Friday Offcuts – 23 January 2026
Click to Subscribe - It's FREE! Welcome to this week’s issue of Friday Offcuts.Flooding across New Zealand’s North Island this week has cut off communities and closed major roads. Coming on the back of Australia’s recent bushfires, it is a stark reminder that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, disruptive, and costly. This growing reality underpins the Environmental Forestry 2026 event, being held in Rotorua this March - an issue that is clearly no longer niche. To help protect workers, WorkSafe NZ has released new guidance on staying safe during storm recovery operations. Meanwhile, analysis of Victoria’s bushfires has reinforced the need for year-round, landscape-scale coordination, while Tasmania is crediting remote AI fire detection with identifying fires early and limiting damage. Policy, investment, and market signals this week include reforms to New Zealand’s forestry training system, significant reductions in ETS charges for forest owners, major Tasmanian processing investments, and new funding opportunities supporting farm forestry and agroforestry. FWPA’s latest report also shows that strong growth in home alterations and additions will be a key driver of future timber demand. Finally, research and outlooks examine Indigenous forest carbon stocks, emerging supply-chain pressures from global pulp markets, and industry predictions for the year ahead - offering valuable context for decision-makers navigating an increasingly complex operating environment. Read these stories and more in this week’s packed issue of Friday Offcuts.
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This week we have for you:
Victoria’s bushfires show the need for smart coordination
Victorians are living through another black summer, with fires
burning through more than 400,000 hectares of forest and farmland and
leaving communities from Natimuk to Walwa confronting loss. The
scale of the damage underscores the need to continue evolving how we
manage our landscapes to better prepare for fire.Across my career, one lesson has remained consistent: fire is an unavoidable part of Australian ecosystems, but the extent of its impacts is shaped by how we prepare for and manage it. Effective fire management requires coordinated action across all land tenures – public and private land. Preventing damaging fires must be prioritised. We should not rely on emergency response and recovery as our primary fire management strategy. Vegetation management, appropriate building design and land‑use planning that reflects local risk can significantly reduce exposure. This work should occur 365 days a year, long before a fire starts, giving communities a better chance of avoiding severe impacts. The strategic use of “good fire” is also essential. Prescribed burning, cultural burning led by Traditional Owners and mechanical fuel reduction, when applied appropriately in the right locations and at the right scale, can help reduce landscape risk. A substantial body of Australian research supports this. For example, the former Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre, a national research program funded by government, universities, CSIRO and fire agencies, produced extensive studies showing that well-planned prescribed burning reduces fire severity and improves suppression opportunities. Research from the University of New South Wales, the University of Melbourne and the CSIRO shows that fuel reduction activities reduce the likelihood of fires escalating into uncontrollable events. These treatments are most effective when coordinated across tenures. The Walwa fire, which has damaged farmland, timber plantation and public land, illustrates that fire does not recognise boundaries. As a result, a landscape‑scale approach is essential to prepare for and mitigate fire spread Rapid detection and initial attack are critically important once a fire does start. Effective response systems, including pre‑positioned ground and aerial detection resources, are vital to reducing the likelihood that a small ignition will become a major fire. Evidence from Australia and overseas shows that shorter detection‑to‑response times significantly improve the probability of containing new fires and that even short delays in response can materially change suppression outcomes. Adaptive management – learning from each season and new science and adjusting practice accordingly – must underpin all aspects of fire management. This includes integrating Traditional Owner knowledge, monitoring ecological outcomes and ensuring that treatments remain effective under a changing climate. Research from Charles Darwin University’s Fire and Savanna Research program and studies published in the International Journal of Wildland Fire highlight the value of adaptive programs that respond to shifting conditions. None of this is possible without people who are connected to and in touch with the land. Our members in government agencies, forestry companies, volunteer brigades and communities contribute essential expertise to fire preparedness, response and recovery. Reducing resources in rural and regional communities, combined with decisions that risk being viewed as Melbourne-centric, undermines this critical expertise. As Victoria faces challenging conditions, the focus must remain on evidence‑based approaches. Preparation and prevention activities year-round, continuously improving detection and response capability, and sustaining regional and rural capacity to deliver these actions will help reduce harm and strengthen resilience. Fire will always be part of Australia, but with a coordinated, science‑informed approach, its impacts can be better managed. Source: Dr Michelle Freeman, President, Forestry Australia Forestry training changes underway - industry consultation
Changes are underway across New Zealand’s vocational
education system, and forestry training is part of this wider reform.
