Forests New South Wales says change is needed in its loss making retail nurseries and that is why they are being outsourced. Tenders open tomorrow for leases on nurseries at Dubbo, Muswellbrook, Gunnedah, Narrandera, Wagga and Cumberland in Sydney. The nurseries employ about 30 full and part-time staff.
The director of land management and forestry services, Ross Dickson, admits the agency has not applied the necessary focus on the retail nursery network to make it more successful. However, he says the Government focus is on commercial plantations.
Some staff feel Forests New South Wales imposes overhead costs that make the nurseries unviable and that if a proper budget was provided, they could compete with the private sector.
According to a letter to the BCCT from one of the Nursery staff:
Forests NSW Nurseries are the Australian Plant Specialists and have been growing trees for over 100 years. Forest nurseries are spread throughout NSW providing expert local knowledge, plants for local conditions and the best planting advice and hence growers for revegetation and the future of our forests.
These Nurseries are renowned for an extensive range of rare and unusual as well as hybrid garden shrubs. Stock is rarely purchased and runs on minimal cost via propagation methods (cutting & seeding) in order to produce plants that meet both personal and council requirements, and after all, where can a Gumtree be purchased these days?
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