Friday Offcuts – 6 June 2025
Click to Subscribe - It's FREE! Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Offcuts.This week’s spotlight is on the future of timber supply and housing. Queensland has unveiled a comprehensive plan to boost timber resources to support its 1 million new homes target, while the Green Triangle is leading a shift to pine production to help meet Australia’s national housing goals. In addition, OneFortyOne has made the largest Australian forestry land acquisition in a decade, aiming to secure domestic sawlog supply from the mid-2050s. In New Zealand, a compelling op-ed counters Federated Farmers' recent anti-forestry campaign with a strong, fact- based rebuttal. NZFOA’s Facts & Figures 2023/24 was released last Friday, and continues to provide a comprehensive overview of New Zealand’s forestry sector - along with some notable global insights. Meanwhile, new research shows that pine forests can serve as viable kiwi habitats. Scion is celebrating 10 years of groundbreaking UAV research transforming forest management, and Forestry Australia has launched a new Mentoring Program for Women in the Industry. Finally, expressions of interest are now open for October’s Residues2Revenues 2025 event, which continues to spotlight the growing market for wood residues. Read these and more in another packed edition of Friday Offcuts.
Our Partners & SponsorsFriday Offcuts is made possible through the generous support of the following companies. 
This week we have for you:
QLD timber: Evidence-based plan to build future homes
The peak state body for the forest and timber industry in
Queensland is focused on future growth delivered by evidence-based
solutions following the positive first meeting of the Timber Supply
Chain Ministerial Roundtable.Timber Queensland CEO Mick Stephens said, “We welcome the commitment by the State Government to work with industry on improving our timber supply chains to meet ever-growing demand for future housing and construction needs. This includes the target of building 1 million new homes in Queensland over the next two decades.” “We can identify key actions to support this target through boosting our plantation softwood and native forestry resources along with wood processing in order to build and furnish more homes and buildings with renewable local timber materials,” Mr Stephens said. “We also recognise the broader social and environmental benefits from supporting this essential industry, including regional jobs and economic development, maintaining healthy forests and reducing our emissions in the built environment.” “Given these upsides, we look forward to working on a bold plan that delivers policy certainty to increase sustainable production while at the same time safeguarding the environment. Both plantations and well-managed native forests will play a key role in the plan,” Mr Stephens said. “We care about our industry, our people and our environment. That is why we support the role of active forest management that can generate a wide range of ecosystem services, including carbon storage, recreational opportunities and wood fibre, that generate considerable benefits for people while also conserving biodiversity.” The assumption that harvesting timber from native forests is necessarily harmful to biodiversity is not correct and there is strong evidence that forests need to be managed actively. “This approach is in direct contrast to the views of some activist groups with ideological notions that forest reservation is the only way to deliver conservation outcomes. This rigid view fails to stack up against the evidence on the environmental benefits from well-managed native forestry.” This evidence, particularly for species such as koalas and gliders, includes:
Source: Timber Queensland Enough with the forestry scare tactics
Forestry is not the monster Federated Farmers makes it out to
be, writes Canterbury farmer Richard Holloway. Federated
Farmers’ latest alarmist campaign blames exotic forestry for the
decline in sheep numbers. According to them, pines – not decades of structural and economic realities – are gutting the sheep industry. It’s a convenient but misleading scapegoat. The facts don’t match the rhetoric. In 2002, New Zealand had 1.78 million hectares of exotic forest. By 2020, that had decreased to 1.6 million ha. A 2024 study by Orme & Associates (commissioned by Beef + Lamb NZ) found 146,331 ha of sheep and beef land was sold for forestry conversion from 2021 to mid-2024 – based on intentions, not actual planting, and including pending sales. Even assuming all that land was planted, the total exotic forest estate would sit at around 1.75 million ha – still below 2002 levels. More >> Source: Farmers Weekly NZ facts & figures now available for 2023/24
The 2023/24 Facts and Figures publication
is produced annually by the New Zealand Forest Owners
Association (NZFOA), providing the latest data and
insights from across New Zealand’s forest growing sector.It includes planted forestry highlights, ownership and forest management information, deforestation trends, export and production statistics, health and safety data and supplementary information such as log prices over time. The publication has now been posted online through the NZFOA website. Printed copies can also be ordered by contacting the NZFOA office. Click here for full report Source & image credit: NZ Forest Owners Association Forestry companies shift focus to pine to meet demand for housing
An increasing demand for timber to meet Australia's housing targets is set to drive a change in focus for one of Australia's largest forestry regions. The Green Triangle, situated across the southern South Australia–Victorian border, has about 334,000 hectares of plantations, representing 17 per cent of Australia's forestry industry.The region grows a mix of softwood timber, primarily used in domestic construction, and hardwood, which is often exported as wood chips and used in paper manufacturing. But as Australia looks to meet its goal of building 1.2 million new homes by 2029, investment in softwood is growing fast. "Both the state and the federal governments have incentives in place for industry and private investors to grow radiata pine," University of Melbourne forest ecologist Rod Keenan said. More >> Source: ABC News Residues2Revenues 2025 – expressions of interest
The Residues2Revenues event is back, and will run
on 21-22 October 2025 in Rotorua, New Zealand.
