Forestry Centre of Excellence

The Hon. R.B. MARTIN (14:44): My question is to the Minister for Forest Industries. Will the minister please update the council about the recent appointment of a director for the Forestry Centre of Excellence?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:44): I thank the honourable member for his question. It has been a really exciting few weeks in the forest industry here in South Australia. The Premier and I launched the Forestry Centre of Excellence, as well as attending the launch of OneFortyOne's announcement of its $30 million investment in the renewable biomass power generation project at their Jubilee sawmill in Mount Gambier, which is part of their broader $90 million investment at the site.

In addition to this, I recently also had the opportunity to formally announce the appointment of a key staffing role at the Forestry Centre of Excellence. At the launch of the centre recently, I advised the forest industry about the appointment of distinguished Professor Emeritus Jeff Morrell as the inaugural Forestry Centre of Excellence Director, who will start in the role in January and will be based in Mount Gambier.

Jeff has a significant background in the forest industry, both here in Australia and in North America, with a focus in forest pathology and mycology along with spending large parts of his career in wood deterioration and its prevention. He has spent time previously at Oregon State University on the West Coast of the USA, where he directed the durability program, followed by five years in Brisbane at the University of the Sunshine Coast, where he helped establish the Centre for Timber Durability and Design Life.

Jeff has spent his career devoted to bridging the gap between academia and industry, to solve problems while developing the basic research needed to address future issues facing the forest industry. This is a key aspect of the Forestry Centre of Excellence, with the need to bring the research sector and industry together in addressing the challenges and opportunities that the industry faces.

The centre is the first of its kind in South Australia, and is a key election commitment to the forest industry that the state government made in the lead-up to the last state election after significant discussions with key stakeholders in the forest industry. The centre is being developed to extract maximum resource value from fibre resources, reduce the industry carbon footprint, build greater collaboration between industry, academia and government, and create new and more diverse economic opportunities.

It will advance skills to drive innovation and investment, create incentives to invest and leverage value-adding opportunities, and deliver safe, efficient and productive supply chains. The centre will encompass the full range of the forestry supply chain, including plantation management, harvesting and haulage, and timber processing. It will also cover the technical, safety, and training aspects relevant to those sectors.

I am confident that Jeff will thrive in this role, and I congratulate him on this appointment to what is a significant position, and his success on being appointed after a global search. Jeff's fields of specialisation, including wood science, wood preservation, wood microbiology and mycology, and his formal qualifications in forest pathology and mycology, plant pathology, and forest biology will be valued.

Jeff will soon call the regions home, and I understand is in the process of relocating to Mount Gambier where he will be based. I wish Jeff all the very best in the role and look forward to catching up with him once he commences.