Forest Products Industry

AFPA has echoed serious concerns raised by Forestry Australia over the Federal Government’s controversial new carbon credit method, warning it undermines the integrity and credibility of Australia’s carbon market. Source: Timberbiz Forestry Australia has identified significant technical flaws in the new Improved Native Forest Management in Multiple-use Public Native Forests Method (INFM), with its forest carbon experts warning it could substantially overstate carbon abatement. The latest analysis also shows the method could over-credit projects by between 40% and 100 %, even before accounting for carbon leakage and harvested wood products. AFPA Acting CEO Richard Hyett said the alarming independent research reinforced concerns the sustainable forest products industry had been raising for more than 18 months. “As we have highlighted on several occasions, this method does not meet the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) scheme’s own requirements for integrity, transparency or additionality,” Mr Hyett said. “The decision to register the method clearly prioritised politics over science and will damage public confidence in the integrity and transparency of the scheme.” Mr Hyett said the method would generate carbon credits without delivering genuine additional emissions reductions and relied on science that had been challenged by independent experts and government scientists. “We are very concerned the new method could flood the market with low-integrity ACCUs, undermining confidence in legitimate carbon projects and weakening investment in genuine climate action. “Australia’s carbon credit scheme is designed to encourage real carbon abatement and high-integrity environmental outcomes, and it’s important the scheme remains focused on delivering genuine emissions reductions rather than being used to retrospectively fund policy decisions. “Our carbon credit scheme is a critical part of Australia’s framework to meet net zero ambitions and it’s vital that its integrity is maintained to deliver genuine carbon abatement.”

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Forestry SA will install new high-tech fire detection systems in the southern Barossa and northern Adelaide Hills. ForestrySA has signed an agreement with bushfire detection and intelligence provider Pano AI to install a new AI-powered fire detection camera on a fire tower within the Mount Crawford Forest estate. Source: Timberbiz The camera captures ultra-high-definition panoramic imagery and feeds it into a system that combines AI, satellite technology and human verification to identify potential smoke and fire activity. The platform provides real-time alerts and intelligence on fire location, behaviour and proximity to people, assets and firefighting resources, supporting more informed decision-making by emergency services and land managers. The high-tech early bushfire detection camera will be installed next month and will be operational ahead of the coming fire danger season, capable of detecting unplanned fires earlier and providing critical intelligence to support faster and more effective responses. It follows the successful implementation of eight AI-powered bushfire detection cameras across the Limestone Coast forestry region, funded by the Malinauskas Government and managed by the Green Triangle Fire Alliance. This camera network detected nearly 90 unplanned fires early over the past three fire danger seasons, delivering valuable intel to fire responders and demonstrating its value as an early bushfire detection system. This installation will provide an opportunity to assess how the technology performs in a more complex peri-urban landscape where plantations, native vegetation, farms, businesses infrastructure and residential communities are closely interconnected. It also reflects the South Australian forestry sector’s ongoing commitment to invest in fire prevention, detection and response measures, protecting the productive forests that are building the homes of tomorrow, as well as the regional and peri-urban homes of today. Through this trial, ForestrySA will work with the Malinauskas Government to gain a better understanding of how AI-strengthened bushfire detection technology can support bushfire preparedness, early intervention and emergency responses in one of South Australia’s most significant peri-urban landscapes.