Last year saw a record turnout, with over 200 attending from across
forest management, harvesting, log cartage, and wood processing &
manufacturing operations. Demand for woody biofuels, especially by
larger industrial heat and energy users in New Zealand, is steadily
increasing, and this event will continue to bring the sector together
and showcase the real value of wood residues and the opportunities in
supplying this growing market.FIEA are currently pulling together the 2025 programme. We worked closely with a wide range of New Zealand, Australian and international companies, technology suppliers, researchers and government bodies within the forestry community to develop a strong and innovative programme. This programme will cover:
If you are interested in presenting, please contact John Stulen on john.stulen@innovatek.co.nz or (+64) 27 275 8011. Further details of the event can be found on the event website.  HR feature: 3 ways to keep migrant staff.png){kind=logo} Work visa stand-down periods looming: 3 ways to keep migrant staff Do you have staff on work visas? Are they in skilled or lower-skilled roles? Do you know when those visas expire? If not, you may be caught off guard by Immigration NZ’s stand-down rules. In the last few years, lower-skilled visa holders (ANZSCO levels 4 and 5) have been limited to three years in New Zealand. After that, they must leave the country for 12 months before they can return. This can have big impacts on your business. You will likely have to rehire or re-train. Migrants and their families will have to leave. Here’s what has worked for the employers we support in the timber, manufacturing, and trades industries:
For tailored advice, contact Greenstone Recruitment on (+64) 7 850 1411 or visit our websites at www.greenstoneimmigration.co.nz and www.greenstone-recruitment.co.nz Launch of Mentoring Program for Women in Forestry
Forestry Australia, in partnership with ForestWorks, is excited
to announce the launch of the Mentoring Program for Women in the
Industry.CEO Jacquie Martin said the program is a transformative nine-month pilot initiative designed to empower women in the forest and forest products sectors. “We are now calling for expressions of interest from both mentors and mentees to join this groundbreaking program, funded by ForestWorks through the Australian Government’s Forestry Workforce Training Program (FWTP),” Ms Martin said. “Mentoring fosters’ personal and professional growth by building trust-based relationships that support goal setting, confidence, and leadership readiness,” Ms Martin said. “For women in male-dominated industries like forestry, mentoring provides critical support to overcome systemic barriers, access career opportunities, and build a strong, inclusive community that champions growth and connection.” The program will connect 25 mentor–mentee pairs, carefully matched based on shared interests, goals, and communication styles. Participants will engage in monthly one-on-one sessions (virtual or in-person), quarterly webinars, and peer support groups, exploring key themes such as:
The program is designed to boost confidence, foster professional growth, and support women in navigating both career and personal commitments. “This initiative is about creating lasting change,” Ms Martin said. “Participants will connect with role models, strengthen their leadership and career pathways, and build peer networks that endure beyond the program. “We’re committed to fostering a supportive community that empowers women to thrive in the forestry industry.” Following the pilot, Forestry Australia will provide ForestWorks with the program’s framework, resources, learnings, and webinars, ensuring long-term accessibility and impact for the broader industry. Who Can Apply? Mentees: The program is open to women working in the forest and forest product industries who are seeking support to grow their careers, develop leadership skills, and build strong professional networks. Mentors: We welcome expressions of interest from women, men and non-binary individuals who are committed allies of women in the industry. Mentors will be selected based on their experience, values, and willingness to support and uplift the next generation of women leaders in forestry. How to Get Involved Forestry Australia invites women in the forest and forest products industries to express interest as mentors or mentees. To apply or learn more, click here , or contact PD@forestry.org.au by Friday 4 July. More >> Source & image credit: Forestry Australia  Largest Australian forestry land acquisition in a decade
