (HVP) was selected as the successful bidder for the business, for which it paid $550 million. The sale price represented a 57% premium above the Victorian Auditor General’s book value for the business (Auditor General, 1999).

Introduction

The idea of privatising the plantations was considered by the Kirner government in 1990. There were a number of obstacles and, in the event, the Kirner government was unable to implement such a plan before it lost office to the Kennett government in 1992. The new government, with a privatisation policy as a central part of its platform, and the need to address the State’s very large debt, did privatise the plantations in 1998.

The VPC, established as a government-owned enterprise, was the vehicle through which the plantations were to be sold. VPC’s task was to remove a number of significant obstacles to a sale, and establish a commercial and profitable enterprise that would represent an attractive business so as to maximise the sale price. The new owner, Hancock Victorian Plantations Pty Ltd, has successfully managed the profitable business for more than 27 years.

The Victorian Government Plantation Estate

The establishment of a government plantation enterprise spanned more than a century, over more than 40 governments of different persuasions with varying levels of support from time to time. The Forests Departments were early and consistent supporters of creating a substantial government softwood plantation estate from late 1800’s. The softwood plantation estate was 106,250 hectares in 1993 when the VPC was established. The extent of the plantation estate up until 1982 is shown in the figure below. The plantations were rapidly expanded from the mid-1960’s so a large proportion of the estate was growing onto maturity at the time VPC was established.

The Kirner Government’s Initial Plan

The idea of privatising the Government plantation estate was considered by the Kirner government in 1990 as one of a range of options for future management. Whilst the Labor Party did not support privatising government enterprises (Cain, 1995), the circumstances with government plantations and the State’s financial circumstances gave cause for the Kirner government to consider the idea.

Government plantations did not generally involve material community services and therefore privatisation would not be as controversial as other enterprises providing essential government services. There was no clear policy that the plantations were to remain in long-term government ownership at the time the Commonwealth and State governments commenced a program to increase the national plantation estate to provide future volumes to underpin private sector investment in modern economic scale plants to process the logs (Federal Register of Legislation, 1967). It was considered by some that once the initial plantation base and new processing plants had been established, and that the private sector would then drive the plantation and processing sectors. Hence, privatising the plantations was not seen as a major transgression of the Labor’s non-privatisation policy.

The State was suffering from immense debt at the time and the sale of the plantations was seen as contributing to reducing the debt. The net public sector debt in 1992 was $33 billion (Parkinson, 2000).

The government engaged a consultant company, CS First Boston, to advise on the possibility of privatising the plantations. In December 1990, CS First Boston briefed Minister Steve Crabb, and senior officers from Treasury and the Department of Conservation and Environment. CS First Boston reported that a sale was possible but there were some obstacles that would need to be addressed. These included the lack of an existing commercial structure within the State Forest Service, government wood supply agreements were not assignable, land tenure was unclear, and there were issues with fire protection organisation, staff, environment and Commonwealth loan issues. (Manderson). CS First Boston valued the plantations at $300 million but noted that what was being sold and how it was sold would be major determinants of the sale price. In the event, the Kirner government decided in August 1991 not to proceed with a sale before it lost office in 1992.

Kennett Government’s Commitment to Privatise

Jeff Kennett articulated the Liberal party’s commitment to selling off government enterprises in areas that competed with the private sector as early as March 1984 (Parkinson, 2000). In coming to government in 1992, privatisation of government business enterprises was a major component of the public sector reform program with the proceeds going towards reduction of State debt. The government was targeting a number of high profile, visible and powerful enterprises that were providing vital public goods and services including the electricity, gas, ports and aluminium sectors. By comparison the plantations enterprise did not provide an essential public service and it was therefore less controversial.

Legislative Framework

An early initiative of the new government was to create the legislative framework to enable the creation of state business corporations. This was required not just for the plantations enterprise, but also for the number of other government activities that it planned to privatise. The State Owned Enterprises Act 1992 (Australasian Legal Information Institute, 1992) was enacted to provide for the declaration of statutory corporations as reorganising bodies, the establishment of state bodies and the operation of state business corporations.

