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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-10-31 Daily Xml
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Green Triangle Timber Industry Awards

The Hon. J.E. HANSON (15:10): My question is to the Minister for Forest Industries. Will the minister inform the council about the recent Green Triangle Timber Industry Awards night held in Mount Gambier?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (15:10): I thank the honourable member for his question. Members on this side of the chamber understand the importance of forestry and the timber industry here in South Australia. As I have said on many occasions in this place, the forest industry employs both directly and indirectly over 21,000 people, many of whom reside in the Limestone Coast and provide an overall economic value to the state of over $1.4 billion.

These figures are certainly worth celebrating, and that is exactly what happened last Friday night when we had the fourth annual Green Triangle Timber Industry Awards night at the Barn, near Mount Gambier. The event was attended by over 500 people from across the timber industry in the Green Triangle and celebrated and acknowledged the vital contribution made by so many people involved in the industry.

I think I have attended every awards night since their creation, and I am pleased to say that this was the biggest one to date. It just keeps on getting bigger and better. Of course, events like this don't just occur. Months of planning went into the event, and it was clear on the night that organisers left no stone unturned. I want to give special thanks to Adrian Flowers and Gaylene Newton for all of their hard work in running a very successful event, supported, of course, by their committee.

It was wonderful to have the Premier attend and reinforce through his speech the significance of this industry to the state. I also note hardworking local members, the member for Mount Gambier and the member for MacKillop, were in attendance. The Hon. Ben Hood was there too.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: Nominations across 10 award categories were judged and awarded, and I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Andrew Burston from OneFortyOne for winning the Sawmilling and Processing Excellence Award; Adam Merrett from Merrett Logging for winning the Logistics Excellence Award; Jamie Marlow, again from Merrett Logging, for being awarded the Harvesting and In-Field Chipping Excellence Award; and Jason Whyte from Berry and Whyte Surveyors for taking out the Silviculture and Timber Support Services Excellence Award.

There were joint winners in the Safety Excellence Award, with Deb Kuhl and Ryan Cassar being acknowledged as equally worthy of that award. Grace Tse from Timberlands Pacific was awarded the Trainee/Apprentice of the Year Award. Wendy Fennell from Fennell Forestry was the winner of the Environment and Sustainability Award. The Safety Excellence Award for more than 30 staff was won by Merrett Logging, with Glenara Transport taking out the Safety Excellence Award for fewer than 30 staff.

Last but certainly not least was the winner of the prestigious Timber Legend Award, and I am delighted to say that that was won by Dr Jim O'Hehir. Dr O'Hehir has played a significant role in the forest industry in the Limestone Coast for many years, is internationally recognised for his research and more recently has been a critical player in the rollout of the Forestry Centre of Excellence.

It was a pleasure to see high-calibre nominees and winners who were all rightfully recognised for their ongoing contributions to the forest industry, an industry that has a great future in our state. Once again, congratulations to all involved.

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