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The forestry sector, policymakers and investors stand to benefit from ForestInsights – a collaborative initiative between Scion and Indufor aimed at creating New Zealand’s first comprehensive national dataset of planted forests. Source: Timberbiz Using artificial intelligence, satellite imagery and advanced processing algorithms, the ForestInsights team has built three core data options: forest boundaries, harvest history and stand age. Indufor ForestInsights Lead Andrew Holdaway says the initiative’s real value lies in its ability to capture data from small-scale grower woodlots to large commercial forests. “It gives us a clear view of where our plantations are located and their size, age and proximity to ports and wood processing facilities. A key feature is its spatial intelligence, which enables decision-makers and investors to assess regional wood supply dynamics and refine processing and investment strategies,” he said. Dr Michael Watt, Portfolio Leader for Scion’s New Value from a Digital Forest and Wood Sector, says there are also other benefits. “Our work is focused on developing tools and information that support forest growers and the wider sector. From a research perspective, having access to accurate, up-to-date mapping of all plantations – regardless of size – has allowed us to create more precise tools to support decisions. These include models to monitor the spread of forest pathogens or quantify forest areas lost due to events such as cyclones,” Dr Watt said. Users of the easy-to-access platform can purchase information by selecting existing forest polygons or drawing their area of interest directly on the interactive map and choosing from the three data options. “ForestInsights is continually updated,” Dr Watt said. “As a living dataset, it offers a wide range of benefits, from improving wood availability forecasts and informing future infrastructure planning to enhancing biosecurity readiness. It also provides information needed to support market initiatives for small forest growers and helps inform strategies that promote value-added processing.” The platform is now available for selected New Zealand regions, with expansion into Chile and Uruguay planned this year.

Conservation groups have slammed a proposal by US mining company Alcoa, that would see thousands of hectares of Western Australia’s unique jarrah forest destroyed for bauxite mining operations in Perth’s Darling Range water catchment zone. Source: Timberbiz The expansion plan details clearing of 7,500ha of threatened species habitat, the same size as 18 Kings Parks, around 3,500 Optus Stadium playing surfaces, or 60,000 Olympic sized swimming pools. Alcoa’s proposal has now been released for public comment by the WA Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) for the next 12 weeks. WA’s Water Corporation has serious concerns over what might happen should Alcoa’s bauxite operation contaminate Serpentine Dam. The Water Corporation had planned for a potential crisis, in which it would have to issue ‘boil water’ notices or deliver bottled water to thousands of affected residents. Alcoa’s current mining operations, which include clearing in drinking water Reservoir Protection Zones, to which public access is highly restricted, are also simultaneously under assessment by the EPA. This is the first time in 60 years of operation that the public is able to scrutinise Alcoa’s mining operations. Combined, the two aspects of Alcoa’s mining amount to the largest forest clearing plan ever before the EPA. Conservation Council of WA Nature Program Manager Rhiannon Hardwick said the EPA must consider the failure of rehabilitation efforts at Alcoa’s operations in the South West which have already cleared 28,000ha of the Northern Jarrah Forest. Alcoa is exempt from most of the WA’s environmental legislation and is governed under state agreements which allow it to mine about 7,000 square kilometres of forest. It has been stated that the company has not completed rehabilitation in any of the 280 sq km of forest it has cleared, according to the WA government. “Just this year, South32’s bauxite mine expansion was approved, including the clearing of 3,800ha of the Northern Jarrah Forest. Alcoa’s proposal to clear a further 7,500ha of forest in Perth’s water catchment zone will be environmentally devastating. “Climate change is already causing havoc, with hot and dry conditions wiping out forests and woodland habitat at a rate of knots, in-turn reducing seed production as a food source. “Alcoa’s operations at Pinjarra and Wagerup make Alcoa WA’s 5th highest greenhouse gas emitter, releasing a further 2.69million tonnes of GHGs by 2050, putting the Northern Jarrah Forest at serious risk of ecosystem collapse.”