These changes follow the Government’s decision to
disestablish Te Pūkenga and restructure work based learning, which has
included Competenz.Competenz has confirmed it will move in 2026 to a new Private Training Establishment (PTE) focused on engineering and manufacturing. Forestry training will not move into this new organisation, as forestry sits under the Food and Fibre Industry Skills Board. This means a new arrangement is needed to support forestry training in the future. Forestry must advise Government of its preferred option for delivering vocational training by the end of March. The main options are to work with a polytechnic, a Private Training Establishment (PTE), or a wānanga. The focus for industry is to ensure any new arrangement supports practical, on the job training and continues to work well for employers and learners. More than 85 percent of forestry training happens on the job, and forestry has a remarkably high training participation rate. Training is an important tool for helping to manage health and safety risks in harvesting and silviculture. The FOA and FICA Forestry Training Committee is focused on protecting what works well for forestry. This includes preserving the forestry knowledge, resources, and key people currently supporting training through Competenz, and ensuring the national network of trainers and assessors can continue through the transition to a new provider. Members of the Forestry Training Committee recently met in Auckland with management from Competenz and Primary ITO to discuss the future of forestry training and how a smooth transition could be achieved. Based on the committee’s due diligence work, the suggested approach is for forestry to align with Primary ITO as it transitions into a new Primary Industry Private Training Establishment (PTE). Under this approach, forestry training would sit within a dedicated forestry business area, rather than being absorbed into a generic training model. This would allow forestry to retain strong industry control, with clear feedback and accountability through an industry advisory group supporting the forestry business unit general manager. Forestry would also have a seat on the board of the PTE. The proposed Primary Industry PTE model is being discussed with other primary industry groups to confirm details around structure, governance, reporting, and funding. The proposed forestry business area would focus only on vocational training, similar to the role previously played by Competenz. Forestry diplomas, degrees, and other education programmes would continue to be delivered by their existing providers, and other Private Training Establishments (PTEs) would still be able to operate in the forestry training market. Industry consultation will open in February. Feedback from forest owners, contractors, trainers, and other stakeholders will help shape the final advice provided to Government. During February and March, the Forestry Training Committee will engage with the sector through online consultation sessions with Wood Councils, followed by four regional workshops around the country, with an additional online session for those unable to attend in person. These sessions will explain the proposed approach and provide an opportunity for questions and feedback. This is an important opportunity for forestry to help shape the future of training and ensure it remains practical, straightforward, and fit for purpose for the sector. Source: NZ Forest Owners Association (FOA)  FWPA: Alterations & additions growth trends & forecast
Ongoing challenges in the Australian residential construction sector, particularly rising material and labour costs, supply chain disruptions, and capacity constraints, have shifted household activity away from new builds towards alterations and additions (A&A). Renovating and extending existing homes has become a more attractive option for many households, allowing them to improve or expand their living spaces without the higher costs, delays, and risks associated with new construction.