Establishing the Corporation

In July 1993 the VPC was the first corporation established under the new legislation which enabled it to operate as a state business corporation.

Much of the information below was sourced from VPC Annual Reports for 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997.

The Corporation’s charter was to prepare the business for sale. This required:

• meeting the prerequisites for sale
• establishing a profitable commercial business
• introducing business procedures to provide a transparent profit record at the time of offering the business for sale, and
• implementing efficient plantation practices to improve future log production and financial outcomes.

The business inherited from the previous government manager, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), entailed a gross land area of 168,000 hectares (ha), which included 113,000 ha of plantations. Ninety three per cent of the plantations were softwood species with the remainder being hardwood species. The log production was a little more than one million m³ sold to customers for processing into sawn timber, paper, particle board and farm and domestic products.

The selection of the initial Board of Directors reflected a commercial emphasis. Four of the five directors, and the Managing Director, were experienced business executives from the private sector with specialised backgrounds suitable for the development of a commercial business. The Chairman of the Board for the first 12 months had a long career in government and expertise in forestry. The initial Board of Directors comprised:

• Gerry Griffin - Chairman
• Alan J Castleman
• Robin E Clements - Deputy Chairman
• George B Little
• Kevin White - Managing Director

One hundred staff members were recruited during the first year of operation. The large majority brought extensive forestry experience, being recruited from DCNR. Staff members with other necessary professional skills were also recruited. Ex-Department staff needed to resign from the public service and were unable to carry over superannuation or years of service entitlements. This represented a significant sacrifice for some who had many years of government service. Government officers were not directly transferred to the new corporation as occurred subsequently with the privatisation of plantations in other states. The reason was to avoid staff obligations being included as liabilities in the business when it was offered for sale. Also, new staff, having made a conscious break from previous government working environment, facilitated the creation of a new commercial business culture.

The organisation was based on short lines of communication. This allowed the four Zones and the central Melbourne office to make quick and effective decisions.

The initial goals were to:

• produce high quality wood to meet market specifications from high yielding plantations that are well protected from fire, pests and diseases
• provide a safe and healthy work environment for its people who are well rewarded for their professionalism, excellence and achievement, and
• take its place in the community as an environmentally responsible manager of forest resources attuned to the values of society.

Operational plans focused on roading, plantation protection, wood scheduling and harvesting, and plantation works were prepared. Plantation management priorities included upgrading of the plantations and providing ongoing investment necessary to attain the highest standards of production.

There were some aspects of government operation which could not be directly assigned to a private owner. Also, there was a need to present an attractive business for sale by demonstrating current profitability and potential for future profits. These matters included:

• land tenure
• government log supply agreements
• fire protection organisation, and
• demonstrating a transparent profitable business.

There was a need to establish legal boundaries for the plantation estate with a view to obtaining secure title - there were no accurate boundaries for the vested land when the Corporation was established. This would place the Corporation on an equal footing with other private sector plantation owners and align with the government policy of competitive neutrality. The Corporation’s complex land base would normally necessitate a very time consuming and costly survey and mapping, but the Surveyor General completed the task at a total cost of $1.7 million using a range of innovative methods for boundary identification and plan certification. Legal title was then available for the Corporation’s estate.

The Corporation inherited long term log supply agreements, some of which were ratified by Parliament. They were issued on the basis of customers committing major new investments in processing plants. The agreements covered essential aspects including log supply obligations, product specifications, pricing mechanisms, delivery requirements, quality standards, and compliance with Australian and Victorian regulations. However, the absence of assignment and inappropriate log pricing provisions were obstacles to selling the business. The pricing provisions did not represent contemporary supplier-customer arrangements. Under the agreements “royalty” was charged which was determined under a Royalty Equation System (RES). The concept of “royalty”, being a payment for timber taken from government plantations, was foreign to contemporary commercial sales arrangements in the private sector. The RES was independent of customers and was based on a complex equation that sought to equalise the payment for customers for variations in log diameter size class, the distance logs were hauled to the processing mill and the distance the processed timber was hauled to market. The annual price adjustment involved a non-transparent process between the Forests Service and the customer with recourse to the responsible Crown Minister if the customer was so inclined. (See: Williams, 2020).

