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A new artificial intelligence (AI) tool developed by researchers at the University of Canterbury (UC) is revealing where trees are being lost across Christchurch, including individual residential properties, which is opening the door to healthier, safer and cooler neighbourhoods. Source: Timberbiz The study, led by UC PhD candidate David Pedley, a recipient of the Geospatial Research Institute (GRI) PhD Scholarship, and Professor Justin Morgenroth from UC’s School of Forestry, uses a combination of aerial imagery, LiDAR data and deep learning to detect and measure changes in urban tree canopy over time. The research, Detecting and measuring fine-scale urban tree canopy loss with deep learning and remote sensing, was published in the ISPRS Open Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. “Urban trees play a critical role in making cities more liveable,” Mr Pedley said. “They help cool neighbourhoods, improve air quality and support wellbeing, but until now, it’s been difficult to track exactly where and why we’re losing them.” Focusing on Christchurch, the research mapped tree canopy loss between 2016 and 2021 with a level of detail not previously possible. The results show that approximately 14.5 percent of the city’s urban tree canopy was lost over that period, with the majority occurring on residential land. “What’s new here is the level of precision we can achieve with the data. We can now identify tree loss at the scale of individual properties, which creates opportunities to better understand the drivers behind it and respond more effectively,” Mr Pedley said. Professor Morgenroth says the ability to pinpoint where canopy loss is occurring could support more targeted decision-making by councils, planners and communities. “If we want to maintain the benefits of urban trees, we need good data to inform our decisions. This kind of insight can help guide planning, policy and investment to protect and grow urban forests where they are needed most,” he said. Urban trees are increasingly recognised as critical infrastructure in cities, helping to reduce urban heat, manage stormwater and support biodiversity, as well as contributing to the local population’s mental health and overall quality of life. The researchers say their approach could be applied in cities around the world, using publicly available data to better understand urban tree dynamics and support more sustainable urban development. “This isn’t just about measuring loss, it’s about giving cities the tools to make better decisions for the future,” Mr Pedley said.

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Sorbent Paper has moved to shut down another paper machine at its Box Hill, Victoria site, wiping out around 60 more skilled manufacturing jobs and further reducing Australia’s capacity to make essential household paper products locally. Source: Timberbiz The Timber, Furnishing and Textiles Union (TFTU) said the decision is another major step in the dismantling of local manufacturing at the iconic Sorbent facility, with more production shifted offshore while the brand continues to trade on its Australian reputation. The union said Sorbent is owned by offshore interests linked to Asia Pulp & Paper, and the effect of the strategy is clear: use the value of a trusted Australian brand to grow consumer acceptability of imported product while cutting the local jobs, skills and manufacturing capacity that built that brand. TFTU Pulp & Paper Workers District Secretary Denise Campbell-Burns said the company was abandoning the workers and community that made Sorbent an Australian household name. “This is corporate vandalism,” Ms Campbell-Burns said. “These jobs are not just at risk — they are being wiped out. “This is skilled, secure manufacturing work that should still have a future in Australia. Instead, an offshore-owned company is cutting Australian jobs, shutting Australian machines and replacing local production with imported product. “That is the model we are up against: keep the Australian brand, keep the Australian customers, but get rid of the Australian workers.” The union said the latest closure follows years of contraction at the Box Hill site since it was acquired by APP in 2018, with each decision reducing jobs, skills, production capacity and Australia’s ability to make essential products locally. “This is not an isolated decision. It is a pattern,” Ms Campbell-Burns said. “This is how manufacturing capacity disappears. It happens machine by machine, shift by shift, job by job, until one day we realise we no longer make enough of the essentials we rely on. “Once these machines are gone, they are gone for good. So are the jobs, the skills and the capacity to make these products here.” The union said the damage goes beyond Box Hill, because this strategy actively undermines Australia’s remaining tissue and toilet paper manufacturers. “This strategy does not just threaten Australian manufacturers, it helps displace them,” Ms Campbell-Burns said. “It uses the reputation of an Australian-made brand to grow imported supply, take shelf space and undercut companies still making tissue and toilet paper here. “That rewards the wrong model. Companies investing in Australian workers, Australian mills and Australian supply chains should not be forced to compete against a strategy that trades on an Australian name while moving the work offshore.” Ms Campbell-Burns said Australia should not wait for another supply crisis before acting to defend local production. “COVID showed what happens when Australia becomes too reliant on overseas supply for essential products. Toilet paper was the obvious example. “Instead of learning that lesson, this company is doubling down on offshoring. “Our members are angry, and they have every right to be. They built this business. Now they are watching it being dismantled.” The union is calling on Sorbent’s owners to reverse the cuts, protect local jobs and commit to the future of Australian tissue and toilet paper manufacturing.