 At the national level, the value of alterations and additions (A&A) increased strongly between 2020 and 2025, growing at an average annual rate of 9.7% %, from $9.1 billion to $14.5 billion. As mentioned above, this surge reflected shifting household preferences toward renovating existing homes in response to higher construction costs, labour shortages, and supply chain disruptions. Looking ahead, A&A activity is expected to continue expanding, although at a more moderate pace. From 2025 to 2035, the value of A&A work is forecast to grow by around 3.7% per year, increasing from $14.5 billion in 2025 to $20.2 billion by 2035 (Figure 2).  While the rapid growth seen during the pandemic period is unlikely to be repeated, the long-term outlook remains positive. Alterations and additions are expected to remain a key segment of the residential construction market, supported by an ageing housing stock, population growth, and ongoing pressure on the affordability of new housing. Overall, A&A activity is becoming a structurally important part of the housing sector, providing steady demand for building materials and construction services over the coming decade. Source: FWPA Chart source: ABS. FWPA Data Dashboard Review of the Emissions Trading Scheme - cost reductions for forestry
Forestry Minister Todd McClay has announced additional reductions to costs for forest owners in the Emissions Trading Scheme Registry (ETS), saying that all forest owners will benefit from this decision.“The last Labour Government wanted forest owners to pay an excessive NZ$30.25 per hectare per year, forcing the sector to take legal action. We’re lowering that, for a second time, to NZ$10.25,” Mr McClay says. “This represents a 66 per cent reduction in the annual charge since the National-led Government took office.” Consultation opens today and is the result of a second review into operational costs of the scheme. Mr McClay requested the first independent review in 2024, which resulted in an initial reduction to $14.90 per hectare. Key proposed changes include:
“Today’s announcement delivers on the Government’s promise to rebuild confidence in the forestry sector and support its role in achieving New Zealand’s exporting and emissions targets,” Mr McClay says. Updated settings are expected to take effect from mid-2026. Details on the consultation are available here. Source: NZ Government Growing the value of the Tasmanian forestry industry
Tasmania’s A$1.2 billion forestry industry is set for
further growth, with four projects securing funding from Round Two of
the Forestry On-Island Processing Program. Neville Smith
Forest Products, Western Junction Sawmill, Forico and Britton Brothers
will each receive A$2 million as part of the program.Minister for Business, Industry and Resources, Felix Ellis, said the funding would unlock more than $50 million in private investment for modern processing and production facilities. “Seizing opportunities further up the value chain in forestry creates jobs for Tasmanians and helps keep our economy strong,” Minister Ellis said. “These new projects will convert plantation hardwood logs into high-value products such as solid timber panels, glue-laminated timber, staircase components, pallets and sawn timber. “We are working together to move our state forward, and this funding backs in the future of the industry and the 5,700 jobs it supports right across the state.” The expansion complements Sustainable Timber Tasmania’s current plantation hardwood sale which will provide 125,000 cubic metres of plantation hardwood logs each year for the next decade. Source: Premier of Tasmania WorkSafe tips for staying safe during storm recovery
With clean up and rescue efforts underway in storm-damaged parts
of the country, WorkSafe is urging workers to be aware of the risks
associated with the aftermath of extreme weather events.Many areas of the country are grappling with flooding, slips, downed power lines, debris and waterlogged ground. WorkSafe’s Acting Northern Regional Manager Jason Gibson says workers need to be aware of how those changes can affect them. “For floodwater, silt and debris there’s a high risk it’s contaminated with things like farm run-off, sewage and chemicals which can make you sick. For workers involved in the clean up, they need to take precautions like wearing appropriate PPE .” He says there’s also an increased risk of outbreaks of the water-borne disease leptospirosis and if workers feel unsafe, they need to speak up. There are also risks posed by households without power using portable generators and gas barbeques. “These should be used in a well-ventilated place so exhaust gases can escape safely – we don’t want people breathing them in,” says Jason Gibson. “The last thing we want is to have incidents and injuries in the aftermath of this serious weather event. We have a lot of guidance available on our website designed to keep people safe and get everyone home in one piece.” For more information, see Natural events and emergencies Some tips for staying safe during the clean up:
 2026 pulp, paper, & forest products industry predictions
The pulp, paper, and forest products industry endured another year of
uncertainty and significant change in 2025. From new tariffs and
widespread mill closures to persistent overseas overcapacity, the market
