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The New Zealand Interpine team is collecting data for the country’s national plantated forest inventory for NZ’s greenhouse gas emissions inventory. This being part of the Land Use and Carbon Analysis System (LUCAS) which is by the Ministry for the Environment (MfE). Source: Timberbiz Interpine maintains a suite of software systems for the LUCAS project including the data warehouse, data collection field software, and calculation and reporting systems for the project. Interpine’s involvement in the LUCAS project dates back as far as 2004, now 20 years on the company is proud to be a key supplier for the project. The LUCAS system is responsible for tracking the changes in New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions and removals from vegetation and soils under a variety of land uses such as from forests, crops and pasture. This is reported annually in New Zealand’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory. The inventory data are also used in other environmental reports, and in providing estimates for a variety of uses including future greenhouse gas emissions, trends in land-use change and biodiversity. The LUCAS planted forest inventory began in 2007, and the data are used to meet domestic and international reporting obligations under the Kyoto Protocol currently and under the Paris Agreement in the future. The data are also used by the Forest Growers Levy Trust and for other industry good forest research purposes. LUCAS uses a national grid-based network of permanent plots to provide unbiased estimates of carbon stored in planted forests. Sample points are located on a four kilometre grid across the country. A sample point is deemed to be part of the permanent plot network if any part of the plot falls within an area of planted forest, this can include both temporarily and permanently unstocked areas. There are 130-150 sites selected for measurement each year and the plots are re-measured over a five-yearly rotation.

The shortage of housing in Victoria will be addressed by the State Government which believes another 2.2 million homes will need to be built over the next 25 years. Source: Timberbiz This will include an increase in townhouse builds, the release of more land under a 10-year Greenfields Plan, an overhaul of the planning system which include the ability for developers to bypass local council and VCAT restrictions and reducing the financial burden. Jeroen Weimar, Deputy Secretary of Housing Implementation, Department of Premier and Cabinet, told this week’s Timber Construct 2024 conference in Melbourne the State Government recognized there was some financial levers “we’ve got to pull up as well”. “I’m sure the Treasurer and Premier will talk about that in the months to come,” Mr Weimar said. Mr Weimar, who was Victoria’s COVID-19 response commander, was appointed to oversee the Victorian government’s housing policies in February this year. “I think government has an opportunity to do much more, particularly around land, around planning and around funding,” he told the conference. “And what the government asked me to do six months ago; come in, kick some tires around, make sure we’re actually doing the right things, talk to industry and engage in industry, and make sure we’re lining things up in the right way. “So that’s why I’m here. I’m here to try and get things moving and to work with you in partnership to do so.” Mr Weimar was introduced at the conference by Frame and Truss Manufacturers Association CEO Kersten Gentle who told a session on the housing shortfall that if government wants faster, more affordable housing, firstly they need to streamline their policies and look at the taxes charged to the industry. “If Government’s wants to bring down costs they need to streamline the planning process and look at government taxes, as it’s estimated that up to 40% of the cost to build a house is government taxes,” she said. “Simple steps such as changing townhouses from Class 2 to Class 1 could save up to $20k and ensure faster delivery.” Mr Weimar conceded that given the challenges facing the building industry “it’s been a really hard time”. “But what I’d like to talk about this morning is that whilst we might be feel like we’re sometimes in the gutter, I think we are looking at the stars. “I think there are opportunities and reasons for us to be optimistic about the months, years and decades ahead,” he said. “We need to start working into our townhouse market. “We need some looking at our mid-rise apartment particularly that four to 10-story market in around a number of locations.” Mr Weimar said that the Government would, in the coming months, published its 10-year Greenfield Plan. “We know the planning system is slow and cumbersome, and we know it’s uncertain,” he said. “So, two things we’ve done; one is that any developer looking to develop a housing project of over $50 million gross value can come straight to the Minister. “We’ll go through an accelerated planning pathway that takes out local council, the VCAT and all the other dramas that developers have to go through. “But what we’re also looking at is what we know about activity centres.” Mr Weimar said that there were 10 locations across Melbourne at the moment, including Frankston and Camberwell, where the government believed it had capacity to significantly uplift zone controls to encourage four story development, six story development, and eight story development. “We’re going to go out to consultation in a couple of weeks. They’ll be done by the end of this year, which will ensure that people who own land in that space can now start to significantly increase the value of that land by going further up than they could before, knowing they won’t get stopped by VCAT,” he said. “They won’t get stopped by local council concerns.” “So, our job in a planning space is basically faster, clearer and simpler. We’ll put out a plan for Victoria that says, here’s a bunch of homes needed to get built, and here are the changes the planning system that will make that happen. “And we will need to deal with our public housing towers, 44 of them around Melbourne. “We’ve committed to replacing them all within the next 25 years. “So, we really think it’s time to get on and rebuild those towers,” Mr Weimar said “Again, a huge opportunity. Not only will that be probably a doubling of the total housing capacity in those precincts, but also very different types of built form coming forward. And finally, a lot of work around the rental space and around building reform space. “We recognize if we’re going to support the timber industry, if we’re going to support the construction industry, we also need to make sure that our building codes actually make sense, that our building regulator is up to scratch, and we had a few dramas there. “But I think it’s now in better hands, and we’ve got to make sure that we structure the domestic building contracts in a way that supports the right housing to get built.”  

