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Contractors called on to reduce the bushfire risk in Victorian forests are contemplating selling expensive heavy machinery presently sitting idle due to no work. Source: The Weekly Times www.weeklytimesnow.com.au The Victorian government has confirmed a reduction in work for the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action panel of contractors was a “temporary variation” and promised work would return later in the financial year. But the lack of work has already led to two Gippsland contractors shedding staff with the fate of their machinery including bulldozers used to maintain forest fire access roads and other specialist works, the next consideration. “We’re sitting here twiddling our thumbs wanting work,” said one contractor who would only comment to The Weekly Times on the basis of anonymity. “We’ve put off all our employees. “It doesn’t leave us with many options other than to start selling machines. “What it has done is create a lot of uncertainty. “If there is a big fire, who do I go and employ?” East Gippsland MP Tim Bull raised the lack of work with Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos and recently received a response confirming the “temporary variation”. The type and volume of work fluctuates based on various factors, including funding allocated for government priorities or initiatives; seasonal conditions and risks; and statutory planning and approval processes, Mr Dimopoulos said. It coincides with employment of harvest and haulage contractors doing similar work following the demise of the native timber industry. Another contractor said, “the pie hasn’t got any bigger, in fact it’s only got smaller”. “Good luck to the logging guys because they should never have been kicked out of the bush in the first place,” he said. “But what we were doing previously was a significant part of our income. “We’ve also had to let staff go. “The consequence of all this is when the proverbial hits the fan, they’re not going to have the experienced operators or knowledge around. “We’ve got machines grazing and not doing much at the moment. “We just hope we can ride things out.” Mr Bull said it was a disgrace the Victorian government had starved work from family-run businesses, after being promised similar volumes as previous years. “These contractors are small business operators who have to maintain very expensive equipment and be on standby for when they are called to help out in the event of a bushfire,” he said. “Having the tap turned off on all work without notice hits them hard. “The region simply can’t sustain any further loss of this skilled workforce. “Especially in the wake of the native timber industry shutdown.”

As the construction industry shifts to address its contribution to climate change, timber framing offers one of the lowest carbon footprints, sequestering carbon and reducing environmental impact throughout its lifecycle. Source: Timberbiz The construction industry plays a central role in tackling climate change and preserving the natural environment. Based on data published in the National inventory by economic sector 2019, the construction industry in Australia accounted for about 2% of direct emissions as a sector in 2019. This was an increase from 1.4% in 2010 to 1.9% in 2019. As the construction industry advances, innovations are consistently reducing the environmental impact of energy-intensive material production. However, when it comes to sustainability, nothing compares to the benefits of building with renewable, natural timber framing. Of the global CO₂ emissions attributed to the construction sector, 28% result from energy use during a building’s operation (operational carbon) and 11% from the building materials and the processes involved in its construction (embodied carbon). In Australia, timber framing has one of the lowest embodied carbon footprints among construction materials, as sustainably sourced timber sequesters carbon during its growth, offsetting much of the emissions from harvesting, processing, and transportation. New technology and innovations across forestry and sawmill operations are working to increase yields from every log and decrease waste. After installation, timber framing acts as a natural insulator. Tiny air pockets in timber framing add resistance to heat flow throughout a home, and with good design, timber-framed buildings can better regulate their internal temperature and reduce household energy use when it comes to heating and cooling. It’s not just timber framing’s low embodied energy that makes it the go-to for ESG-conscious builders, fabricators, architects, engineers, and homeowners, but its carbon storage properties too. Both embodied energy and stored carbon make the timber in framing carbon positive, which means its production process from sapling to installation, removes more carbon than it emits. Timber framing is a natural way to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Trees grow for around 30 years before they are harvested, allowing them to capture large amounts of CO₂. Approximately half the dry weight of timber framing is stored carbon, which is locked up and stored for the life of your timber frame. According to the latest State of the Forests Report in Australia, as of 2021, the total stock of carbon in Australia’s forests was approximately 19,417 million tonnes. This figure represents a 0.05% increase since 2016. When wood is transformed into timber products, like timber framing, it continues to store carbon for its life. The average lifespan of a timber-framed home in Australia, when constructed and maintained appropriately, is often over 100 years. Timber framing’s durability has been demonstrated by numerous historical homes that remain structurally sound today. Modern timber frames, especially when treated to resist termites and decay, offer reliable longevity comparable to other construction materials when maintained in line with building standards. Timber framing not only acts as a carbon store throughout its lifespan but also offers environmental advantages at the end of its lifecycle. Whether repurposed, recycled, or even sent to landfill, timber can continue to minimise environmental impact, further enhancing its sustainability credentials by storing carbon. Timber framing can often be dismantled and reused in various ways, ensuring its environmental benefits extend beyond its original use. Timber from deconstructed frames may be repurposed into new wood products, such as furniture or construction materials, and even processed into wood chips for additional applications. While untreated and unpainted timber is easier to recycle, treated wood can also be managed responsibly under specific recycling protocols to minimise environmental hazards. These practices help retain the carbon stored in the wood. According to research presented by Forest & Wood Products Australia, wood products in Australian landfills act as a long-term carbon reservoir. Scientific studies, including excavations and laboratory experiments, have found that carbon loss from timber in landfills is minimal, only about 1.4% over extended periods. The remainder of the carbon is effectively stored indefinitely. This dynamic, positions wood products disposed of in landfills as a key component of Australia’s carbon storage strategy, contributing to a cumulative reservoir of approximately 51.5 million tonnes of carbon. Learn more in WoodSolutions design guide on The Role of Wood Products In Zero Carbon Buildings at https://www.woodsolutions.com.au/publications/role-wood-products-zero-carbon-buildings

