Feed aggregator

Timber Queensland, representing the forest and timber industry has congratulated David Crisafulli and the incoming LNP Government on their election victory and recent announcement of the new Ministry. Source: Timberbiz “We have previously briefed LNP Shadow Ministers on the issues and opportunities in the State’s $4 billion forest and timber industry which contributes essential timber building materials for the housing and construction sector,” Timber Queensland CEO Mick Stephens said. “We particularly congratulate Tony Perrett as the Minister for Primary Industries with portfolio responsibility for forestry. As the member for Gympie, Tony has a sound grasp of the sector. “We also thank and acknowledge the contribution of former ALP member for Maryborough, Bruce Saunders, who championed the timber industry as a local member and as co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of the Queensland Forest and Timber Industry,” he said. As part of its ‘breaking down the barriers to building’ policy, the LNP committed to delivering a landmark Queensland Timber Action Plan to ensure the State has access to the timber required to build one million homes over the next 20 years. “We are therefore keen to work with the Government on boosting timber supply chains to better meet these building needs.”

The Victorian Government’s so-called transition of native forest harvesting to plantation hardwood timber has again been shown to be a disingenuous fabrication, according to East Gippsland Nationals’ MP, Tim Bull. Source: Timberbiz Mr Bull said Labor had spruiked in a media release it had planted one million seedlings in Gippsland, providing no detailed information regarding the species of seedlings used. “I then lodged questions which were recently responded to and confirmed all one million plantings were pine (softwood), not one was hardwood,” Mr Bull said. “The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has clearly stated building with wood is the biggest climate change mitigation measure we can take and goes on to say we should be using a balance of plantation and sustainably harvested native forest. “Not only has Labor removed native timber harvesting in contradiction to this, it is not looking to replace the resource,” he said. “It again begs the question Labor has never been able to answer – where is our hardwood supply going to come from both in the short term and long term? “The height of hypocrisy is, that this government ended the native hardwood industry, yet is ironically putting out media releases spruiking that it is building Victorian infrastructure with hardwood sourced from the Top End of Australia. “The Allan Labor Government has committed to building a series of new piers around Port Phillip, using Darwin Stringybark. “Labor never planned a transition to hardwood plantation, it was simply more weasel words from the government and yet another case of their dishonesty coming back to haunt them,” said Mr Bull.

Young women in regional NSW are exploring future careers in forest firefighting at fire camps across the state. The ‘Fire Up Girls’ Fire and Resilience Program is run by not-for-profit organisation Girls On Fire delivering fire and disaster management training to women aged 15 to 19 years. Source: Timberbiz Fire camps have been staged in Tenterfield, Casino, Lismore and Moree with camps to follow in Dubbo, Eden, Cobargo, Jindabyne and Tumut. Forestry Corporation is proud to partner with Girls on Fire in building self-confidence and resilience in young women through fire training. Founded by Fire and Rescue NSW Fire Captain Bronnie Mackintosh, Girls on Fire aims to increase diversity and build resilience within emergency services. “By giving young women these real-world skills today, we are preparing them to be tomorrow’s emergency services personnel and community leaders,” Ms Mackintosh said. “With a new bushfire season ahead, it’s never been more important for us to be ready, and it’s vital we equip the next generation to lead their communities. “These camps help young women discover just how capable they are. By challenging themselves with fire and emergency scenarios, they walk away with the confidence to tackle anything.” Statistics show women make up 5% to 7% of Australia’s firefighting workforce. Forestry Corporation’s Amba Addinsall said the organisation, as one of the state’s four firefighting agencies, is proud of its gender diversity on the fire lines. “This summer Forestry Corporation will have 519 firefighters rostered on to respond to the state’s forest fires and proudly around 20% of our firefighting workforce are women,” Ms Addinsall said. Forestry Corporation’s Tamara Reinhard and Renee Lawlor said the day camps at Caino and Lismore were hugely successful. “Volunteering for the day camps was an incredibly rewarding experience. It was so inspiring to see the girls grow in confidence throughout the day, form social connections and experience the camaraderie of working together in simulated emergency situations,” Ms Reinhard said. “Feedback from the girls was that the activities were fun, informative and exhilarating. They enjoyed using the live reel on the Cat 9 and the hands-on approach to the day.  If you get the chance to participate in these day camps, as a volunteer or a student, we highly recommend you sign up – it’s a great day out.” Forestry Corporation’s Kristen Coady said preparations are underway for the Dubbo fire camp on 7 November. “This will be the second time we’ve participated in the Dubbo camp. It’s a great initiative, and we’re looking forward to sharing our firefighting experience with a new group of young women. We want to send them home with some valuable skills and hopefully some enthusiasm for forest protection,” Ms Coady said. The Fire-Up Girls Fire and Resilience Program is free to participants and has received funding through a NSW Government Investing in Women grant. All young women are welcome to attend, with special encouragement for young women and teens from First Nations and culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Camps will be held in Dubbo on 7 November, Eden on 18 November, Cobargo on 19 November, Jindabyne on 21 November and Tumut on 27 November. For more information go to www.girlsonfire.com.au

The Victorian Forest Products Association (VFPA) has warned the outlook for the fire season in Victoria, particularly in western Victoria, is looking particularly dire, with record low rainfall and low soil moisture readings creating ideal conditions for bushfires. Source: Timberbiz “All the Bureau of Meteorology’s predictors in the western part of Victoria are showing a drier than usual lead up to the fire season, with soil moisture low, and a high fuel load ringing alarm bells for the next few months,” said Andrew White, CEO of the VFPA. “Record low rainfall in the western part of Victoria combined with dry conditions in winter, means we have a ‘green drought’ in some areas, where the risk to our plantations and Victoria’s vital timber assets used to build new homes and create export income for local communities is extremely high. “Our terrestrial AI-powered fire cameras in the western part of the state help with early detection, but there is still ‘blind spots’ where we don’t have funding to put cameras in place. “Our members are particularly worried about the potential impact on these vital community assets, as plantations are vital supply lines for timber going into Victorian homes and exported plantation products create employment for local staff and contractors. “The forestry industry has funded its own specialist brigades which have already been actively working with DEECA and the CFA to conduct prescribed burns and preparative activities that will help protect the local community, as well as these vital community assets.” VFPA is the peak industry body representing the forest products value chain in Victoria, from those producing our sustainable wood to those processing wood fibre into an extensive range of value-added products used by Victorians every day.  Victoria is the home of plantation forestry, with more timber plantations than any other state. “Last season, the AI-powered fire cameras operated by the Green Triangle Fire Alliance detected 40 unplanned fires- 21 on private land, 11 on public, and 8 in plantations.” “The cameras were the first point of detection in various scenarios, detecting fire in some cases up to six minutes before another source,” Mr White said.