The final steps towards the completion of the $2.346 million upgrade of the Green Triangle’s fire tower network are in progress, with construction underway on a new tower for Penola North. Source: Timberbiz The new tower, being constructed in collaboration with the Green Triangle Fire Alliance and OneFortyOne Plantations, is part of the State Government’s election commitment to provide a landscape level fire detection program. Local South East company Whitty Engineering has been engaged to construct the fire tower. The new Penola North tower follows upgrade works and repairs at Comaum, Mount Burr, Mount Edward, Furner, and Mount Benson. Installation of the tower is expected to be finalised later this year. As part of the upgrade program, a new AI powered bushfire detection and monitoring system has been installed in the Green Triangle with detection cameras at Comaum, Mount Benson, The Bluff, Furner, Mount Burr, Carpenter Rocks and Lucindale South. The system came into operation in the Green Triangle during the 2023-24 fire danger season. It is Australia’s first fully integrated bushfire detection platform utilising satellite technology and ultra-HD 360-degree panoramic cameras, aimed at improving the early detection of fires. The completion of the works program will enhance a landscape level fire detection system, ensuring ongoing protection of the Green Triangle’s forestry assets and communities. The new fire tower at Penola North will be located at Tower Road and is set to be installed for the upcoming bushfire season this year in the Lower South East.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, 20 August marks National Forestry Day, with this year’s theme Celebrating Nature’s Carbon Store. For Forest Industries Federation WA Chief Executive Officer Adele Farina, this year’s National Forestry Day theme could not be more apt. Source: Timberbiz “Choosing timber products helps to fight climate change and that is a rather special position we as an industry find ourselves in,” Ms Farina said. “The trees we plant absorb carbon dioxide and store it as carbon, which is locked up in that timber for its life span. We harvest those trees to supply timber products and then replant more seedlings, so the cycle begins again. “The word sustainable gets thrown around a lot these days, but we can proudly use that term to describe our industry.” As well as essential products and environmental benefits, Ms Farina said WA’s forest industries also provide significant employment, underpinning regional communities and creating renewable and sustainable products. WA’s plantation sector, which consists of hardwood and softwood varieties, contributes more than 1.18 billion dollars of economic activity. Plantation timber is used to make the timber frames for homes, engineered wood products used to build new multi-storey residential and commercial buildings, wood-based panels for kitchens, pallets, and wood fibre used to manufacture paper, packaging and bioproducts, replacing single use plastics. In addition, residues go into making potting mix, mulches, composts and landscaped products for gardens.

WA’s Forest Products Commission (FPC) manages approximately 70,000 hectares of softwood plantations in the South West of Western Australia on behalf of the State Government. The plantation estate supports a particle board plant, sawmill, and laminated veneer lumber (LVL) plant. Source: Timberbiz This year, the FPC has prepared sites to establish more than 3,000 hectares of new plantations as part of the State’s Softwood Plantation Investment Program, as well as to replant existing plantations following harvesting. “The planting season will end in coming weeks, and the FPC’s crews are on track to complete the targeted volume of 5 million seedlings going into the ground,” FPC Director of Operations John Tredinnick said. “Thanks to the efforts of nursery staff, as well as other FPC teams and supporting contractors, these seedlings will grow to be the homes of the future and capture carbon to assist in mitigating climate change”. The new FPC plantations are part of a $350 million investment to ensure a stable supply of timber for the WA’s construction industry and increase carbon sequestration opportunities as part of the State’s response to climate change. The new investment and increasing planting targets have required the FPC Nursery and Seed Centre to scale up the production of seedlings, so they could propagate and dispatch over five million seedlings to 25 FPC plantations across the South West this year. “The centre produces superior seeds and seedlings for the FPC’s plantation estate establishment and refill program, with year-round operations to ensure seedlings are available to meet the annual planting requirement,” FPC Nursery and Seed Centre Coordinator Kristine Mayer said. “The best possible seed stock is available from the FPC’s Pinus radiata breeding program, which builds on over 50 years of scientific research in WA, and through the FPC’s membership of Tree Breeding Australia. “It’s great to be involved with getting all these pine seedlings packed and out to new plantations, especially as I know they’re so important for growing timber for new homes. “They’re so small now, but it’s exciting to think what they will grow into one day in the future.” During peak work periods, casual workers bolster the permanent nursery workforce to undertake sowing or packing activities. The nursery has a fully containerised production system to support the workers in moving and packing the significant number of seedlings prepared for planting. With late rains and reliance on weather conditions for optimal planting, the window for planting this year is tight, requiring maximum efficiency and speed at every stage to ensure the seedlings are in the ground before the weather conditions impact seedling survival rates. Due to increasing land acquisition and planting targets, the nursery team plays a crucial role in ensuring that the required seedlings are ready during the narrow planting season. Over the past two months, the nursery team has loaded 27 semi-trailers with about 3.25 million seedlings bound for the FPC’s plantations.