Parliamentary Committees

Select Committee on Matters Relating to the Timber Industry in the Limestone Coast and Other Regions of South Australia

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. N.J. Centofanti:

That the report of the select committee be noted.

(Continued from 5 February 2025.)

The Hon. T.T. NGO (21:07): As a member of this select committee, I rise to speak briefly on the report, titled Matters Relating to the Timber Industry in the Limestone Coast and Other Regions of South Australia. This select committee was established on 16 November 2022, picking up the unfinished work of its predecessor from the Fifty-Fourth Parliament. It kept the same terms of reference, added a new one on environmental impacts and, in March 2023, broadened its brief beyond the Limestone Coast.

The Limestone Coast, stretching to the Victorian border, produces 87 per cent of South Australia's forestry and logging output. It is split into the upper and lower Limestone Coast districts. Most plantations lie within the Green Triangle, Australia's biggest and most productive plantation region. The triangle is defined by lines linking Mount Gambier in the north-west of South Australia, Portland on the Victorian coast and Hamilton to the north-east of inland Victoria. The region covers roughly six million hectares and includes towns such as Millicent, Penola, Naracoorte, Heywood and Coleraine.

The three main growers that control about 95 per cent of South Australia's plantation supply include Green Triangle Forest Products, OneFortyOne Plantations and New Forests. Our key processing hubs are clustered around Mount Gambier and nearby towns, such as Millicent, Nangwarry and Kalangadoo. The committee examined how the broader regulatory environment affects regional economies, competition, environmental outcomes and community interest.

The state government understands the forest industry is an enormous contributor to the South Australian economy. Our state's forest industry employs both directly and indirectly 21,000 South Australians and contributes $3 billion to the South Australian economy each year. For example, 60 per cent of Australia's agriculture timbers, such as poles, posts and fencing, and 48 per cent of the packaging and industrial grade timber come from the South Australian forest industry; 25 per cent of the nation's particle board is sourced from South Australia and each year 4.64 million tonnes of carbon dioxide is captured and stored, cleaning the air and helping the state cut its carbon footprint.

The state government intends to consider all the recommendations in the report, along with further consulting with the industry about these before considering the next steps. A positive outcome is that many recommendations the committee proposed are actions that the Malinauskas Labor government is already addressing. These include the committee's recommendations for:

an increase in funding for research and development for the forest industry;

continued investment in tree breeding; and

for South Australia to advocate for a national forest industry code of conduct to improve transparency of trade between foresters and processors.

The state government has also committed $17 million over 10 years for the establishment of a forestry centre of excellence for research and development in the forest industry. Minister Scriven has appointed Professor Jeff Morrell as director, who commenced in the role in January this year. The building is due to be completed in January 2026.

Other recommendations that have been addressed by the government through the following action include:

$2.346 million for the purchase of AI fire-detection cameras, which are now guarding 130,000 hectares of Green Triangle plantations;

$1.8 million for the ongoing response to protect forests in the South-East, following the giant pine scale outbreak in Adelaide; and

$450,000 for a Tree Breeding Australia facility in Mount Gambier.

The government has also provided funding of $2 million for the development of the South Australian Wood Fibre and Timber Industry Master Plan, which has already funded a range of projects. An example of some of these projects are:

$300,000 for a workforce development program;

$250,000 for the This is Wood Work Campaign;

$260,000 for the standardisation of firefighter training;

$140,000 for the Monarto fibre precinct;

$200,000 for the electric log truck trial;

$200,000 for the CCA timber product stewardship; and

$70,000 for the State of the Industry report.

The downturn in supply of timber for processors in South Australia that we experienced when this committee was established in 2020 has evolved during the past five years. It is good to hear that in 2025 the supply of timber is stabilising across the industry. With this report we welcome the conclusion of the committee.

Finally, I would like to extend a big thankyou to the committee secretary, Ms Emma Johnston, and research officers Mr Bernard O'Neill and Dr Merry Brown. Thank you also to the committee Chair, the Hon. Nicola Centofanti, and to my fellow committee members, the Hon. Heidi Girolamo, the Hon. Ben Hood, the Hon. Frank Pangallo and the Hon. Russell Wortley.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (21:15): I would like to thank the Hon. Tung Ngo for his contribution to this report. It is an important report. I think the select committee's work reflects the significance of the forestry sector to South Australia, and the unanimous support across party lines reinforces, I think, the shared understanding of its economic, environmental and regional importance.

It has now been four months since the report was tabled, and we are keenly awaiting the minister's formal response to the committee's recommendations. The industry is looking for clear direction and leadership, and we urge the government to give these recommendations the consideration, and indeed the action, that they deserve. The ball is now firmly in the government's court. With that, I commend the report to the chamber.

Motion carried.