experienced profound and ongoing transformation.As part of our annual tradition, ResourceWise is proud to share our key insights and forecasts for the year ahead. Below are seven predictions we believe will shape the pulp, paper, and forest products industry in 2026. 2026 Predictions 1. Supply Chain Transparency Will Deepen Despite Regulatory Delays The long march toward deeper supply chain transparency will continue, even as European legislated mandates are pushed into 2027. Certification organisations will come under greater scrutiny to prove the bona fides of their sustainability standards. Large consumer products companies and retailers will expand voluntary schemes, placing more – not less – burden on the supply chain. 2. Chinese Overcapacity and Exports Will Reshape Global Trade and Pricing Chinese overcapacity and resulting market pressure will drive additional protectionist actions in regions with significant pulp and paper manufacturing, such as Europe, India, and possibly Brazil. Importing countries with small domestic manufacturing bases will become the new battlegrounds in trade, with globally trade-exposed Western companies losing share and margins. At the same time, Chinese exports of pulp and paper will weaken global prices as they make inroads into India and Brazil. This activity will dampen global markets, putting price pressure on U.S. producers despite tariffs. The Chinese government may need to bail out its industry as hyper-competition results in zero-sum outcomes for many players. More >> Source: ResourceWise  How to build a green Parliament with mass timber
After a decade of talk and planning, the past year has seen a
new building begin to rise behind Parliament.A new space to house around a quarter of Parliament’s 120 MPs was originally conceived in 2014 and approved by Cabinet in 2016. Plans were drawn up for a five-storey building which would be constructed behind Parliament House, then occupied by a parking lot. After the 2017 election, the project was put on hold as part of the Labour-NZ First coalition agreement. Although most parties in Parliament had supported the new building, NZ First had always opposed it and secured a pause in coalition negotiations. Finally, following the 2020 election, which saw NZ First out of Parliament, the project was resurrected. It is now expected to be completed by early 2027. However, it underwent significant changes as part of that process, project director Dave Wills says. “We did a good project review at that point and that’s where three objectives were added to the project.” Those were sustainability, resilience and co-design with local iwi. More >> Source & image credit: Newsroom Image credit: LT McGuinness Ecological monitoring in the Greater Blue Mountains
Western Sydney University’s Blue Mountains Hub for Ecology
and Conservation has made substantial progress in establishing a long-term, integrated ecological monitoring network across one of
Australia’s most significant and vulnerable landscapes.
Developed in partnership with the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network
(TERN) and technology partner Edaphic Scientific, the Hub is laying
the foundations for a research platform that will support ecological
science, conservation management, and environmental decision-making for
decades to come.Over the past year, the Hub has completed field surveys for 35 permanent ecological monitoring plots extending from the Cumberland Plain, across the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, and into the Central West of New South Wales. This 165-kilometre transect spans a broad range of elevation, climate, and vegetation types, capturing major environmental gradients in temperature and rainfall. The resulting plot network provides a robust framework for understanding how ecosystems respond to pressures such as climate change, drought, fire, and urban expansion at Sydney’s western edge. Each plot has been established using a standardised design to ensure long-term consistency and compatibility with national and international monitoring programs. Within 30-metre diameter plots, all trees greater than or equal to 10 centimetres in diameter have been measured, tagged, and mapped, creating a permanent record of forest structure and composition. Larger, overlaid survey areas support monitoring of fauna, enabling integrated assessments of vegetation and biodiversity across dry sclerophyll forest, wet sclerophyll forest, and rainforest communities. A major milestone for the Hub has been the completion of terrestrial LiDAR scanning (TLS) across 35 plots. These surveys were led by Professor Kim Calders in collaboration with the SpaceTwin team, including Zane Cooper, Wout Cherlet, and Wouter Van den Broeck (Ghent University). The high-resolution three-dimensional scans provide unprecedented detail on forest structure, enabling precise estimates of biomass, carbon storage, and structural complexity. The terrestrial LiDAR datasets are being complemented by aerial LiDAR surveys using unmanned aerial vehicles, allowing forest structure to be scaled from individual plots to the surrounding landscape. Together, these approaches position the Hub at the forefront of forest monitoring and ecological remote sensing in Australia. More >> Source & image credit: Western Sydney University --(2022)2.jpg) Solving the case of the missing carbon
Robust, time-sequenced calculations of carbon in different landscapes across Aotearoa are essential to support sensible conclusions about future national carbon inventory goals and commitments. Back in 2002, to establish a baseline, a nationally representative forest inventory plot network (the Land Use and Carbon Analysis System, LUCAS) was created by the Ministry for the Environment, to measure forest biomass and carbon storage. This national forest inventory consists of over 1,000 permanent measurement plots on an 8 km grid across Aotearoa’s pre-1990 natural forest and shrublands, including indigenous tall forest on or near public conservation land. The plot network is augmented and backed by increasingly sophisticated satellite data on land-cover, but nothing beats on-the-ground fieldwork. By 2017, when the plots were re-measured, no overall national change was detected in carbon storage in forests, but subsequent more detailed analyses suggested a decline in carbon in