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In a win for the trucking industry, the federal budget has kept the industry’s fuel tax credits despite a Productivity Commission plan to abolish the scheme. Source: Timberbiz Australian Trucking Association Chair Mark Parry thanked the Government for listening to the industry’s response to the Productivity Commission plan, which recommended phasing out fuel tax credits for on-road heavy vehicles over 10 years. “The ATA carried out a strong, evidence-based campaign to retain fuel tax credits, sup-ported by detailed modelling,” Mr Parry said. “I’d like to thank Treasurer Jim Chalmers, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Catherine King and Assistant Climate Change Minister Josh Wilson for considering the industry’s views,” he said. The fuel tax credits system reduces the effective fuel tax rate paid by trucking operators, so they pay based on the cost of heavy vehicles’ use of the roads. This is called the road user charge. The Government has temporarily reduced the road user charge to zero in response to the Iran war, but the charge is currently scheduled to go back to 32.4 cents per litre on 1 July. Mr Parry said the fuel tax credit system reduced the cost of freight for everyone in Australia, as well as our rural exporters. “Removing fuel tax credits would increase costs for industry and hard-pressed Australian households, who face continued cost of living pressures as the effect of the high fuel prices flows across the economy,” he said. “Removing fuel tax credits would also hit trucking businesses hard. They have already paid a 19% increase in fuel tax over the last three years, and the cost of diesel has increased dramatically because of the war. “Despite the industry’s success in arguing for support measures including the Fair Work Commission’s fuel cost recovery order, it will take many businesses a long time to recover. “The Government’s immediate focus should now be on considering whether to extend the temporary reduction in the road user charge for another three months,” he said. Mr Parry said the Productivity Commission’s plan would not achieve its goal of encouraging decarbonisation. “Abolishing fuel tax credits would not address the engineering reality that there is no single technology available to replace diesel engines,” he said. “Many regional communities rely on trucking operators to move and deliver all their daily necessities. Because this requires diesel engines, the commission’s approach would just be an unavoidable increase in tax. “For those businesses that do have an alternative to diesel, the effective tax increase would reduce their financial capacity to invest in new vehicles and equipment. “The ATA looks forward to working with the Government on measures that would be effective at reducing the industry emissions and Australia’s reliance on imported fossil fuels, including a voucher scheme to reduce the up-front cost of electrification or alter-native fuel options, a low carbon fuel standard to encourage the use of renewable diesel, and support for high productivity and low emission vehicles. “Measures like these would complement the Government’s very welcome fuel security and resilience plan, which will increase Australia’s diesel and jet fuel reserves to 50 days,” he said.

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The New Zealand Timber Industry Federation (NZTIF) says the recently concluded Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India is already delivering encouraging early results, with increased enquiry levels being reported by New Zealand sawmills. Source: Timberbiz NZTIF members are experiencing a noticeable uplift in interest from Indian buyers for New Zealand sawn timber products, signalling growing market confidence and improved access following the agreement. “We are already seeing tangible benefits from the New Zealand – India FTA,” said NZTIF. “Sawmills are reporting a rise in enquiries for sawn product from India, which is a positive early indicator of demand growth in what has the potential to become significant and expanding market.” India represents a major opportunity for New Zealand’s timber industry, driven by strong construction demand, urbanisation, and an increasing preference for sustainably sourced wood products. NZTIF noted that while it is still early days, the immediate lift in enquiries demonstrates the importance of trade agreements in unlocking new opportunities for New Zealand manufacturers and exporters. “These early signals reinforce the value of the agreement for the forestry and wood processing sector. Continued engagement, alongside strong industry capability, will be key to converting interest into long-term trade relationships,” NZTIF said. The Federation will continue to work with members and government to maximise the benefits of the agreement and support the growth of New Zealand’s timber exports into India.