A prerequisite was to negotiate contemporary sales contracts to replace the existing government agreements. Not surprisingly, this was a challenging and time consuming exercise as sales contracts were of fundamental importance to all parties. A new log pricing system was developed for softwood sawlogs and contract clauses provided for annual negotiations to be based on market prices. Prices for pulp logs were negotiated within a framework including market price indicators for the Corporation and the customer. Ultimately new assignable sales contracts incorporating contemporary market price frameworks were successfully agreed for most of the long term agreements and licensee customers.

Fire protection of the plantations prior to the establishment of the VPC was legally controlled by the Forests Act 1958 and was part of the Department’s overall fire protection organisation. Fire protection in Victoria outside the metropolitan area of Melbourne was legally controlled the Forests Act 1958 for public land and the Country Fire Protection Act 1958 for private land. Selling the plantations would effectively change the land status of the management and beneficial interest from public to private control. Preparation for privatising the plantations required the provision of appropriate fire protection arrangements. This involved developing strong working arrangements with all levels within the Country Fire Authority and maintaining existing relationships with the DCNR’s fire protection personnel to ensure effective ongoing arrangements. Concurrently there was a requirement to establish an effective fire protection organisation within the Corporation through providing appropriate levels of fire equipment and human resources with fire fighting experience. Significant investment was made over successive years to establish a well-equipped organisation. Fire experience was a priority for staff recruitment which resulted in a very effective team of fire fighters. Virtually all of the VPC’s field staff were experienced and trained fire fighters, a number of which were highly skilled with decades of experience.

There was a desire to establish a commercial culture to support the Corporation’s goals. Culture in an organisation is difficult to define and measure. There were a number of initiatives applied in establishing the organisation. These included:

• the majority of Board members (three out of four) and the Managing Director brought successful relevant private sector experience
• the commercial emphasis of the Corporation was expressed in the goal to produce high quality wood to meet market specifications from high yielding plantations that were well protected from fire, pests and diseases
• the overwhelming majority of recruited staff had previously worked in government for much or all of their professional careers. The recruitment process articulated the commercial emphasis so that prospective employees needed to make conscious decisions to resign from government employment and take up positions in a new commercial organisation, and
• the Corporation incorporated backlog plantation works in its business plans demonstrating a willingness to invest in initiatives aimed at maximising sawlog production. Rigorous cost-benefit analysis procedures were applied to capital expenditure decisions to ensure commercial returns flowed from such investments. The approaches on backlog and capital works contrasted to budget processes in the Department.

Anecdotal responses from customers support the conclusion that a strong commercial culture existed in the Corporation by the time it was offered for sale.

In order to reinforce its commercial thrust, the Corporation prepared reports along the lines of the requirements of the Corporations Law and appropriate Regulations and applicable Accounting Standards. (As a State-Owned Enterprise, the Corporation was not required to report under the Annual Reporting Act 1983). A record of financial reports spanning four full years was available at the time the business was offered for sale.

The Corporation returned a net profit after tax of $12.0 million in its first year of operation which included a dividend of $4.0 million paid to the Government. The operating profit before interest provided a return of 6% on total assets employed.¹. Record of performance Sales and financial performance The Corporation’s sales and financial performance of the first four reported years was quite outstanding. Log sales increased each year from 1.15 million cubic metres in 1994 to 1.83 million cubic metres in 1997, representing a 59 per cent increase over the period. Financial indicators also improved each year. Net profit before tax increased from $12.0 million in 1994 to $29.7 million in 1997, representing a 147 per cent increase. The Corporation returned a total dividend of $47.9 million to Government over the period. The VPC increased the net assets of the business from $197.5 million in 1994 to $323.2 million in 1997 which was a 64% increase.

