Timber Towns Victoria welcomes funding
"This funding initiative is an exciting new opportunity for the forestry sector," according to Cr Karen Stephens, president of Timber Towns Victoria and Mayor of Glenelg Shire Council, "ultimately using the whole of the tree and turning what would have been wasted wood fibre into a valuable low-carbon resource for use in other industries."
The Great Koala National Park announcement: Vic Jurskis
Premier Chris Minns says it’s unthinkable that koalas are at risk of extinction. He’s spot on. Koalas are not now and never have been at risk of extinction ... Environment Minister Penny Sharpe says the Great Koala National Park has been a dream for more than a decade. Indeed. The Great Koala Park is the culmination of a campaign by NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service to extend their empire ... Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty says the Government is committed to a sustainable forestry industry in NSW. I think her ministerial title gives the lie to that.
Labor’s koala park announcement a massive kick in the guts for regional jobs: Williamson
Clarence Nationals MP Richie Williamson has slammed the Minns Labor Government’s announcement of the 476,000-hectare Great Koala National Park, describing it as “a massive kick in the guts” for regional communities across the Richmond and Clarence valleys and the wider North Coast region.
Forestry Australia: Koala Park ignores the science, risks worse outcomes for koalas and community
Forestry Australia, the nation’s leading body representing forest scientists, managers and growers, expresses its dismay at the New South Wales State Government’s decision to create a Great Koala National Park without a clear, science-led plan to deliver measurable outcomes and avoid negative flow on consequences.
The Great Koala National Park: Minns, Sharpe, Moriarty, Saffin
The Minns Labor Government has confirmed the next major step delivering on an election commitment to protect koalas in the wild, announcing the proposed boundary for the Great Koala National Park, alongside a comprehensive plan to support workers, industry and local communities ... The park will reserve 176,000 hectares of state forest and connect with existing national parks to create a 476,000-hectare reserve – one of the largest in NSW.
Record highs as ag, fish and forestry sectors crack $100 billion: ABARES
Australia’s agriculture, fisheries and forestry production is expected to hit a record combined value of $101.6 billion in 2025-2026, according to the latest ABARES forecasts released today. ABARES Executive Director Dr Jared Greenville said the new record value was mostly down to livestock.
Great Koala National Park Op-Ed: Kemp
This Labor government’s environmental policy doesn’t look like it’s being run by those in Macquarie Street, but maybe by rooftop protestors who contribute little to society ... These high-end activists are screaming “koala crisis”, all the while happily living in high rise towers built from concrete and steel, wrapped in plastics, stuffed with furniture made from imported timber ripped from forests overseas with zero environmental standards. That’s not conservation. That’s hypocrisy.
Walsh pleads for DEECA to repeat 2024 Barmah firewood collection
The Nationals Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh is appealing to the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action to repeat its public firewood collection from Barmah Forest in September last year. Mr Walsh said that day saw thousands of tonnes of flood-damaged timber made available to hundreds of locals for heating and, in some cases, cooking.
Wind farm impacts: a forester finds common ground with environmentalists
Foresters and environmentalists in Australia may not have seen eye to eye of late, but on the subject of forest clearances for large scale renewable energy developments, there are increasing instances where their objections to the consequential impact on the forest make them de facto allies.
Tree policy becomes a tree trap
Land clearing was effectively banned back in 1983—but apparently no one told the Shire of Northam. Their newly released draft Tree Retention Policy (LPP27) reads as if state and federal restrictions don’t exist. It’s packed with all the right buzzwords—biodiversity, canopy cover, climate resilience—but beneath the green gloss is a bureaucratic trap.
‘Timber in July’ draws bipartisan backing for Victoria’s wood fibre industry: VFPA
More than 70 guests—including Ministers, Shadow Ministers, MPs, CEOs and industry stakeholders—gathered at Parliament House yesterday for ‘Timber in July’, a showcase of the growing importance of Victoria’s plantation and wood fibre industry to the state’s economy, housing supply and climate goals.