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Tasmania’s Business, Industries and Resource Minister Felix Ellis says the State Government is committed to the forestry industry ahead of changes to federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) laws. Source: Timberbiz The reforms remove the long-standing exemption for Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs). Starting July 1, 2027, forestry operations will require full EPBC assessment and must comply with upcoming National Environmental Standards. The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) says the new Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) laws, negotiated between the Federal Government and the Australian Greens, will not achieve improved environmental outcomes in Australia’s native forests but instead undermine the future of Australia’s world-class and sustainable native forest industry. The Mercury in Hobart reports that the Tasmanian government is being urged by the Wilderness Society, the Greens and independent MPs to halt the signing of new long-term native forest logging contracts ahead of the changes to federal environment laws and what they claim is a looming shortage of native saw log supply. But The Mercury reports that the government remains steadfastly committed to the forestry industry with Mr Ellis saying that the Federal Government said, “these changes will not end the industry, including in meetings held in Canberra last week”. “The Wilderness Society are barking up the wrong tree again,” Mr Ellis said. “Unlike the Victorian Labor State government, which spent $1.5 billion of taxpayer money to shut down regional jobs, here in Tasmania, we back in the native forestry sector. “We want to deliver certainty, and so, of course, we’re looking to sign long-term contracts, so that businesses can invest in the future of their people and their plants. “The federal government has told us that its environmental laws won’t end native forestry,” Mr Ellis said. “They need to, of course, guarantee that no forestry businesses in Tasmania will be worse off, and we’ll be holding them to account. “But it’s time to deliver the certainty that our forestry businesses need; timber for the future, jobs for the future, and investment for the future.”

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The Green Triangle’s fire detection camera network has again proven critical in protecting communities, plantations and landscapes, delivering rapid identification of unplanned fires and enabling swift suppression during a season marked by elevated fire risk. Source: Timberbiz Despite a dry, fuel-laden summer following green drought conditions, the Green Triangle Fire Alliance (GTFA) managed camera network detected 15 unplanned fires across the south-west of Victoria during the 2025/26 fire season. All were contained quickly, with early detection allowing firefighting resources to be deployed before fires could escalate. Most detections occurred on agricultural land (11), with two identified along roadsides and two in native vegetation, highlighting the cameras’ ability to monitor a broad and varied landscape in real time. GTFA General Manager Anthony Walsh said the network’s effectiveness relied on its ability to provide immediate, reliable intelligence to fire agencies and forest fire management teams. “The seven strategically located camera sites give us instant 360-degree visibility across the south-west landscape, often detecting smoke before a fire is reported from the ground,” Mr Walsh said. “That time advantage is critical, it allows crews to be dispatched earlier, when fires are smaller, easier to control, and far less likely to threaten plantations or communities.” GTFA Chair Andrew Matheson said the Dergholm fire, near Sandy Gate Track, in early February demonstrated the cameras’ operational value on a high fire risk day. “The Dergholm camera site provided the first point of detection, triggering immediate deployment to a fire burning close to both softwood and hardwood plantations,” Mr Matheson said. “Without that early detection, the outcome on a day like that could have been very different.” Victorian Forest Products Association CEO Andrew White said the cameras were a cornerstone of the region’s fire management approach, which includes sharing surveillance data with the CFA and Forest Fire Management Victoria, complementing traditional fire tower operators. “Early detection is one of the most important factors in keeping fires small, and the camera network gives the Green Triangle a decisive advantage,” Mr White said. “It allows crews to respond immediately, with accurate location and situational awareness, rather than losing valuable time confirming reports from the ground. It ensures the right appliances can be deployed rapidly.” While Victoria recorded 46 unplanned fires during the 2024/25 season, largely due to widespread lightning events, 40 were recorded in 2023/24, both largely on public land. These detections were reported up to six minutes before other sources. Mr White said whilst hundreds of alerts were received each season, the accuracy of detections continued to improve as the AI became more sophisticated from learnt surveillance data. “These results show what’s possible when you invest in technology that works,” Mr White said. “The cameras don’t replace people, they empower them, and that’s what has kept fires small and impacts low in the Green Triangle.” The GTFA Victorian fire camera network includes cameras at Dergholm, Lake Mundi, Digby, Dartmoor, Rennick, Nelson, and Hicks Hill near Macarthur. The network also extends cross the border in South Australia with cameras that were co funded between the GTFA and SA Government located at Mt Benson, Elad Road, The Bluff at Tantanoola, Furner, Mt Burr and Carpenters Rocks.