All the prerequisites for a sale were achieved in time for a sale process in 1998 except that not all long term supply agreements were able to be converted to commercial sales contracts.

There were a number of profit drivers applied by the Corporation including:

• increased log production and sales
• mill door sales
• plantation management and development

The plantation estate provided the capacity to increase log production. The estate inherited from the DCNR was immature. Softwood plantations are managed on a rotation of approximately 30 years for maximum sawlog production. A large proportion of the softwood estate had been established over the previous two decades so that these plantations were still growing to maturity when the VPC was established. Approximately 40% of the softwood estate was less than 20 years old at the time the Corporation was established (See: Williams, 2021). Capacity to increase log production was matched with successful marketing for increased sales. New longer-term sales contracts were offered to customers to underpin capital investments to expand the production capacity of their mills. This was noticeable in 1996-97 when sawlog sales increased by 14 per cent. This was facilitated by a new 5-year sales contract to CSR Timbers for 600,000 m³ from the South West softwood plantations. Victree Forests completed the construction of a new high capacity sawmill in Colac in 1997 based on a new long-term sales contract.

Increased sale of round wood was a priority as a market outlet for the product was needed to support commercial thinning necessary to maximise production of final crop sawlogs. Failing to carry out on-schedule thinning reduces the volume and quality of final crop sawlogs. Carrying out non-commercial thinning is costly and therefore detracts from financial returns. There was a substantial backlog of stands had that not received first or subsequent thinning treatment because of a lack of market outlets. Also, a previous customer for pulp logs, Laminex Industries at Ballarat had ceased production of particleboard just prior to Corporation’s establishment. This represented the loss of the significant pulp log customer. Active marketing produced new outlets for pulp logs, thus allowing growing stands to be thinned on time and the catching up of the backlog over time. The early efforts were bearing fruit in 1996 and 1997 with round wood sales in 1997 increasing by 22 per cent over the preceding year. The main drivers included the establishment of a new large volume customer in North East Victoria and the establishment of an export market. A new large scale modern medium density fibreboard plant was constructed at Wangaratta by Dominance Industries based on a long-term sales contract. The export outlet was to the Japanese paper making industry. A long-term sales contract was agreed with the large Japanese trading company Nissho Iwai. This operation was unique involving the Corporation forming a joint venture with two of its customers, AKD and Victree Forests. The new business provided a market for VPC’s thinning logs and residue chips for the sawmilling companies. None of the parties had the scale to achieve such a sale on its own. The successful sale of additional round wood benefited the VPC through future added value from on-schedule thinning as well as the immediate direct profit from the sale.

Sale of logs at the stump was the standard arrangement under the DCNR. Customers would engage contractors to harvest and haul their products to the mill. In this sense the Department’s focus was as a “grower of trees”. The Corporation adopted a policy of mill door sales at an early stage. The Corporation engaged contractors to harvest and haul the logs to the customer's mill, hence a mill door sale. This re-positioned the Corporation to being a “supplier of logs” which was in line with the operation of a commercial business. The primary objectives were to improve value recovery from harvesting, capture plantation benefits from improved operational integration and ensure supply reliability in a multi-product/multi-customer market. Mill door sales increased from modest start in 1995 to almost all sales by 1997.

Improving stand growth and sawlog production was a primary objective. The main components included:

• plantation management
• plantation development
• nursery and tree improvement, and a
• research and development program

Plantation management had two components - redressing backlogs and developing and implementing optimal management regimes. The Corporation inherited substantial backlogs in application of fertilisers, inadequate weed control and delayed thinning. These all compromise growth performance and result in sub-optimal sawlog production. A program was applied to progressively attend to the backlogs which were completed by the time the business was offered for sale.

