Fire-impacted forest industries can apply to the Federal Government’s $40 million Forestry Recovery Development Fund from today. Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries Jonno Duniam said yesterday competitive grants of between $1 million and $5 million would strengthen industry and create jobs in our forestry communities. Source: Timberbiz
The Fund, announced in June by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, will support timber processors facing significant, long-term reductions in log supply so they can retool and upgrade their mills.
The bushfire recovery package also included a $10 million Salvage Log Storage Fund to boost mills’ capacity to process and store the short-term surplus in burnt logs, particularly in the NSW South West Slopes region where around 40 per cent of the softwood plantations were fire damaged.
The announcement follows an open letter written to Senator Duniam pleading for the bush recovery support to be delivered urgently.
Carter Holt Harvey Plywood general manager Craig Stratford and HVP Plantations chief operating officer Rob Hescock co-signed the letter with representatives from Alpine MDF (Wangaratta) and D&R Henderson (Benalla) as well as Independent federal member for Indi Helen Haines.
Dr Haines said that while the announcement was welcome it was long overdue news for a sector that employs 1400 people in Indi, and which incurred $50 million of damage in last year’s terrible bushfires.
“The pace of this bushfire recovery is still inadequate in many ways,” Dr Haines said.
“The fires came in December 2019. It is now September and the next fire season is almost upon us.
“I first wrote to the Forestry Minister, Senator Jonathan Duniam, in February, calling for an urgent emergency rescue package, and outlining a detailed proposal from the sector.
“It is not good enough to take eight months even to open applications. With applications not closing until mid-October, it is likely to be almost a year before any funding actually hits the ground,” she said.
“With wood rotting on the stump, and thousands of jobs in the balance, this pace is unacceptably slow.”
Senator Duniam said the Forestry Recovery Development Fund would support Australia’s forestry industries to build back better by investing in public–private partnerships that deliver innovation and industry diversification for long–term success.
“The Morrison Government is committed to supporting the forest industry in its recovery, which is why grants will be available for a number of projects, including upgrading existing facilities and technology, installing new facilities and diversification to make the business more resilient.
“I am committed to making sure the forestry industry is in a strong position to continue to grow and recover, and the Morrison Government will be there every step of the way.”
Dr Haines said the government needed to commit to the rapid assessment of grant applications, a fair Dr allocation of funding between bushfire-affected communities and the rapid delivery of this grant funding.
After all this time, it would be deeply unfortunate for Indi’s forestry sector to miss out on its fair share of support.
The bushfire recovery to date has been inadequate – the government must do better.
AFPA Chief Executive Officer Mr Ross Hampton said this support package would provide major relief to the forest product industries in NSW, Victoria and South Australia devastated by the Black Summer bushfires.
“We’re pleased the Federal Government listened and responded to the crisis facing our industry,” he said.
“The opening of the program means the industry can take the next step towards recovery to ensure they can survive into the future and support the regional economies and jobs which rely on our sustainably managed forest industries,” Mr Hampton said.
“While the fire-affected mills still face significant challenges over the next 20-30 years, this Fund and the NSW Government’s complementary recovery package announced earlier in the year will go a long way towards securing the long-term future of the industry and the tens of thousands of jobs it supports,” Mr Hampton said.
Grants will be delivered through a competitive grants process with applications to open today, for projects to be completed by 30 June 2023.
The guidelines and information on applying for the grants can be found on the Grant Connect and Community Grants Hub websites.