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The Federal Government has announced 16 new grants covering almost 9500 hectares of new softwood and hardwood plantations across Australia under the $73 million Support Plantation Establishment program. Source: Timberbiz The program is supporting the growth of almost 40,000 hectares of new hardwood and softwood plantations across Australia. The Federal Government says it will help meet growing demand for domestic timber including for the construction of new homes and support jobs in regional communities across Australia. The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Julie Collins said the Federal Government was committed to a bright future for Australia’s forestry industry which was why it was “delivering record investments”. “These latest grants will increase our sustainable timber supply and support industry, business and jobs in rural Australia,” she said. “This is helping build a Future Made in Australia – increasing our domestic timber supply to support our domestic manufacturing and value-adding capabilities.” The government says the fund will invest in the new equipment and facilities that are key to enabling industry modernisation and advanced processing. It will also invest in training for the forestry workforce, engineered and wood products innovation, and support housing and construction supply chains. “We appreciate the Government’s continued roll-out of this important program, which AFPA has strongly supported from the outset,” AFPA acting Chief Executive Officer Richard Hyett said. “The initiative has become a highly effective partnership between industry and government, delivering positive and tangible benefits for Australia’s forestry sector and the national economy. “Before the introduction of this program, plantations declined by 230,00 hectares in six years.  This program has been critical in reversing the decline in plantation investment that was occurring before it was introduced. It’s now supported nearly 40,000 hectares, and is helping to restore confidence and encouraging growth and much-needed investment in our sector,” he said. “Since launching in 2023, the initiative has successfully driven new plantation investment across Australia, supporting regional economies, local jobs, improving future fibre security and contributing to the Government’s climate and sovereign capability targets.  These sustainable plantations will also help support the long-term future of the construction industry.” Mr Hyett said it was encouraging to see almost $26 million in last week’s Federal Budget, as part of the final allocation of the SPEP. “Given the importance of this program, we have encouraged the Government to extend the SPEP as ongoing funding so timber plantation establishment and expansion can continue across Australia into the future,” he said. A full list of grant recipients through the Support Plantation Establishment program is available at www.agriculture.gov.au/agriculture-land/forestry/industries/support-plantation-establishment-program

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Tasmania’s forest and timber industry is calling for a stronger commitment to locally sourced timber and downstream manufacturing as the State prepares to deliver a major pipeline of housing and infrastructure projects. Source: Timberbiz The Tasmanian Forest Products Association (TFPA) said Tasmania had a major opportunity to build in a way that balances environmental responsibility with economic growth, regional jobs and long-term community benefit. TFPA Chief Executive Officer Nick Steel said Tasmania’s future should be built on balance, using renewable local materials, supporting sustainable industries and ensuring more value stays within Tasmania. “If Tasmania is serious about building more homes and major projects, we should be using more Tasmanian timber,” Mr Steel said. “It’s renewable, it stores carbon, it supports regional jobs and manufacturing, and it keeps more economic value here in our State rather than importing materials.” Mr Steel said local timber and downstream processing would play a critical role in helping Tasmania deliver future housing and major projects while reducing transport emissions and supporting sovereign manufacturing capability. “Every extra step of processing undertaken in Tasmania means more jobs, more investment and more opportunity staying here,” he said. “The story of forestry is not just what happens in the forest, it’s what happens afterwards in manufacturing plants, workshops, transport businesses and construction sites across Tasmania.” Mr Steel said the industry wanted to work collaboratively with Government on what it is calling a Tasmanian Timber Guarantee, a long-term commitment to greater certainty around project pipelines, procurement pathways and the role local timber can play in public construction and housing delivery. “Tasmania is talking about major housing programs, urban renewal and significant infrastructure investment, including projects like the Macquarie Point Stadium,” he said. “But right now there is not enough certainty around how local timber and local manufacturing capability fit within that pipeline.” “That certainty matters because businesses make investment decisions years ahead. Industry needs confidence to invest in advanced manufacturing capability, workforce growth and apprenticeships.” Neville Smith Forest Products (NSFP) CEO Andrew Walker said businesses like Neville Smith demonstrated the broader social and economic contribution of Tasmania’s timber industry. “When people walk through operations like this, they see advanced manufacturing, skilled jobs and Tasmanian products helping build homes and infrastructure,” Mr Walker said. “But they also see businesses investing in people and communities.” Mr Walker said NSFP worked closely with parts of the disability sector and vulnerable members of the community to help create meaningful employment pathways. “That’s something we’re incredibly proud of,” he said. “These industries are deeply connected to regional Tasmania and provide real opportunities for people who can sometimes struggle to access secure and meaningful work.” Mr Walker said rising fuel, freight and operating costs continued to place pressure on regional manufacturing businesses and reinforced the importance of strengthening local supply chains. “The opportunity is here for Tasmania to lead with renewable materials, lower-carbon construction and a stronger local manufacturing base,” he said.

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