OneFortyOne, a leading forestry and sawmill business, is proud
to announce the acquisition of the former New Forests managed Limestone
Coast plantation forestry estate. This landmark acquisition,
completed on 30 May 2025, marks a significant milestone in Australian
forestry investment. OneFortyOne CEO Wendy Norris said the acquisition represents the first investment in forestry of this scale by an Australian company, in the past decade. “We are thrilled to expand our Green Triangle, Australian plantation forestry estate by 15%, adding close to 15,000 hectares of plantable area,” Wendy said. The acquisition includes approximately 14,800 hectares of mixed hardwood (Bluegum) and softwood (Radiata Pine) plantation resource or plantable area, within a total of 20,500 hectares of associated freehold land in the Green Triangle region and in Western Australia. New Forests has invested in the Limestone Estate since 2014, and the sale forms part of its Australia New Zealand Forestry Fund 2’s divestment process. SFM, the current property manager of this asset, will continue to provide hardwood and carbon-related management services to OneFortyOne, across the estate for the foreseeable future. “This is a significant acquisition for OneFortyOne and for the future potential of Australian softwood production,” Wendy added. Securing domestic sawlog supply from the mid-2050s OneFortyOne’s strategic decision to acquire the Limestone Coast estate is aimed at potentially securing domestic sawlog supply well into the future. “We are planning decades into the future and are focused on supporting our domestic customers by looking at ways to increase supply of sawlog,” Wendy explained. “This potential optionality of converting hardwood to softwood plantation estate, from short to long-term tree rotation, could provide additional certainty for domestic sawmill manufacturing and support domestic processing.” Importance of forestry for Australia's sovereignty Plantation forestry plays a crucial role in supporting Australian sovereignty in construction and manufacturing. Australia is projected to require approximately 2.5 million new dwellings by 2034, an average of 225,000 new homes annually. By 2050, this demand figure is expected to exceed 250,000 new homes annually. In the absence of new domestic log supply (and consequently a constrained ability to grow domestic sawn structural timber production), this potential increased demand would likely be met by offshore imports, with imports potentially doubling from circa 20% share of sawn timber demand today, to over 40% by the 2050s. “This trend underscores both the supply challenges and emerging opportunities for the domestic forestry and wood products sector,” Wendy emphasised. “With domestic softwood log availability in the 2050s being dependent on decisions made today, we are proud to be making one such decision now that has the potential to support log supply, and inevitably housing construction, in the middle of this century.” Source & image credit: OneFortyOne Pine a promising solution to save the kiwi
New Zealanders are known all over the world as Kiwis. However,
our namesake is in trouble. How can we work together to rebuild the kiwi
population? Pine could be part of the answer.Many people assume that kiwi only live in native forest. In fact, kiwi can live – and thrive – just about anywhere if there is enough food, water, shelter and protection from predators. That includes pine forest. Over the last two decades, interest and knowledge about kiwi in plantation forests have increased, along with a feeling of responsibility and a desire to protect kiwi that already live there. This interest stems in part from a growing commitment to the natural environment, needing to comply with resource consent conditions imposed by regional councils, district councils and other territorial authorities, and in part to meet sustainable forestry certification standards. Plantation forests have been