The Commonwealth Bank has become the first major bank to make financing easier for prefabricated houses. The bank has agreed to sponsor the development of a standard form contract for the modern methods of construction (MMC) sector to help support home buyers and manufacturers. Source: Timberbiz Standard-form contracts for traditional on-site construction are widely available and accepted by banks, allowing home buyers to enter into an agreement and commence dwelling construction on-site with bank finance. However, this streamlined process does not currently exist for the prefabricated construction industry where homes are built off-site. At the Treasurer’s Investor Roundtable in November, banks and other investors committed to addressing barriers to financing modern methods of construction, in particular prefabricated housing. “Prefabricated construction is fast, efficient and can play a meaningful role in addressing Australia’s housing shortage. To date however, everything about construction has been created with traditional, onsite work in mind, and we need to rapidly reimagine how we support this industry to unlock scale and deliver more quality and sustainable homes to market sooner,” said Mike Vacy-Lyle, Group Executive Business Bank at CBA. “CBA has a track record of supporting innovative construction companies, including our work with Modscape since 2017, to bring cutting-edge home-building technology to Australia. Now, we’re proudly joining prefabAUS to work closely with and support local manufacturers. Overseas in countries like Sweden, 80 per cent of houses are being factory built, and we would expect to see Australia’s prefabricated construction sector expand rapidly,” he said. The bank also plans to introduce policy changes later this quarter, to help improve access to finance for those Australians who are considering purchasing a prefabricated home. Under the new policy, which is a first among the major banks, Commonwealth Bank will enable customers to access progress payments prior to the property being affixed to land, up to 60% of the total contract price, rather than the customer having to fund up to 90% of the upfront costs, which has previously been the case. Customers who use an accredited CommBank prefab manufacturer to construct their property will be able to access progress payments up to 80% of the total contract price. “While prefabricated homes are a great housing option for many Australians, they have been historically challenging to finance, with customers needing to cover much of the upfront costs,” said Michael Baumann, Executive General Manager Home Buying at CBA. “We want to alleviate some of the financial barriers associated with prefabricated properties. We believe these upcoming changes will help to achieve just that, giving more Australians the chance to look at this way of building a home, which could, in turn, help deliver more supply to market faster.” Damien Crough, founding director of Australia’s peak body for the off-site construction industry, said working with CBA was significant in overcoming barriers facing the prefabricated housing sector and solidifying its role in addressing Australia’s housing shortage. “With support from CBA, prefabAUS will tackle some of the challenges facing our members and their clients. We are excited to unlock the potential of off-site construction to address one of the nation’s most critical challenges—providing access to high-quality housing at pace,” Mr Crough said. “Utilising prefabrication, a house constructed in a controlled factory environment is built in 10 to 12 weeks, compared to around 18-plus months through conventional building,” he added. Jan Gyrn, Chief Executive Officer of Modscape, a leading offsite manufacturing company in Australia, welcomed the collaboration between CBA and prefabAUS. “With support from the CBA, we’ve installed a new robotic line at our facility in Essendon Fields that is the first and most advanced of its type in the Southern Hemisphere,” he said. “It plays a crucial role in facilitating the delivery of large-scale residential projects such as the Affordable Housing Project in Cairns, which is the biggest modular social and affordable housing project in Australia and will see 1,008 volumetric timber modules delivered. “We’re able to complete eight modules a day, providing a great option for the rapid delivery of much needed homes for Australians,” Mr Gyrn said.  

The Greens’ continued opposition to Australia’s sustainable native forestry industries shows how inaccurate, regressive and outdated their arguments are in the political discourse. . Source: Timberbiz The science shows the enormous environmental and climate – not to mention critical economic benefits the sector provides for Australia, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA), Diana Hallam said AFPA was responding to a statement by the Greens that under their plan the NSW Government would be able to access $140.4 million of Commonwealth funding per year, for 20 years, contingent on an end to all native forest logging in the state. “Like a broken record and far from the progressive force they claim to be, the Greens have announced they’re taking a position to end native forestry to the Federal Election,” Ms Hallam said. “Make no mistake, this stance aims to destroy the economic livelihoods of rural communities, increase bushfire risks across the country, hamper our ability to sequester carbon to fight climate change, offshore more jobs and force Australia to rely on more imported native hardwood for essential products – often from countries that don’t adhere to our world leading forestry management practices. The Greens are environmentally irresponsible.” The United Nations’ own science from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) declares – “A sustainable forest management strategy aimed at maintaining or increasing forest carbon stocks, while producing an annual sustained yield of timber, fibre or energy from the forest, will generate the largest sustained mitigation benefit.” – IPCC 4th Assessment. Scientific studies demonstrate that sustainable timber harvesting results in reduced wildfire risk, and contrary to what the Greens like to claim – that it has minimal impact on koala populations, which are at far greater risk from development, traffic, feral animals and other pests and diseases like chlamydia. “It’s really disappointing that the Greens keep trashing this wonderful industry to drive clickbait donations from supporters they continually mislead and deceive. “They really should ask themselves how they’ll deal with decimated local communities and economies, dodgy imports and the hugely increased fire risks locked up forests create – if they succeed,” Ms Hallam said. “Thankfully, both the Albanese Government, the Coalition and a number of other minor parties and independents are aware of the science and recognise the critical importance of native forestry to our nation. “They recognise that we are world leaders in sustainable forestry management which is why they back a sector that provides the lifeblood in many parts of regional Australia. This Federal Election – we need more science informing the political debate, not outdated and irrelevant spin from the Greens.”