Forest Products Industry

Independent Member for Wagga Wagga Dr Joe McGirr has thrown his support behind a Softwoods Working Group (SWG) push for major investment in roads and other infrastructure supporting the Southwest Slopes timber industry. Source: Tumut & Adelong Times Dr McGirr has written to the NSW ministers for Natural Resources and Regional Transport backing SWG’s five-point roadmap ahead of the 2027 state election. At the centre of the plan is a call for an immediate $18 million investment in regional road upgrades, including works on Batlow Road, Bombowlee Creek Road and Wagga-Tumbarumba Road. SWG executive officer Carlie Porteous said road funding was one of the group’s most pressing priorities, with the region moving up to 5.7 million tonnes of product each year. “In order to do this safely and more efficiently, we would encourage the NSW government and candidates to the upcoming election to look at the need for better regional road funding,” Ms Porteous said. She said SWG also wanted consideration given to a Regional Local Government preparedness program aimed at helping smaller McGirr goes to bat for forestry investment push regional councils access funding for critical infrastructure upgrades. The $18 million package includes proposed upgrades to Blue Cut Bridge, Jacksons Bridge and Glenroy Bridge, which SWG says are too narrow and have limited visibility on approach. “There are a number of bridges that we have had independently assessed for safety and volume of traffic and are considered as ‘urgent’,” Ms Porteous said. “We have real concerns about the safety of all users of these bridges.” The SWG roadmap also proposes overtaking lanes on sections of Batlow Road and other road improvements aimed at increasing safety and freight efficiency. Dr McGirr said the scale of the timber industry made the requested investment important to the region’s economic future. “These numbers illustrate the massive importance of the industry to our region and demonstrate why the SWG’s relatively modest requests are essential to our social and economic future,” he said. The SWG says the South West Slopes softwood plantation and timber processing sector supports more than 5500 regional jobs and contributes almost $2.3 billion annually to the regional economy. Dr McGirr has also backed the group’s proposal for funding to help smaller councils make infrastructure projects “shovel ready”, as well as the establishment of a Strategic Plantation Economic Zone. The proposed zone would identify suitable areas for plantation development and coordinate planning, infrastructure, regulation and government investment in areas including roads, bushfire risk and weed management. He said the NSW government’s draft Strategic Integrated Regional Transport Plan had also acknowledged concerns about Blue Cut Bridge, which carries about 500,000 tonnes of timber freight each year. “The inclusion of the bridge in the SRITP provides an important framework to advocate for improvements not only to the bridge itself but also to the entire transport infrastructure that supports our softwoods supply chain,” Dr McGirr said. Ms Porteous said SWG planned to take its roadmap to all sides of politics and as many candidates as possible before next year’s election. “The SWG values its ongoing relationship with the NSW government and will happily work closely with the next NSW government on practical and solutions-based outcomes,” she said. Dr McGirr said he would continue pressing the current government for action rather than waiting for the March election. “The SWG’s plan is aimed largely at new governments following the election next March, but I think it’s important to continually remind the current government of the need for this investment and I look forward to further advancing the case in parliamentary sittings later this year,” he said.

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