proven as good habitat for kiwi. The soil is usually damp enough for kiwi to probe into, and the pine needle cover makes it easy to find food. In some areas, kiwi have naturally migrated from native forest into pine, and some plantation forests are now home to thriving populations of kiwi. All over New Zealand, collaborative efforts are in place to ensure kiwi can thrive in all habitats, including exotic plantation forests. There are approximately 1.7 million ha of plantation forests in New Zealand. This number offers a significant opportunity for kiwi conservationists to expand their work beyond the boundaries of native forests. Forestry companies already making a difference There are several examples of forestry companies that already have kiwi living in their forests, are working to make their forests safe for kiwi in the future, or are working alongside local kiwi conservation projects. More >> Source: Save the Kiwi  SnapSTAT - Even pavlova hit hard
We're all hoping cost of living increases retreat this year, but it's clear from today's 'stat in a snap' that even Kiwis favourite dessert has been hit hard by inflation in recent times. _web.jpg) Scion celebrates 10 years of UAV research
This year marks a decade since Scion adopted unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs) as a research tool – forging a path towards more
effective forest management.A pioneer in the field of UAV research, the Crown Research Institute bought its first drone in February 2015. Since then, UAVs have become a key tool for aerial data capture, for use in high-definition mapping and monitoring of forests. Scion also uses them for 3D modelling, sample collection, sub-canopy data captures and various types of imaging across multiple programmes. It is the only Crown Research Institute with Civil Aviation Authority Part 102 higher tier certification, which enables it to undertake UAV activity outside what standard operational licences allow. Scion scientist Robin Hartley says UAVs add a lot of value to the organisation’s research. “We regularly capture high-definition LIDAR for measuring trees. We can get ultra high-resolution maps of stands and trials, we are capturing spectral and thermal data to understand more about tree physiology remotely, and we’re working with companies to develop UAV spray systems specific to forestry needs. We’re also exploring niche areas such as sub-canopy flying for characterising stem and branch structure and collecting upper canopy samples.” The autonomous systems team has worked with other teams across Scion and industry over the past 10 years to enable them to adopt UAV technologies. “There is plenty of potential for UAVs to be used for other purposes within research and commercial forest management, too, such as forest inventory, phenotyping and manual applications such as spraying and planting,” Robin says. It all started in 2012, when research group leader David Pont was a scientist monitoring the development of UAVs and miniaturised laser scanning technologies. By 2015 a commercially available scanner had been matched to a drone from Aeronavics, a NZ-based UAV company working with the Hollywood film industry. At the time, a geomatics team was being formed at Scion that comprised scientists with expertise in airborne LiDAR. A state-of-the-art LidarPod weighing 3kg was bought from Scotland, and the Scion team ordered the largest UAV they could find to carry it. This UAV gave Scion a modern way to laser scan forest stands. Scion staff Toby Stovold, Kane Fleet and Marie Heaphie (who has since left the organisation), learned to fly a small UAV, which meant when the larger craft arrived they were ready to deploy it for forestry research. The wider industry took notice as the technology continued to develop. Several forestry companies have since invested in trials and built their own in-house UAV capacity. The strong industry adoption was highlighted in a 2020 study that showed 83 percent of forestry companies in NZ use UAVs to capture aerial imagery, compared to none in an earlier 2013 survey. More >> Source & image credit: Scion .jpg) NSW timber supply strengthened by seedling dispatch
Millions of eucalypt and pine seedlings are being dispatched
across NSW ahead of the annual State Forest planting season.