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Timber Towns Victoria (TTV) has welcomed the completion of the Hardwood Timber Manufacturing Hub Feasibility Study in Portland, calling it proof of what timber communities can achieve when governments, industry and councils invest in a shared future. Source: Timberbiz TTV President Cr Karen Stephens, who is also Mayor of Glenelg Shire, said the milestone reflected years of deliberate preparation by the community and its partners. “The completion of the Hardwood Timber Manufacturing Hub Feasibility Study, alongside Council’s Future Portland Project, demonstrates a proactive approach to understanding and preparing for future opportunities across Glenelg Shire,” she said. The study confirms the commercial and technical viability of a world-class engineered timber manufacturing facility in Portland. It would convert locally grown plantation Blue Gum, currently exported as woodchips for pulp and paper, into Glue Laminated Timber for structural beams in residential and commercial construction, an Australian first for the species. This work completes phase one of The Precinct, a long-term vision to develop Australia’s largest integrated plantation timber manufacturing and prefabricated housing component precinct in the Green Triangle. Later phases propose a Laminated Veneer Lumber production line and a component fabrication centre. Investment of more than $200 million is expected in the first phase, creating 74 permanent jobs alongside around 150 construction jobs. At full development, The Precinct has the potential to support around 280 ongoing jobs, process more than one million tonnes of plantation timber annually, and manufacture building components supplying around 20,000 homes each year. Led by the Commonwealth-funded Green Triangle Forest Industries Hub and delivered by IndustryEdge, the work was backed by more than $500,000 from the Portland Diversification Fund and the investment of local industry, with support from the Victorian Government. The next stage of Precinct development is backed by $1.75 million from the Victorian Government alongside Commonwealth funding, with Laminated Veneer Lumber production trials due to begin in August. For TTV, the significance goes beyond Portland. The project shows how value adding to plantation resources can replace the native forest supply no longer available in Victoria, reduce Australia’s reliance on imported product, support national housing targets, and strengthen sovereign manufacturing capability. It is the kind of coordinated, long-term investment TTV has called for in its 2026 Government Brief, which urges governments to align forestry, housing, manufacturing and regional development policy so that every timber town has a pathway to this kind of future. Reaching this milestone has taken partnership across every level of government, and TTV has congratulated the Green Triangle Forest Industries Hub, Glenelg Shire Council and all project partners involved. More information about the project is available at The Precinct.

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Labor has repeatedly failed timber workers and ignored respected forest scientists who support a properly managed and sustainable native hardwood industry, according to Shadow Forestry Minister Darren Chester. Source: Timberbiz Commenting on Opal’s announcement last week that more than 80 people are to lose their jobs at Opal’s Maryvale Mill in Gippsland, Mr Chester said hard-working Gippslanders were continuing to pay the price for the Labor-Greens decision to shut down Victoria’s native hardwood timber industry. “The announcement of a further 84 job losses at the Maryvale Mill is devastating news for the workers, their families and the wider Latrobe Valley community,” Mr Chester, the Member for Gippsland,” said. “The mill has been a critical part of our region’s economic life for generations, supporting local jobs, families, businesses and manufacturing,” he said. Opal has previously cut jobs at the mill and experienced a number of shutdowns. The mill permanently shut down its white paper manufacturing operations, including the decommissioning of Paper Machine 2 and Paper Machine 5. This structural shutdown was triggered by the sudden end of VicForests’ native timber supply, resulting in 200 job losses and shifting the mill’s focus strictly to packaging and brown paper. In its statement, Opal said the mill had suffered substantial losses following the Victorian Government’s failure to meet its contractual obligations under the Wood Pulp Agreement. The company commenced legal action in late 2025 over the government’s failure to supply wood in accordance with that agreement. “The Maryvale Mill suffered substantial losses due to the Victorian government’s failure to meet its contractual obligations under the Wood Pulp Agreement,” its statement on Thursday said. In September last year, Opal commenced proceedings against the state government for $402m in damages for the above. “The end of white paper production has significantly changed the operational footprint of the mill, and the site has been working hard to right size its operations as a kraft and recycled paper manufacturer,” the statement reads. “Opal understands the impact of job losses in regional communities, and we will work with affected team members to explore redeployment opportunities across the mill and the broader Opal network.” The end of white paper production dramatically reduced the mill’s operational footprint, and the business has been working to restructure as a kraft and recycled paper manufacturer. “I have been assured by Opal executives that affected workers will receive their full entitlements, but that does not diminish the widespread impact these job losses will have across the region,” Mr Chester said. Mr Chester said the announcement demanded immediate action from the state and federal governments to develop a properly funded economic transition plan in genuine consultation with local workers, businesses and community leaders. “It also reinforces why we must fight to protect Australia’s remaining sustainable hardwood timber industry,” he said. “At both state and federal levels, Labor has repeatedly failed timber workers and ignored respected forest scientists who support a properly managed and sustainable native hardwood industry. “Driven by its dependence on Greens preferences in metropolitan seats, Labor has abandoned blue-collar workers in regional communities.” Mr Chester said thousands of jobs had already been lost, regional towns had been weakened, and communities were less prepared for major bushfires because they have lost skilled workers, heavy machinery and local knowledge from the forests. “We need governments prepared to work with the private sector to create jobs in the Latrobe Valley, not governments that continually undermine our traditional strengths in energy, forestry and manufacturing,” he said.

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