New Zealanders looking for information on any aspect of planting and managing trees in a working landscape will be able to access a free online database that will contain list the most credible information resources available. Source: Forestry Expo NZ

National parks and forestry staff in NSW are refusing to help fight major bushfires until their accident compensation packages are brought into line with emergency service workers. Source: Ninemsn

Collaboration between acclaimed French designer Philippe Starck and Slovenian timber engineering specialists Riko will see the partners’ first sustainable prefabricated wooden house completed later this year. Source: Design Build Source

Senior Architectural Systems’ award for ‘Best Building Envelop Product’ was presented for the company’s Hybrid Door, Window and Curtain Walling Systems at the Timber Expo in Coventry, England. Source: Specification Online (UK)

A powerful Senate committee that has been examining the impact of the financial crisis on banking could accept late submissions on the collapse of Tasmanian timber group Gunns according to The Australian newspaper. Source: The Australian

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will block retail giant Woolworths from acquiring a chain of three hardware stores in the Victorian town of Ballarat because it would reduce competition in the local market. Source: The Australian

Southern Cross Forest Products Thames Timber sawmill in New Zealand saw the opportunity to improve staff and its operations by improving education with numeracy and language skills. Now it’s seeing a big lift in revenue. Source: Stuff.co.nz

Delegates at the Central Highland Agribusiness Forum’s Bioenergy Expo in Ballarat, Victoria were told that other countries had set timelines for replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy, including bioenergy. Source: Weekly Times Now