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Now that South Australia’s $16 million Forestry Centre of Excellence is complete, it is putting Mount Gambier on the international map of forestry research, innovation and collaboration. Source: Timberbiz A special showcase was underway at the Centre last week, providing industry, stakeholders and policymakers with the opportunity to experience first-hand the education, training and research precinct. “Timber remains our most important sustainable construction material,” said Professor Jeff Morrell Director of the Forestry Centre of Excellence. “The showcase shows how the Centre is already helping improve sound management and processing of this critical national resource. “The Centre’s first showcase highlights our many industry-supported research projects while providing guidance for future research directions to help the Green Triangle Region remain a leader in plantation forestry.” The program included field demonstrations, networking, and industry research presentations, featuring keynote speeches, applied research case studies, and sessions focused on key issues shaping the future of Australia’s plantation forestry sector. Attendees gained insights into cutting-edge work supporting the sustainability of the forestry sector, with discussions covering new technologies to improve grower productivity, timber processing innovation, climate resilience, silviculture, forest health monitoring, biosecurity, and workforce safety. The centre is a key project of the Malinauskas Labor Government in its long-term commitment to deliver stronger forest and timber industries for South Australia. “The Forestry Centre of Excellence is an impressive space that will play an important role in the future of our state’s forestry sector,” south Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said. “This purpose-built precinct demonstrates our commitment to strengthen our multi-billion-dollar forestry sector by supporting innovation, research and skills development. “It brings together local, national and international experts across forestry research and development, enhancing the region’s role as a global leader in the sector. “By investing in projects like this, we are ensuring South Australia remains at the fore-front of industry innovation, supporting local jobs, and building a stronger and more self-sustainable economy.” The Centre of Excellence brings together government, industry and research partners in a 10-year collaboration led by the State Government and Adelaide University, sup-porting innovation, sustainability and workforce capability across one of Australia’s most important plantation forest regions in the Limestone Coast. Major works were completed in February and since then a new research lab and remaining offices and meeting rooms have been delivered and fully fit-out. Funding for the Forestry Centre of Excellence is part of a $21 million investment by the Malinauskas Labor Government over the past four years into the forestry sector. The building was constructed using plantation timber from the region and showcases a variety of timber products, including cross-laminated timber (CLT), engineered hardwood, and panelling. The facility accommodates the Green Triangle Forest Industries Hub and Tree Breeding Australia, strengthening collaboration across research, education and industry and reinforcing Mount Gambier’s role as a national centre for forestry innovation. The Forestry Centre of Excellence was previously operating since 2024 within temporary accommodation but is now permanently based alongside Adelaide University Mount Gambier, the Mount Gambier Technical College and Mount Gambier TAFE, securing strong collaborative pathways between research, skills development and industry.

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Forest & Wood Communities Australia Chair Steve Dobbyns says the NSW Government’s justification for the Great Koala National Park is increasingly contradicted by its own scientific evidence and appears to be driven more by carbon credit generation than koala conservation. Source: Timberbiz “The NSW Government’s Environment Minister Penny Sharpe continues to promote the Great Koala National Park as essential for koala conservation, yet its own scientific evidence does not support the claim that regulated native forestry is causing widespread koala decline on the Mid North Coast,” Mr Dobbyns said. “Instead, the proposal is increasingly being driven by the prospect of carbon credits under the proposed Improved Native Forest Management (INFM) methodology – a scheme that raises serious concerns about carbon leakage, displaced timber production and questionable net climate benefits.” Mr Dobbyns said years of NSW Government-funded research failed to support the political claim that ending native forestry would “save koalas”. “Research undertaken by NSW DPI Forest Science and reviewed through the NSW Natural Resources Commission found no statistically significant decline in koala density following selective timber harvesting in north-east NSW state forests,” he said. “The NRC reported koala densities remained stable in harvested forests, koalas continued using harvested areas after operations, and any declines observed during the study period were more strongly associated with drought and climate stress, particularly across the National Park estate. “Published peer-reviewed research reached the same conclusion – regulated native forestry operations in north-east NSW did not reduce koala density.” Mr Dobbyns said the NSW Baseline Koala Survey further confirmed koalas remain widespread throughout production forests on the Mid North Coast with estimates of 274,000 koalas across the state (with a 95% confidence interval of 231,000–320,000). “This is the critical point the Government keeps ignoring – its own science demonstrates koalas and regulated forestry are already coexisting across the landscape,” he said. “The assertion that state forests must be converted into national parks to prevent koala extinction is simply not supported by the available evidence.” Mr Dobbyns also noted that more than half of the 176,000 hectares of state forest earmarked for inclusion in the Great Koala National Park is already managed primarily for conservation through existing environmental exclusions, old-growth reserves, rainforest protections, stream buffers and conservation zoning and reserve systems. “A large proportion of these forests were already effectively protected from harvesting activity,” he said. “The public is being led to believe all of this forest is under intensive logging pressure, which is simply untrue.” Mr Dobbyns said the Government had now explicitly linked the park’s creation to the proposed INFM carbon methodology, exposing what he described as the “fundamental flaw” in the proposal – carbon leakage. “Stopping native forestry in NSW does not stop Australia needing timber,” he said. “We will still need hardwood for construction, pallets, poles, flooring, fencing and packaging. Since harvesting has halted across these forests, that demand has simply shifts elsewhere. “That ‘somewhere else’ includes increased logging on neighbouring private property, increased pressure on remaining state forests, interstate harvesting, greater reliance on imports from countries with weaker environmental standards and substantially higher transport emissions. “In carbon accounting this is known as leakage – and it can completely undermine the claimed climate benefits of the project.” Mr Dobbyns said the Government was effectively proposing to stop harvesting in NSW state forests, claim carbon credits for “avoided emissions”, while timber production and associated emissions simply move elsewhere to meet unchanged demand. “If replacement timber comes from other native forests, imported hardwood products or more emissions-intensive materials like steel, concrete and plastics, then the claimed emissions reductions may be entirely negated,” he said. “The atmosphere does not care whether emissions occur in NSW, Queensland, Victoria, Southeast Asia or South America. “A carbon project that simply exports timber production and emissions elsewhere is not delivering genuine global abatement.” Mr Dobbyns said the proposal also ignored the role of sustainably managed native forests and harvested wood products in long-term carbon storage. “Under sustainable forestry systems, harvested forests regrow, more carbon is absorbed and timber products continue storing carbon for decades,” he said. “Meanwhile, alternative materials such as steel, aluminium and concrete carry substantially higher embodied emissions.” Mr Dobbyns warned the proposal risked destabilising regional economies across the Mid North Coast. “The Great Koala National Park increasingly appears to be based on monetising public forests through carbon credits rather than evidence-based conservation,” he said. “That risks undermining regional manufacturing jobs, destabilising timber supply, increasing reliance on imports and reducing Australia’s sovereign hardwood capability.” “All while the Government’s own science shows koalas remain present in managed forests and that broader threats such as bushfire, drought, disease, dog attacks, cars and habitat fragmentation are more significant pressures.” Mr Dobbyns said Forest & Wood Communities Australia supported genuine conservation measures based on evidence, not ideology. “Protecting high-value habitat and improving koala outcomes are legitimate goals,” he said. “But the current proposal increasingly relies on a simplistic political narrative — stop forestry, save koalas, generate carbon credits. “The evidence does not support that framing.” “A more credible approach would focus on targeted habitat protection, stronger fire management, plantation expansion, continued ecological monitoring and sustainable multiple-use forest management. “Otherwise, the Great Koala National Park risks becoming less a conservation initiative and more a carbon-credit land-use transfer with uncertain climate benefits and significant regional economic consequences.”