The priority plantation management areas that most influence growth include site preparation for new plantings, effective weed control, application of correct fertilisers at the optimal stages and on-schedule application of preferred thinning regimes. Site preparation practices were progressively refined to facilitate strong early growth of the newly planted trees. Burning as a site preparation technique where it had been applied was phased out, being replaced by mulching where appropriate. This improved soil moisture and nutrient retention. Minimising the time between completion of harvesting and replanting the new crop was a value adding initiative. Initially a period of 18 months was adopted as the maximum time for re-establishment. Effective weed control techniques are essential for maximum growth. These were applied at time of planting as well as at other stages during plantation growth as required. Fertilisation regimes were reviewed and refined. Fertilisation at planting and following thinning became standard practice. Also, stands suffering nutrient deficiency were identified and remedially treated. On-schedule first thinning and subsequent thinnings are important to maximise production of high quality sawlogs. Markets were secured to support commercial thinning operations across the entire business.

A comprehensive tree improvement program involving selecting superior genetic stock and translating this into trees for new plantings was integral to the plantation enterprise. The plantation forestry sector worldwide has recognised the potential benefits from a tree improvement program. The Corporation joined the Southern Tree Breeding Association (STBA) to increase the efficiency of the of the Corporation’s tree breeding program for Radiata Pine and so achieve genetic gains more quickly. Nursery practices were refined to take advantage of new genetic material that became available through membership of STBA and to produce stronger trees for planting and reducing nursery plant failures. New plants grown from cuttings rather than seedlings enables preferred genetics to be more quickly introduced to new trees. Increasing the proportion of nursery plants form cuttings was adopted. The proportion of cuttings increased from 16 per cent of total plants in 1993 to 43 per cent in 1997. A rapid multiplication program was adopted to allow improved genetic to be more rapidly incorporated into new trees for replanting. By 1997, 150,000 new stock plants were being produced from small quantities of control-pollinated elite seed ensuring that stool beds were meeting demands for quality and volume growth.

The Corporation purchased approximately 1,600 hectares of private land to expand its estate in 1996 and 1997. This provided a modest start to an expansion program which could be escalated if a new owner desired.

Research programs conducted over a number of decades pre-dating VPC had underpinned the management of the plantations. The Corporation, recognising effective and targeted research and development (R&D) programs important to continuous improvement, maintained and expanded the R&D commitment. It commissioned the Centre for Forest Tree Technology to review and recommend programs covering nutrients, soils, weed control and growth enhancement programs through tree breeding. These were subsequently incorporated into the Corporation’s comprehensive R&D program. The Corporation also assumed a leading role in the plantation industry’s research efforts. It joined with the University of Melbourne in cooperative research into thinning practices and contributed to collaborative research programs with other industry players including the Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Corporation.

The success of the VPC as a vehicle for selling the plantation business can be assessed by considering the business on the eve of its sale. Much work had been done establishing the Corporation and building a profitable and prosperous operating enterprise. The business featured the following components:

• competent employees had been recruited to staff an efficient organisation structure
• the state of the inherited enterprise was reviewed and a comprehensive business plan developed
• close relations were developed with customers, contractors, fire protection personnel with the Department and Country Fire Authority and other organisations
• a record of profitable performance was established
• operational priorities were established and funded to improve the immediate bottom line and increase future value of the business, and
• a number of obstructions and/or significant discount issues to selling the business were addressed

The VPC at the time it was offered for sale in 1998 represented a substantially more attractive enterprise than the one inherited in 1993. The VPC for sale was:

• a very attractive, largely unencumbered and profitable business. It demonstrated a record of increasing profits each year for its four full years of operation. The net profit before tax was $29.7 million in the year prior to the sale offer. It had returned a total dividend of $47.9 million to the Government. The total net asset value had been increased by 64% to $323.2 million
• the VPC represented an attractive outlook for a future owner with demonstrable capacity to increase log production
• as the estate matured with the flow on potential for increased profit. The programs to maximise log production were identified and were being implemented, as were more efficient and profitable arrangements of mill door sales, and
• the successful sale, as described below, included a premium above the book value of $201 million. This represented the value placed by the purchaser on the future potential achievable profit. A significant proportion of this was the result of VPC’s management. Hence, the conclusion that can be drawn is that the VPC was a very successful vehicle for the sale of the business. The sale process In March 1998, almost five years after establishment of the Corporation, the Treasurer of Victoria announced the intention to privatise the enterprise through an international public tender process. The Victorian Plantations Corporation (Amendment) Act 1998 (Victorian Government, 1998) was enacted to facilitate the sale. The enterprise on offer was the perpetual right to establish, maintain and manage timber plantations on licensed land, and take or convert forest produce on the licensed land. The licensed land included approximately 168,000 hectares vested in the VPC. The other significant terms and conditions included - entering into back-to-back contracts with the State for some supply agreements; complying with the Code of Forest Practices established under the Conservation, Forests and Lands Act 1987 (Australasian Legal Information Institute, 1987), and
• engaging all 120 full-time staff of the Corporation.

