Forestry Industry

Mr BELL (Mount Gambier) (14:52): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier update the house on the importance of the forest industry to South Australia? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr BELL: On Friday night in Mount Gambier over 280 guests celebrated the 150^th anniversary of the state's forests and timber industry.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:53): I thank the member for Mount Gambier for his question and acknowledge his advocacy for the forestry industry that is currently enjoying the benefits of his thoughtful policy pursuits that the government is now delivering. And the reason why we are delivering those things isn't exclusively because of the member for Mount Gambier's advocacy, although that has played a role, but because we believe in this industry very much.

The great thing about the forestry industry is that it is one that aligns with the state government's strategic economic interests.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: I will come to that. What we see here is a sustainable industry that if done properly can be environmentally friendly, it has a role to play in carbon reduction and it is sustainable economically, but also with respect to the environment if it is done in a way that is regulated and thoughtful. We have that here in South Australia. This is a $3 billion industry that employs countless South Australians and has a steadfast commitment to being done in concert with the environment around it.

One of the great things about the forestry industry, as the member for Mount Gambier is well aware, is that it is an example of an industry that doesn't just have a commodity that we produce and then export, but that we value-add in the Green Triangle. If you look at the massive investments from Borg industries amongst others, what we see are examples of every last instance of that fibre being produced, being put to good productive economic use, elsewhere in the economy. That is the type of virtuous cycle that we think has a lot of merit, and hence why government support is worthwhile.

I have acknowledged publicly that I think it was the mistake of a former Labor government to engage in the policy of the sale of the forests. I said that early on in my time as Leader of the Opposition. Rather than just acknowledge that, we have actually done something about it by issuing a policy that represents the biggest investment in forestry that we have seen in a very long time. Indeed, I am not aware there was one at all by the former government.

We have the Forestry Centre of Excellence, $22 million; $2 million in the master plan; $2 million in technological use, in terms of AI around fire detection; critically, a massive investment in TAFE; and then the main big investment is a $35 million technical college that is being built in the heart of Mount Gambier using CLT and GLT that comes from the South-East or the Green Triangle. These are big policy commitments to the future of this industry that has the opportunity to continue to maintain its status as one of the most productive forestry sectors anywhere in the world.

There have been a whole range of innovations that we have seen come out of the Green Triangle, whether it be around the use and the methods of growing and sustaining radiata pine through to the introduction of CLT and GLT, which continue to take a more substantial role in the construction industries in our state, both residential and commercial, but particularly commercial. These are big developments and innovations that we see coming out of the South-East: everything from the seedling going into the ground to the final product.

We are innovative. We are investing in that science, we are investing in that research and we are investing in those skills so this continues to be a beacon of prosperity, not just for the South-East but for the state as a whole.