Forestry Industry

Mr BELL (Mount Gambier) (16:49): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier advise what policies the government has in place to safeguard the sovereign capability of the forest industry into the future? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr BELL: Today marks National Forestry Day and SAFPA have released a policy paper in response to the rapidly escalating risk confronting South Australia's timber and wood products sector following the United States' decision to increase tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber to 35.19 per cent. This latest escalation is part of a broader global shift toward protectionism in trade policy with significant potential to disrupt international timber markets and impose severe flow-on effects for both Australia and, in particular, South Australia's forest products industries.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (16:50): I thank the member for Mount Gambier for his question and thank him for not just his support of the industry but the advocacy he has provided to everyone, which was certainly instructive in the development of the government's policy regarding the forestry sector and represents the most substantial investment in the forestry sector we have seen in the state's history and one that we are very proud to be rolling out in conjunction with the member for Mount Gambier's advocacy.

Yes, there are inevitably going to be implications to the substantial tariffs that have been placed on Canadian softwood, one that the government continues to monitor. However, the government remains somewhat steadfast and confident that the performance of our industry will be resilient given not just the dynamism that we see in the industry in South Australia but the constant pursuit of innovation to make us increasingly competitive.

People would do well to be aware that the adoption of the radiata pine here in South Australia has been a leader with respect to innovation using both research and the applications of technology to make our forestry sector particularly productive using every last bit of the fibre at the state's disposal so they can participate in the supply chain right across. It is not just about softwood being used for the purpose of timber but also contributing to a range of other industries in the South-East, as the member for Mount Gambier will be well aware.

The forestry industry makes a $3 billion contribution to our economy. For those of us in metropolitan Adelaide that always runs the risk of being a little sight unseen. What we have done as a state government is to make sure we make an investment where we can to see the innovation continue, so we invest in the Centre for Excellence, which is a major investment on behalf of the state government that is done in conjunction with the substantial investment we make for the establishment of a master plan, the investment in AI technology being used for fire protection and, of course, the major investment of revitalising the TAFE in Mount Gambier in conjunction with the technical college.

On one singular site we will have the Centre for Excellence, the TAFE and the technical college to make sure that we are not just doing the research to advance the industry but that we are procuring the skills to make sure that it is increasingly globally competitive.

One of the other challenges that the government confronts in the South-East to ensure that we contemplate how best to use science to get the best outcomes is to look at the water allocation plan in the South-East, which is a very complex and important piece of work being done with science at the centre of it and something that the Deputy Premier has been working on in conjunction with the industry.

In terms of the impact, we note SAFPA's report that following the imposition of tariffs Canadian producers will probably have to find alternate markets for approximately 20 million cubic metres of timber. That puts us in a unique position because, of course, it wasn't that long ago that the world was crying out and we would have desperately welcomed Canadian timber in some respects because we didn't have enough to build the homes that were required. That does not feel like that long ago.

We see that in the current global economy things can change, and change quickly, which is why the best policies pursued are the ones that are focused on long-term productivity and innovation in a sector that has always had a long-term time horizon in terms of return on investment. We continue to monitor the situation and are very happy to work with the industry if there are policy changes that are required.