Forests NSW Corporatisation

The former Forests NSW have recently changed to a State owned corporation. To understand the reasons behind this decision, the following explanation is provided by Forestry Corporation NSW, a more detailed version of which is available at http://www.forestrycorporation.com.au/about/corporatisation/questions-an....

"Forestry Corporation is currently a public trading enterprise, and as such is charged with making a return on investment to the people of New South Wales.
Independent studies conducted in 2003 by ABN Amro and Jakko Poyry and 2011 by KPMG have shown that with improved governance and commercial focus, Forestry Corporation has the potential to significantly improve its financial performance.
The KPMG Report identified approximately $20 million in operating earnings that Forestry Corporation could make as a consequence of moving to a corporate structure.
A large proportion of these savings come from corporate overheads with additional savings in procurement efficiency, increasing revenues from sand and rock sales and focussing on core forestry activities.
KPMG strongly recommended that this could best be achieved by corporatisation.
Forestry Corporation historical financial performance has been inadequate when considering the $1.6 billion value of the State’s assets that it manages.
The Government, on behalf of the people of NSW, is changing the governance of Forestry Corporation to deliver better returns on the people’s assets.
Forestry Corporation will still report to the NSW Government and the key agencies – Department of Primary Industries, the Environment Protection Agency and the Office of Environment and Heritage on its environmental performance"