Suzette Weeding
The 2021 National Forest Industry Awards were presented in Canberra at the start of the month, with awards going to Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia. Sustainable Timber Tasmania’s Suzette Weeding won the Midway Woman in Forest Industries Award of Excellence. Source: Timberbiz
Ms Weeding has been a long-valued member of Australia’s forest industries, from her beginnings in forest practices and environmental management and having progressed into an established and inspiring executive.
Recently, she was appointed as chair of the Gottstein Trust, a national educational trust for the forest and forest wood products sector.
Hayley Filipovic
C3 Australia’s Hayley Filipovic won the Lonza Forest Industries Emerging Leader of the Year Award.
Ms Filipovic joined C3 Australia, part of LINX Cargo Care Group, as an Operations Manager in Portland, Victoria, in 2019 and in April 2020 assumed the role of Regional Manager – Green Triangle. Today she oversees all C3 operations in the area which include in field chipping, haulage, log marshalling, and support services.
The NSW Forestry Corporation – Innovation in Health and Safety Award of Excellence went to AKD Softwoods’ National Health and Safety Manager Toni Kirkup.
Ms Kirkup implemented a national Safety Interaction Program and ensured that all of AKD’s leaders were introduced to the process. She also initiated a process where employees provided statements and photos about why safety was important to them and their families.
During the COVID pandemic in 2020 where Colac case number grew to 130, in a town of just 12,000, Ms Kirkup provided leadership, not only to AKD, but in the wider community, including through the Keep Colac Safe campaign.
Wespine Industries won the ForestWorks Innovation in Training Award.
Wespine secured the award off the back of a massive training program focusing on the culture of the leadership team, supervisors and shop-floor employees undertaken over a four-year period with surveys conducted throughout.
Ben Sawyer
And Forest Products Commission of WA’s Ben Sawyer won the Visy Innovation in Business Award.
Mr Sawyer has been at FPC for 25 years and is the organisation’s Aboriginal Engagement Manager. He created ‘Sandalwood Dreaming’ as an innovative way to engage Traditional Owners and support Aboriginal businesses to build forestry capacity and seek out Aboriginal entrepreneurs within Aboriginal Communities to work out business opportunities.
The National Forest Industry Awards were organised by the Australian Forest Products Association.