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ForestrySA has appointed South Australia Forest Products Association’s Nathan Paine as its new CEO. Mr Paine will start in his new role on 22 June following five years as CEO of the South Australia Forest Products Association where he has been highly successful in raising the profile of the state’s sustainable plantation industry. Source: Timberbiz His appointment by the ForestrySA Board follows a comprehensive recruitment process that attracted a significant field of highly qualified candidates. It comes amid a period of leadership changes in both the Australian Forest Products Association and the Tasmanian Forest Products Association. AFPA CEO Diana Hallam recently resigned to pursue other interests and Tasmanian Forest Products Association CEO Nick Steel has indicated he will not renew his contract after six years leading Tasmania’s peak body. ForestrySA says Mr Paine is well-placed to lead the organisation in its management of more than 10,000 hectares of sustainable pine plantation in the Mount Lofty Ranges, and its stewardship and protection of the more than 16,000 hectares of native forest in the Mount Lofty Ranges and Limestone Coast regions. “ForestrySA plays a critical role in the management of South Australia’s forest industries, from the Adelaide Hills where pine forests are both valued recreational spaces and productive plantations, to the forest industry powerhouse of the Limestone Coast region,” Mr Paine said. “With forecast demand for wood fibre expected to quadruple over the next 25 years, there is a need and an opportunity to grow ForestrySA’s plantation estate in order to meet that demand. “The opportunity for the state’s forest industries is not just to grow the forest estates that will build the houses of tomorrow, but also to educate the community about the vital importance of timber products in our economy.” Forest Industries Minister Clare Scriven said she looked forward to continuing their work together in growing SA’s forest industries. “Nathan has been outstanding in his five years as CEO of the South Australian Forest Products Association, and his depth of knowledge of timber industries and insights into forest industries more broadly will be of significant value when it comes to managing the state’s pine plantations,” she said. “As South Australia continues to grow both its economy and its ambition into the future, I am confident Nathan Paine will be an effective and reliable partner in the delivery of stronger and more prosperous forest industries across the state.”

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