Forest Products Industry

FSC ANZ is hosting The Promotional Licence Holder’s Forum once again. Building on the success of the 2023 event, this exclusive gathering is designed to provide Promotional Licence Holders and their teams with an in-depth understanding of the positive environmental, social, and economic impacts supported by an FSC promotional licence. Source: Timberbiz In celebration of 30 years of FSC, this forum will offer a valuable opportunity to reflect on its collective achievements across Australia and New Zealand. Attendees will gain insights into sustainable forestry through engaging presentations from guest speakers, and a detailed overview of FSC Aligned for EUDR. Guest speakers include Kelly Williamson, Tree Crop Manager, Timberlands Pacific who will introduce the work of Australian FSC-certified forestry organisation Timberlands Pacific and discuss the organisation’s engagement with First Nations peoples and the traditional fire management practice of cultural burning. This session will provide insights into TPPL’s sustainable forest management practices and the significance of their FSC certification. Julie Roberts, Head of Sustainability, Mitre 10 New Zealand will speak on the History and Benefits of Mitre 10’s Partnership with FSC and explore the history of Mitre 10’s partnership with FSC and why they chose to be both Promotional Licence Holders and Chain of Custody certificate holders. This session will highlight the benefits and value of this approach and provide examples of how Mitre 10 has leveraged its relationship with FSC in its communications, marketing, and messaging. Other FSC ANZ Presentations: Melanie Robertson, CEO of FSC Australia and New Zealand Sarah Day, Engagement and Communications Manager, FSC ANZ Stefan Jensen, Policy and Standards Manager, FSC ANZ Jen Nicita, Trademarks and Partnerships Manager, FSC ANZ. The forum will be held on 20 August from 10am to 12 noon (Australia) or 12noon to 2pm in New Zealand. The event will be conducted via Zoom. Contact info@au.fsc.org for registration.

The Wood Processing Growth Fund (WPGF) second capital investment round of the Accelerator program is open, and applications must be received by 26 August 2024. Accelerator provides loans or equity finance to co-fund capital investment in new capacity and improvements that increase onshore wood processing capacity, productivity and improve competitiveness. Source: Timberbiz This second investment round continues to focus on projects that are investment ready. Investors who are advanced in planning a new wood processing development, or an expansion or upgrade to existing sawmills, engineered wood, panels, or roundwood production should consider applying. The WPGF also provides grants for pre-investment activities such as business cases, feasibility studies and technical assistance through the WPGF Catalyst programme. Some details on those two funding streams are as follows: Accelerator – up to NZ$33M in debt or equity investment in capital projects aimed at expanding wood processing. Catalyst fund – provides up to NZ$2 million per year in conditional grants to support feasibility studies and related pre-capital activities for wood processing projects. The WPGF is managed by Te Uru Rākau – New Zealand Forest Service in collaboration with Kānoa – Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit. Outside of the WPGF, Te Uru Rākau – New Zealand Forest Service can help connect with funding and support programs across government. These include the Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures Fund, NZTE, EECA, MBIE Kānoa, Callaghan Innovation, Green Investment Finance, Waste Minimisation Fund, Scion, Export Credit Office etc. If you have any questions or would like to discuss making an application, please either email or call: Email wpgf@mpi.govt.nz or NZ freephone call centre 0800 00 83 33. Or for more information you can visit https://www.mpi.govt.nz/forestry/forest-industry-and-workforce/wood-processing-growth-fund/

The New South Wales Government is preparing for the upcoming bushfire season with the rollout of new firefighting tankers and cutting-edge satellite technology to keep crews connected and safer during emergencies. Source: Timberbiz In a significant upgrade, RFS vehicles will now be equipped with Vehicle as a Node (VaaN) technology to ensure RFS personnel can communicate during a disaster in the most remote locations or if communication systems go down. The Starlink satellite technology will enable the use of radios, mobile phones, and other handheld devices anywhere and at any time, even in remote areas or if communication infrastructure has been damaged during a disaster. The upgrade will provide an important backup to communication systems and location-finding technology already in use. It will also give crews the capability to live stream video of fires from anywhere in the state, providing command centres with the latest intelligence about an incident. More than 5,000 RFS operational vehicles will be equipped with the new technology over three years under the $69 million VaaN project. The RFS is partnering with the NSW Telco Authority to deliver the communications upgrade, with installations beginning this year. “While the existing trucks have served our brigades well, it’s important that we safely equip members so they can best serve their communities across NSW,” RFS Commissioner Rob Rogers said. “Communications blackspots are a significant obstacle for rural firefighters and can make an already challenging operation even harder. This new technology greatly enhances our network of brigades across the state and will assist communities when needed.” The satellite upgrade comes after the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) delivered 143 new and 69 refurbished firefighting tankers to brigades across the state over the past year. Most new trucks have been deployed to regional areas across the state, benefiting communities from Balranald to Eurobodalla and Armidale to Gilgandra, with the state’s south receiving the largest uplift following the devastating 2019/20 Black Summer fires. Category 1 tankers, which are the most used on the fire front, make up the highest number of trucks dispatched across the state. The refurbishment of 69 existing trucks will also make them safer for crews, with a halo sprinkler system for the cabin, custom-fitted heat curtains, electric hose reels, and portable Public Safety Network and fireground radio chargers. To meet strict RFS firefighting requirements, the new trucks are being assembled locally at facilities in Kirrawee, Minto, Tomago, and South Windsor. This follows the NSW Government’s commitment to a new contract for the aerial RFS fleet, which provides certainty and a shift to a predominantly NSW-based crew over the coming decade. The Bush Fire Danger Period for northern parts of the state commenced on 1 August, and the statutory period for the entire state begins on 1 October.  