FSC Australia and New Zealand (FSC ANZ) held its Annual General Meeting in late May, bringing together members to reflect on a year of meaningful progress, increasing momentum, and a shared dedication to responsible forest management. Source: Timberbiz The AGM highlighted significant developments, including the ongoing revision of the National Forest Stewardship Standard for Australia. Senior Policy Manager Stefan Jensen shared key updates, such as strengthened protections for Intact Forest Landscapes and Indigenous Cultural Landscapes, improved worker rights, and tighter regulations on the use of highly hazardous pesticides. A first draft of the revised Standard will soon be available for public consultation. Among other notable achievements over the past year: Revenue from the Promotional Licence Holder Program grew by 96% between 2023 and 2024, with continued growth expected in 2025 as more businesses join monthly. FSC Forest Week 2024 saw a 64% rise in participation from Australian and New Zealand brands, highlighting FSC certification’s key role in tackling climate and biodiversity challenges. The campaign encourages our FSC network of certificate holders, licence holders, and members to celebrate the importance of FSC certification and urges consumers to look for the label on forest-based products to support sustainable forestry. The launch of the world-first 2024 FSC Fashion Roundtable Series, held in Melbourne, Sydney, and Auckland, sold out rapidly. These events highlighted the vital link between forests and fashion, raising awareness about responsibly sourced forest-based materials in the textile industry. At the AGM, members appointed Simon Cook as Board Director representing the Economic Chamber. Mr Cook brings over 25 years of forestry sector experience across the UK, New Zealand, and Australia. Since 2014, he has been Sustainability Manager at Forico, where he has played a key role in shaping the company’s internationally recognised Natural Capital Reports and has actively contributed to its Reconciliation Action Plan, building meaningful partnerships with First Nations communities. Mr Cook also contributed to the Standards Development Group for the National Forest Stewardship Standard revision and now steps down from that role as he joins the Board. FSC extended its thanks to Jon Dee for his exceptional leadership as Chair of the FSC ANZ Board. Serving an unprecedented second term, Mr Dee brought clarity, purpose, and strong values to every discussion. His unwavering support for the team has made a lasting impact. Mr Dee will remain on the Board, continuing to share his energy and insight. In accordance with the Constitution, the next Chair will be appointed by the Board at its first meeting following this term. FSC also extended thanks to Carlie Porteous, who concluded her term as director within the Economic Chamber after serving since August 2020. Her insightful and dedicated contributions have been invaluable to FSC’s mission and governance. Members also approved a special resolution to extend the Board Chair’s term from one year to two, enhancing continuity and strategic focus in governance and aligning FSC ANZ with FSC International’s practices. Guest presenters at the meeting were Michelle Wong, Deputy Regional Director, FSC Asia Pacific, who provided an update on the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR); Tolita Davis-Angeles, Chair of the Indigenous Working Group, who shared progress and future plans; and Michael Schofield, Resource and Sustainability Manager at Midway Tasmania, who presented on FSC-certified native forest regrowth thinning.

OneFortyOne, a major forestry and sawmill business majority owned by the Future Fund and other big super funds, has taken over a near 15,000-hectare timber estate in southern Australia, securing a sawlog supply that it says will help build new Australian homes for decades to come. Source: The Australian Financial Review At an industry standard of around $10,000-$15,000 per hectare for such agricultural land, the transaction’s value, while undisclosed, could be worth as much as $300 million. It’s the largest such acquisition in the forestry sector by an Australian-owned firm in a decade and will expand OneFortyOne’s plantation resources by around 15%. The Limestone Plantation was acquired from fund manager New Forests and includes forestry estates in the Green Triangle region, which borders South Australia and Victoria, and in Western Australia. It comprises 14,800 hectares of blue gum and radiata pine within a total of 20,500 hectares of freehold land. “Getting the opportunity to buy new resources right near where there’s a big ecosystem of sawmills in the Green Triangle area – that ticks all the boxes for us,” Wendy Norris, OneFortyOne chief executive, told The Australian Financial Review. “The Green Triangle region supports South Australia, some of Victoria and parts of NSW – it supports the biggest population centres in this country for their housing construction needs.” The Green Triangle region in south-east South Australia and south-west Victoria is renowned for its timber plantations, which began in the region more than a century ago. Thousands of hectares are planted with softwood and hardwood plantations. A processing industry is well-established in the region, including pulp and paper manufacturing, sawn timber, wood panels and woodchip export. OneFortyOne was created in 2012 through the privatisation of a 105-year lease over 80,000 hectares of South Australia’s plantation assets. Its owners include the Future Fund, Aware Super and T-Corp. US pension and other offshore funds hold around 40% of the company. With a federal government target of 1.2 million new homes to be built by mid-2029 and interest rates finally falling, the drivers for the next housing construction boom are taking shape.  However, with an average softwood plantation cycle of around 30 years, Norris and her colleagues are already looking decades ahead. “The processing capacity is available right now; our intention is to support market needs out to the 2050s and beyond. So, the decision we’ve made today, and the excitement about this acquisition, is that it supports the industry in the long term.” Norris said. “We’re here, as an Australian company, to support the domestic timber processing that underpins housing construction well into the middle of this century. “We think [this acquisition] lines up beautifully with both federal and state government objectives to support domestic processing and build more houses in Australia.” OneFortyOne has timber plantations in both the Green Triangle and New Zealand, generating $584 million in revenue in the 2023-24 financial year. Close to 80% of its Australian production is sold into the local market, with its Jubilee sawmill at Mr Gambier selling 316,000 cubic metres of sawn timber in the last financial year. “The best and highest value you can get from trees is to use them as close to the source as possible,” Norris said. “Whenever there’s a market in Australia, it will be better for us to sell them domestically. Otherwise, we’re transporting a whole log to some other jurisdiction, and that doesn’t make sense. For the structural timber, its highest and best use is to stay in Australia.” Another key element of the Limestone acquisition is the potential to generate carbon credits from the new plantation, after South Australia retained rights to credits over the original plantation. “It’s a really important part of our economic decision before we replant. These types of credits generated are a high-quality, highly sought-after, subclass of carbon credit,” Norris said.