the widespread indigenous kāmahi-podocarp forest type. Such loss of carbon, if continued over the long-term, could have major implications for New Zealand’s carbon balance. In kāmahi-podocarp forests, many canopy tree species are browsed by non-native mammals. Because of this, it was suggested at the time that controlling browsing mammalian herbivores, particularly deer, goats and brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula), might reverse biomass declines in these forest classes and increase carbon storage. But were possums and other browsers really the culprits? Could browser control benefit carbon storage? Enter the carbon detectives from the Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Group, armed with world-leading expertise in landscape ecology and data interpretation, large rolls of fencing wire, and a lot of patience. Their work had two complementary aspects: desk-based number crunching, and more of the all-important fieldwork. For the former, Manaaki Whenua’s researchers undertook a comprehensive re-analysis of the plot network data for the Department of Conservation. Completed in 2025, the analysis showed that in fact, there was no large-scale effect of herbivore-driven carbon declines in indigenous tall forest on public conservation land. Effects were slight, but not major, partly because deer, goats and possums browse their preferred foods but avoid other plants, so a well-established, mixed forest type can stand up well to browsing and no overall decline is noted. Overall, the re-analysis showed that there was virtually no change in carbon stocks in living plant stems across all plots nationwide (the actual average change across the whole country was -0.0005 milligrams of carbon per hectare per year). More >> Source & image credit: Bioeconomy Science Institute (BSI) 7 Supply Chain & Logistics Innovations from CES 2026From AI-driven digital twins to autonomous robots, CES 2026 highlighted practical technologies reshaping how goods are made, moved and delivered.Every January, the global technology sector converges on Las Vegas for CES, billed as the “most powerful tech event in the world,” by its makers. The event draws manufacturers, startups, analysts and anyone else looking for signals about what technologies are moving from concept to commercial reality. CES 2026 delivered on that promise, with a notably strong presence from companies focused on supply chain, logistics and transportation. Across the show floor, exhibitors highlighted tools aimed at improving execution, visibility and resilience in increasingly complex global operations. Here are seven different supply chain and logistics innovations that made their debut at CES 2026: 1) Industrial AI digital twins for end-to-end supply chain management. At the show, Siemens unveiled new digital twin capabilities that connect real-time operational data with AI-driven simulation. These tools allow manufacturers and logistics operators to model production lines, warehouse flows and transportation scenarios before making physical changes, uncovering hidden capacity and reducing capital spend. More >>< Source: Supply Chain Connect Video source: CNET  Call for Australian projects now open - farm forestry & agroforestry
Forestry Australia is seeking proposals for projects that will
support farm forestry and agroforestry in Australia. The
funding is made available through the Forestry Australia’s Grower
Reserve Fund, with up to $10,000 available per project.The purpose of the Grower Fund is to support projects that meet one or more of the following criteria:
Submission address: growers@forestry.org.au Project principles & selection criteria Applications for projects supported from the Grower Reserve Fund will be considered according to the following principles:
Proposals will be evaluated by the Forestry Australia Grower Committee and Board based on the following selection criteria:
Forestry Australia’s Board will approve all projects, and Forestry Australia’s Grower Committee will consider and provide oversight to all projects. A final project report including budget expenditure will be required after the Project, with brief written progress updates provided to the Grower Committee every quarter. More >> Source & image credit: Forestry Australia Early detection cameras prevent runaway bush fires
At 8.40am on Dec 12, 2025, in the midst of Australia’s
bush fire season, a blaze erupted in Golden Valley, a remote woodland
region of the island state of Tasmania. Typically, such a
fire in a sparsely populated area might not be detected until hours
later and, by then, would have become uncontrollable. But this fire was
detected by a new artificial intelligence-powered camera on a tower 19km
away.The camera, which rotates 360 degrees every minute and takes photos every five seconds, spotted a plume of smoke and alerted Sustainable Timber Tasmania (STT), a state-owned forest management and timber production company that is one of the state’s three firefighting agencies. A fire truck that happened to be nearby was sent to dump water on it. Two helicopters and two firefighting crews were later deployed. By 11am, the fire was out, according to Dr Shaun Suitor, strategy manager at STT. “This was in dense bush land,” Dr Suitor told The Sunday Times. “Without the camera, this fire would not have been seen for hours, and it would not have been controllable.” More >> Source: The Straits Times Image credit: Indicium Dynamics  Jobs
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And one to end the week on... Dark humour
When British humour was darker and funnier! Take control of the wheel, follow my instructions to execute an emergency stop, while retaining full control... Check out the video.  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.
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