As part of the arrangements the responsibility for fire protection and suppression was transferred from the VPC and the DCNR to the Country Fire Authority (Auditor-General, 1999).

Hancock Victorian Plantations Pty Ltd (HVP) was selected as the preferred bidder in October 1998 (Auditor-General, 1999). Under the arrangements the State received $550 million for the sale of the Corporation’s net assets and undertakings. The proceeds exceeded the book value by $201 million (Auditor-General, 1999).

Conclusion

The VPC was an effective vehicle for preparing the Victorian Government’s plantation enterprise for privatisation. The enterprise was successfully sold to HVP in 1998. HVP acquired a well-established business and has continued to operate it as a profitable business for more than 27 years.

VPC was formally established in July 1993 with just a Board of Directors and without appointed staff. It quickly built an efficient organisational structure and articulated its initial goals which were approved by the Victorian Treasury. Its major tasks included:

• addressing matters associated with government operation but not appropriate or adequate for a private sector business
• implementing commercial business culture and procedures
• establishing a profitable business that would be attractive to prospective private sector owners, and
• establishing transparent commercial accounts to enable prospective private sector owners to confidently appraise to future potential of the business.

These tasks were successfully achieved. The complex pre-requisites included establishing land tenure for the estate, commercialise government log supply agreements in a suitable form for private sector companies, and establish a fire protection organisation. These were achieved with the exception of some government log supply agreements.

A commercial culture was quickly created and private sector business procedures were adopted. The business was profitable from the outset and the profit and other financial indicators were significantly increased. Log sales increased by 59% over the period. Net profit before tax was increased by 147%. The Corporation returned a total dividend of $47.9 million to government over the period. VPC increased the net assets of the business from $197.5 million in 1994 to $323.2 million in 1997 which was a 64% increase. VPC implemented a number of future profit drivers including increased log production and sales, introducing mill door sales, and a number of plantation management and development initiatives.

The VPC at the time it was offered for sale in 1998 represented a substantially more attractive enterprise than the one inherited in 1993. The VPC for sale was:

• a very attractive, largely unencumbered and profitable business with a demonstrated record of increasing profits each year, and
• represented an attractive prospect for a future owner with demonstrable capacity to increase log production as the estate matured with the flow on potential for increased profit.

The programs to maximise log production were identified and were being implemented, as were more efficient and profitable arrangements of mill door sales.

HVP was successful purchaser for a price of $550 million for the Corporation’s net assets and undertakings. The proceeds exceeded the book value by $201 million (Auditor-General, 1999).

¹ The forest valuation is important in calculating the rate of return. The valuation adopted by the Corporation on 1st July 1993 was prepared by the Valuer-General and adopted by the Treasurer of Victoria.

References

Australasian Legal Information Institute 1987

Conservation, Forests and Lands Act Australasian Legal Information Institute 1992

State Owned Enterprises Act 1992

Cain, John 1995. John Cain’s Years Power, Parties and Politics. Melbourne University Press

Federal Register of Legislation 1967

Softwood Forestry Agreement Act 1967

Parkinson, Tony 2000. Jeff. The Rise and Fall of a Political Phenomenon Viking. Penguin Books Australia

Victorian Plantations Corporation Amendment Act 1998. Victorian Government