Grown from seed at Forestry Corporation’s Grafton and
Tumut nurseries these seedlings will provide NSW with sustainable timber
resources for the future.In coming months, the seedlings will be mostly planted by hand in recently harvested compartments, regrowing these forests with trees for the future. Forestry Corporation every year plants the equivalent of 14,000 football fields in plantations. Forestry Corporation’s nursery staff play a huge hand in increasing the state’s timber resources. “Our nurseries combined raise around 11 million new trees every year for the replanting of state forests across NSW. Most are grown from seed, while others are sourced externally to ensure a diverse and resilient plantation stock,” Grafton Nursery Manager Karen Morrow said. “Here in Grafton, we are currently dispatching 300,000 hardwood seedlings, 380,000 softwood seedlings and a heap of specialty seedling orders. We have raised and dispatched 29,000 koala feed trees that will be hugely important in creating koala habitat through community and private property planting projects. “An additional 15,000 Christmas tree seedlings have just been dispatched, along with 6,000 eucalyptus seedings for a private customer and another 23,000 eucalyptus seedlings will be dispatched for planting in June," she said. Mechanical planting of hoop pine is also set to start at Pikapene near Grafton. Forestry Corporation’s seedling stock will be supplemented with stock purchased from HQP in Queensland to produce the high-quality timber that is important to the plywood industry and used for furniture, veneer, joinery, panelling, particle board, flooring and boats. A large replanting program will see around 700,000 radiata seedlings planted in New England pine forests in the Walcha district. Half of those seedlings were transferred to Inverell for hardening in April, where they will stay until the plantings commence in July. Dispatch will also take place from the Tumut nursery, which focuses on radiata pine in areas like Tumut, Bombala and Bathurst. Every year NSW’s softwood plantations grow enough timber to build more than 40,000 homes a year. Hardwood forests continue to produce incredible engineered products, such as the timber interior of the Sydney Opera House, but it’s the everyday uses where the timber is most needed producing power poles, marine wharf piers, timber pallets, timber flooring, decking and furniture. Combined, the NSW forestry industry generates an estimated $2.4 billion for the economy employing 22,000 people in NSW. For more information on replanting programs and forest management visit forestrycorporation.com.au Source & image credit: Forestry Corporation New road projects as activity peaks across Australasia
With road infrastructure investment across Australia and New
Zealand reaching historic highs, a new Austroads report
highlights the opportunity – and urgency – of strengthening
workforce planning to meet surging demand.The Australia and New Zealand Roads Capability Analysis March 2025 Update report identifies short to medium-term workforce capability pressures in Victoria, South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory, and New Zealand, as project pipelines expand, and activity intensifies. This latest release is the third in a series of four half-yearly updates to the quantitative analysis in the >Australia and New Zealand Roads Capability Analysis 2022-2032 report, delivered in September 2023 by Oxford Economics Australia. It provides updated projections based on fresh labour market data and recent government budgets, with the base year revised to the 2024 financial year (FY24) and forecasts now extending to FY34. “This is a time of significant opportunity for the sector,” said Geoff Allan, Chief Executive of Austroads. “We’re seeing increased investment, major project launches, and renewed momentum across both countries. But to deliver on this promise, we must ensure we have the skilled workforce in place to support it.” New Zealand road projects accelerate, creating strong demand for skilled workers In New Zealand, the 2024 Government Policy Statement on Land Transport confirmed a renewed focus on strategic projects and a NZD$640 million increase in road maintenance funding over the next decade. Road activity is now expected to peak at NZD$5.4 billion in FY27, driven in part by the reintroduction of the Roads of National Significance program. While the report projects a capability gap of more than 300 workers by FY27 in New Zealand’s public road workforce, this will turn to a surplus from FY28 onwards as training, migration, and recruitment efforts take effect. Australia’s outlook strong, but long-term focus needed Australia’s road construction sector has strengthened, with activity forecast to peak at around $39.7 billion in FY26, supported by a significant pipeline of major projects. While a modest skills surplus is anticipated in FY25, the report warns that rising demand, delivery challenges, and inter-sector competition could put strain on agency staffing. From FY30 onwards, construction activity is expected to stabilise at elevated levels – averaging $34.3 billion annually – with road maintenance also projected to grow through initiatives like the Roads to Recovery program. The report highlights emerging workforce capability pressures in Victoria, South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory, and New Zealand, with gaps anticipated within the next 1-3 years as project activity intensifies. More >> Source: Austroads Jobs
Buy and Sell
and one to end the week on... A homemade sawmill
Worth resharing this video from a few years ago from Australian Ralph Affleck who sadly passed away last year at the ripe old age of 94.  And on that note, enjoy your weekend. Cheers.  Brand PartnersOur Partners & Sponsors Friday Offcuts is made possible through the generous support of the following companies.
Copyright 2004-2025 © Innovatek Ltd. All rights reserved
|