Three petitions signed by more than 66,000 Victorians opposing more national parks in Gippsland have been tabled in the state’s Legislative Council. The Nationals Member for Eastern Victoria, Melina Bath, tabled the first petition of 40,208 signatures. Source: Philip Hopkins, The Latrobe Valley Express The Liberal Member for Northern Victoria, Wendy Lovell, said 13,969 Victorians had also signed a petition that was tabled by Wayne Farnham, the Member for Narracan. “I have a petition that is still live that has 11,767 signatures on it at the moment. So that is over 66,000 Victorians – 66,044 Victorians – who have signed petitions saying they do not want new national parks in Victoria,” she said. Ms Bath, who is the Shadow Minister for Public Land Management, said the historic petition sent a clear message to the Allan government: Victorians deserve public access to public land. “Labor must preserve the status quo, preserve the current land tenure and not create any new national parks. What we want to see, what these 40,000 Victorians want to see, is our cherished national parks and our loved state forests and reserves open for public access,” she said. “Responsible for public land management, the Allan government is a poor neighbour, and we know that from our bushfires and an inept public land manager. Visit any of our national parks, visit any of our state forests, and you will see overgrown tracks and you will see decaying infrastructure – if it is still there. A cash-strapped government is cutting frontline boots on the ground and neglecting forests, which leads to poorer environmental outcomes.” Ms Bath said this was a perverse outcome. “There are insufficient field staff, there are insufficient rangers and there are a proliferation of pests and weeds and there is an ever-increasing threat of out-of-control bushfire,” she said. “Coupled with the loss of our experienced timber workers and the bungled and botched transition, our regional communities are more and more at risk.” Ms Bath said Parks Victoria had had $95 million gutted from its budget and a halving of its core services. “Locking up more of our state forests as national parks serves no-one, and restricting Victorians from our traditional pursuits, such as free and dispersed camping, dirt and trail bike riding, horse-riding, hunting, four-wheel driving, prospecting and fossicking, does not guarantee any better conservation of vulnerable species,” she said. The country had evolved by First Nations people managing the land in the landscape. The Labor Member for Eastern Victoria, Tom McIntosh, criticised the “mistruths” of the Liberals and the National Party campaign. “There are two separate issues at hand, and the two have been conflated. There is the west of the state and there is Gippsland. The Nationals know the government has no intention to create national parks in Gippsland, but they have no interest in the truth,” he said. “The Great Outdoors Taskforce is talking about how we grow regional Victoria, get better visitor experiences and more tourism and economic activity. In the west, in all three new national parks you will be able to go camping, fishing, hiking, four-wheel driving, trail bike riding and mountain bike riding. In all three national parks you will be able to go horse-riding, dog walking and undertake dispersed camping in specific areas outlined by the land manager. And in the new Wombat-Lerderderg National Park you will be able to undertake seasonal deer hunting in the areas that were previously state forest,” he said. “We have found the right balance here to protect what needs to be protected, while keeping the land open and accessible for the activities that Victorians love. It is far from being locked up.” Mr McIntosh said the disinformation campaign by the Liberal and National parties was cheap. “The future use of public land should be debated and discussed by the community, but it should only be done with all the facts at hand,” he said so that all could work together to get good environmental and economic outcomes. The Greens Member for Southern Metropolitan, Katherine Copsey, said Victorians love native forests, so it was no surprise that Victorians overwhelmingly want more national parks. “Polling by RedBridge last October found a whopping 80 per cent of Victorians want more national parks. That is four in five Victorians who want more of these kinds of protection – an incredible level of popularity,” she said. The member for Eastern Victoria, Jeff Bourman from the Shooters Fishers Farmers Party, said the public response to the issue clearly indicated how Victorians outside the ‘quinoa curtain’ feel about public land access. “Victoria is the envy of the nation when it comes to access for hunters. Few places in the world enjoy the access that we do and want to keep,” he said. “Hunting contributes $335 million to the Victorian economy and underpins over 3000 jobs. Victorian deer hunters take an estimated 140,000 deer a year, most of them on public land, and hunters tend to eat what we hunt too. “This petition is really about the Greens proposal to lock up the Victorian Central Highlands into a massive new national park. Greens-aligned groups have been pushing for this since before I came into this place 11 years ago. The driving motivation used to be the end of native timber harvesting… that industry has effectively been killed off. “As I warned the government at the time, giving these extremists what they want was never going to appease them; it was only ever going to embolden them. So having got what they wanted, why are they still trying to lock up this public land? Who are they trying to protect this land from? The only answer I can see is that they are trying to protect it from us, from people who they do not agree with and who they – frankly – look down their noses at.” Ms Bath said she appreciated Ms Copsey’s love of the forests and national parks. “What she failed to admit or understand in terms […]