More trees on farms to benefit landowners: Spence
The Allan Labor Government is encouraging Victorian farmers and landowners to take advantage of a new program to plant more trees on their farms – helping to boost timber supply, increase biodiversity and prevent soil erosion. Minister for Agriculture Ros Spence today announced the Victorian Trees on Farms Program at Parliament House, alongside industry members at the Victorian Forest Products Association’s Timber Plantations showcase.
Is it climate change or just a natural ecological cycle?: Frank Batini
Frank Batini. In summer 2011, following a very dry winter there was limited but noticeable tree crown scorch and some deaths of jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) on sites with shallow soil. This event was repeated in summer 2024. On both of these occasions the forest growing on deeper soils was healthy. Academic and media comment immediately linked these deaths to human induced climate change ... ARR.News asked some further questions of Frank.
Forestry Corporation firefighters from Tumut and Deniliquin join international Canada deployment: Forestry Corporation of NSW
Forestry Corporation firefighters from Tumut and Deniliquin will deploy to Canada this week to reinforce local and international crews battling ongoing wildfires, where close to five million hectares have been burnt, approximately 150 wildfires remain active, and multiple communities have been evacuated.
Forestry Australia welcomes Timber Fibre Strategy as a science-led vision for forests and the future: Forestry Australia
Forestry Australia has welcomed the release of the Federal Government’s Timber Fibre Strategy ... The Strategy recognises the critical role of science, innovation, and active forest management in ensuring that Australia’s forests can continue to deliver environmental, economic, cultural and social outcomes for generations to come.
Government must act to stop South West spread of shot hole borer: Eatts
The Shadow Minister for Forestry and Member for Warren Blackwood, Bevan Eatts MLA, has called on the Cook Labor Government to urgently invest in public awareness and collaborative monitoring efforts to prevent the spread of the Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer (PSHB) beyond the Perth metropolitan area and into the South West.
Report shows benefits of sustainable wood harvesting in native forests: ABARES
A new ABARES report, Australia’s native forests and wood production, highlights the important role Australia’s diverse native forests play in helping to combat climate change, providing a home to many flora and fauna species, and providing high quality wood products.
Coppicing reform: A win for native species and farming families
Member for Cootamundra, Steph Cooke has introduced the Biodiversity Conservation and Local Land Services Legislation Amendment (Broombush and Blue Mallee Coppicing) Bill 2025 to the NSW Parliament. The bill seeks to amend the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 and the Local Land Services Act 2013 to enable the lawful coppicing of broombush and blue mallee in the Bland Shire...
Town and city bushfire protection case studies from Australia and the US: John O’Donnell
John O'Donnell presents an analysis of town and city bushfire protection case studies where prescribed burning and other adaptive management and mitigation have assisted in restricting bushfire impacts on communities across Australia and the United States. His extensive review covers some 25 Australian and nine US fires.
Active management the only way to reduce risk: Tony Bartlett
Dr Tony Bartlett. The claims in my critique of research published by academics David Lindenmayer, Philip Zylstra and others are not demonstrably false and do not misrepresent scientific evidence. They are based on my own very considerable experience in forest management as well as careful consideration of both their research and the much wider body of Australian bushfire science ... There is a very strong body of existing knowledge about forest fire management in Australia, much of which is based on decades of on-ground research trials and the analysis of outcomes from major bushfires.
Old fire practices rekindled in new Clarence Valley firefighting partnership
The Yaegl Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation is collaborating with Forestry Corporation to integrate cultural burning with government bushfire management. This partnership aims to enhance the community's resilience to major bushfires and improve land management practices on Yaegl Country.
TasFarmers congratulates election winners, and flags fallacy of policy mandate
TasFarmers President Ian Sauer ... stressed that some major issues were not presented to voters during the campaign, including changes to superannuation, environmental law reforms, and forestry policy, therefore it is a fallacy to say there is a mandate from voters.