The Tasmanian Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report was welcomed by the Tasmanian Forest Products Association (TFPA) Chief Executive Officer, Nick Steel, who said the forestry industry continues to be a key part of Tasmania’s response to climate change. Source: Timberbiz “Tasmania’s forest industries are a major driver behind reducing Tasmania’s carbon emissions and achieving the Government’s net-zero goals, as highlighted by this report,” Mr Steel said. As production trees grow, they absorb carbon from the atmosphere and when they’re harvested, they lockup that carbon for the life of the product. Changes in the Land Use, Land use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector have resulted in increased carbon sequestration, which has had a major influence on reducing Tasmania’s greenhouse gas emissions. LULUCF emissions were 23.78 Mt CO2-e, or 211% lower than 1990 levels. “The latest report released today shows the key drivers for change over this period for the LULUCF sector were the change in annual emissions from the private native forest estate, an increase in sequestration in the plantation estate, and additional, and probably surprising to some, the managed public native forest estate continues to be carbon negative, as what it harvests it replaces to maintain a steady standing biocarbon stock,” Mr Steel said. Climate change is one of the biggest threats to our future. Around the world governments are responding to this threat and, in Tasmania, the forest industry is leading the charge. In Tasmania, every single tree harvested, both plantation and native, is replaced by either regenerating native forests or through the cycle of plantation replanted. And that tree captures more carbon as it grows again. “Forestry is a cornerstone of sustainable economic development in Tasmania, offering a myriad of direct and indirect benefits to our community,” Mr Steel said. “Our forestry industry is sustainable, renewable and is part of the solution to climate change.”

The new No Fake Poles website set up by the NSW branch of the Australian Forest Products Association is calling supporters to sign a petition to overturn the decision by Essential Energy to opt for UV coated fibreglass and resin composite power poles. Source: Timberbiz Durability, sustainability and affordability are the mainstays of the fight which also says that the impact on household budgets has already suffered as it has led to increased electricity bills. The site claims that electricity prices have already led to an increase in the number of families struggling to keep up with the cost of energy, with those struggling to meet electricity bills rising to 3% last quarter, with an average residential debt increase of $95. Essential Energy is a state-owned corporation and so the minister for the portfolio has the authority to direct Essential Energy to change its policy. A link on the site offers a simple way for supporters to petition the NSW government, you can access the petition here. The No Fake Poles website is at www.nofakepoles.com

The timber industry has stepped up its fight against the phase-out of wooden power poles across NSW, demanding proof that the manufactured ones won’t melt in bushfires. Source: AAP The NSW branch of the Australian Forest Products Association has launched a new website urging people to sign a petition against Essential Energy’s shift to UV-coated fibreglass and resin poles. The government-owned power infrastructure company, which services 95 per cent of NSW, says the change is necessary to boost its network’s resilience to events like the Black Summer fires. During that disaster over the summer of 2019 and 2020, more than 104,000 customers were affected by power outages across the company’s network, and more than 3,200 power poles were damaged. But the shift has upset some in the timber industry, which supplies the wooden poles that have long been used. James Jooste is the NSW chief executive of the Australian Forest Products Association and has called on the government to direct Essential Energy to continue using hardwood poles. He says there’s an absence of evidence to show composite poles are more fire resistant than wooden ones. “Show us the proof.” Mr Jooste says anxiety about adequate supplies of hardwood poles is justified, but only because government decisions are hampering the industry. He points to the creation of protected koala hubs in the government’s proposed Great Koala National Park, which will cover native forests that are logged by the government-owned Forestry Corporation. He says a review of the rules that govern native forest logging is also overdue, and that’s hampering the industry. “It’s policy decisions that are impacting the supply of timber, not the availability of timber itself.” But Essential Energy has hit back, saying it must act to reduce the impact of natural disasters on customers. “The decision to use composite poles across one of Australia’s largest electricity distribution networks has been years in the making,” it has told AAP. “We also consulted with our pole suppliers and Forestry Corporation of NSW across a range of topics including composite poles.” The company has also released a photo to dispel concerns about the new poles melting. The photo – taken by Essential Energy staff during the Black Summer fires – shows a manufactured, composite pole standing intact beside the charred remains of a timber one. Its submission to the bushfires inquiry also pointed out that fibreglass cross arms that were already part of its network often survived undamaged, while timber poles were destroyed. The Australian Energy Regulator also approved the switch to manufactured poles earlier this year, after a detailed examination. Essential Energy says that was in part due to concerns about “insufficient quantities of timber poles suitable to meet the needs of Essential Energy over the 2024-29 regulatory period”. The Forestry Corporation, whose hardwood division runs at a loss, has told AAP demand remains high for timber poles due to their affordability, durability, lower energy footprint and capacity to store carbon. “By the time each pole has reached the end of service a new pole has grown to replace it.” It has contracts to supply hardwood timber poles to other energy distributors until the end of 2028. Essential Energy refuted suggestions the transition will be another economic blow for consumers during a cost-of-living crisis, saying the installation of more composite poles will cost an average residential customer less than $2 per year over the next five years.