Nine initial Regional Forestry Hubs announced today are set to boost the growth of forest industries in Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales and Queensland.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the development of nine initial Regional Forestry Hub sites will provide strategic vision for the forest industries in the Green Triangle.

“Today, we are sowing the seeds for the first of our Regional Forestry Hubs under the $20 million National Forest Industries Plan.

“We want the Green Triangle key forestry industries to be even stronger, and today’s announcement will ensure a brighter and more secure future.

“This plan will protect and grow the Green Triangle’s vital forestry industry, create more jobs, and open up opportunities to build new and improved roads, rail and port facilities.

“Around 52,000 Australians are directly employed in growing and processing our forest products. Tens of thousands more jobs are indirectly supported by a sector that contributes more than $23 billion to the national economy.”

Member for Barker Tony Pasin said the Green Triangle Hub has been welcomed by the forest and wood products industry as an opportunity to help better prepare for future challenges and opportunities.

“The assessments that come from the Green Triangle Hub will provide industry with regional data that is not currently available, bringing potential to support new investment in the sector,” Member for Barker said.

“This will assist our region to identify future investment and other opportunities for the forest industries in rural and regional Australia.

“For the Green Triangle communities, the Regional Forestry Hubs also have the potential to create rural and regional jobs to deliver on our promise of 1.25 million new jobs over the next five years.

“The end result will be more jobs, better returns to business, more investment, and greater economic security in the Limestone Coast community and for the nation.” Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Senator Richard Colbeck said the hubs were a commitment in the Australian Government’s National Forest Industries Plan and will support strategic planning of future needs for the industry in the region.

“The Morrison Government has committed $12.5 million to the Regional Forestry Hubs as well as research and development elements of the National Forest Industries Plan to further grow Australia’s forest industries and set the industry up for the future,” Minister Colbeck said.

“The Plan ambitiously aims to deliver a billion new trees to meet a projected quadrupling of global demand for timber products by 2050.

“This is all about delivering the right tress in the right places at the right scale.

“A billion trees with also allow the Liberal National Government to capture 18 million tonnes of greenhouse gasses per year by 2030. “The hubs will involve the industry, all levels of government and local communities working together on the issues and opportunities for forestry in the regions.

“Funding will be available to support strategic planning, technical assessments and analyses that will contribute to infrastructure and other decisions by investors.

“The hubs have been identified in regions with existing concentrations of forests available for harvest, processing plants, transport routes and a skilled forestry workforce and the work now begins to determine the size and make up of each hub.

Locations of the pilot Regional Forestry Hubs are:

o South West – Western Australia

o Green Triangle – South Australia and Victoria

o North/North West – Tasmania

o North East – New South Wales

Locations of Regional Forestry Hubs that will follow the pilot hubs:

o Gippsland – Victoria o South West Slopes – New South Wales

o Central West – New South Wales

o South East – Queensland o North – Queensland.

More information on the National Forest Industries Plan is available here: http://www.agriculture.gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/forestry/national-forest-industries-plan.pdf

Contact: Charlotte Edmunds  8531 2466