Friday Offcuts – 11 April 2025
Click to Subscribe - It's FREE! Welcome to this week's edition of Friday Offcuts.Please note a schedule change for the next two issues: due to Easter next week and ANZAC Day the following week, Friday Offcuts will be released on Thursday instead of Friday. Submission deadlines for jobs and classifieds will be midday Wednesday, before each issue. This week, we highlight the launch of the Victorian Wood Fibre Roadmap to 2050. With bold ambitions to lead in sustainable timber and next-gen biomaterials, the roadmap aims to drive innovation, create jobs, and strengthen local supply chains. Australia’s native forestry sector also demands attention, as AFPA calls on major parties to reaffirm their support ahead of the federal election. Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s forestry future is under review, with the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment proposing sweeping reforms—sparking concern over the potential removal of forestry from the ETS. On the innovation front, students are exploring the future of sustainable forestry through ForestVR™, while Polish researchers are developing the world’s first terrain-adaptive forestry robot. Finally, global markets are showing signs of recovery from Trump’s tariffs—for now. But with US–China tensions heating up, it’s anyone’s guess what comes next. Read these and more in another packed edition of Friday Offcuts.
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This week we have for you:
Victorian Wood Fibre Roadmap to 2050 launched
Victoria is strengthening its position as a global leader in
sustainable timber, engineered wood, and next-generational
biomaterials, capitalising on the demand for low-carbon
alternatives to create regional jobs and secure a local supply of
construction materials while tackling a changing climate.The Victorian Forest Products Association (VFPA) is playing a key role in this transition, by launching the Victorian Wood Fibre Roadmap to 2050. A bold and comprehensive strategy that positions Victoria’s $9bn wood fibre industry as a global leader in sustainable wood fibre production, advanced manufacturing, and circular bioeconomy innovation, the Roadmap outlines an ambitious way forward for the state’s wood fibre and forestry industries. VFPA Chief Executive Officer, Andrew White, said the Roadmap paves the way forward for Victoria to develop innovative new products, such as biofuels, next generation building products and nanocellulosic materials. “There is significant global interest in cellulose nanomaterials as a substitute for synthetic materials or nano-reinforcement for polymers in industries like healthcare, packaging, textiles, and even 3D printing,” said Mr White. “This is about using every part of the tree, multiple times over, and transforming our existing industry strengths into global leadership in low-carbon materials and sustainable design. With the right policy settings, we can grow this sector even further to deliver climate solutions, housing materials, and manufacturing jobs where they’re needed most.” The Roadmap’s key actions include:
VFPA is calling on all levels of government to back the vision and support strategic investment in plantations, domestic processing, and future innovation potential. “We’re asking the parliament to work with us on a bi-partisan basis – not just to support what we have now, but to build something even better,” Mr White said. “If we make smart investments off the back of Victoria’s strong scientific credentials, it’s not impossible to think that Victoria could be a leading player in turning renewable wood fibre into real climate and economic outcomes.” View the Roadmap Source & image credit: Victorian Forest Products Association (VFPA) Alt-F Reset – Examining the drivers of forestry in NZ
The future shape of New Zealand’s forests will reflect
today’s policies, just as past policies created the forests we see
today.In this report, Alt-F Reset: Examining the drivers of forestry in New Zealand, the Commissioner discusses how current policies are shaping our forest estate and looks at which alternative forestry systems could play a greater role in afforestation. He warns that New Zealand needs to take a long, hard look at our current approach and ask whether we are establishing the forests we want in the long run. “Our policies, particularly settings under the current New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, are driving a wave of land use change to carbon forestry with significant environmental, economic and social risks,” he says. He emphasises that forests planted for timber production continue to have an important role to play in New Zealand. “In places where they can be safely harvested, production forests are the backbone of an important industry. Because the people who plant them intend to harvest them, they have every incentive to look after them,” he says. The report also outlines the risks and benefits of various alternative forestry systems, including large-scale native afforestation and management regimes such as continuous cover harvesting. It identifies some of the key barriers to establishing these systems and suggests ways to address them. The Commissioner has provided a series of recommendations in response to issues raised during this enquiry. These include:
Source & image credit: Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment  Forestry cautions against removal of climate change tools
Forest owners say a proposal to phase forestry out of the
Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) would have widespread implications not
just for forest owners, but for fulfilling New Zealand’s climate
action goals.The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment released its report, Alt-F Reset - Examining the drivers of forestry in New Zealand, looking at the economic and environmental impacts of forestry. New Zealand Forest Owners Association (NZFOA) chief executive Dr Elizabeth Heeg says the new report raises important considerations for land use adaptation in a changing climate but that some of its recommendations would be counter intuitive to progressing climate action. “Climate action is urgently needed and as it stands, there is a question mark over New Zealand meeting its 2050 emissions targets,” Elizabeth says. “Forestry remains at the centre of any future success so it makes no sense to limit the tools we do have available. Pulling back from the ETS without a tangible, alternative approach is risky at best.” Forest owners are also concerned about the pressure that removal of forestry offsets from the ETS would place on operators, particularly farmers and woodlot owners. “Small-scale farm foresters account for approximately 80 percent of ETS participants,” Elizabeth says. “These farmers utilise the ETS by providing an ecosystem service, that in turn funds their forestry management. “Removing forestry from the ETS will significantly impact the revenue streams of smaller operators and disincentivise any further planting of trees on farms which will likely detract from creating a more resilient mosaic of land uses in addition to meeting climate goals. “The revenue lost from forests entered into the ETS must be considered carefully to ensure a fair and sustainable approach for forestry nationwide.” Dr Heeg says the recommendations around the ETS appear to be driven by a misconception that forests are consuming valuable land at an exponential rate. Production forests currently occupy six percent of New Zealand’s total land area. Sheep and beef farming occupies five times that. “If New Zealand’s forest estate expanded by the projected 894,000 hectares detailed in the report, that would only constitute a three percent increase over 25 years,” Elizabeth says. “Even then, there’s enough land for our rural industries to co-exist. Forest owners are supportive of a mosaic approach to land use to ensure productivity of all rural sectors can continue while building environmental resilience in the face of a changing climate.” Elizabeth says the industry is already having extensive land use conversations across the board and working with various rural sectors. “We need a more unified approach to climate adaptation. We’re already having conversations with Federated Farmers, an organisation we share many members with. More >> Source: NZ Forest Owners Association  FWPA update: Local sawn softwood sales volumeFWPA has produced a number of charts outlining the latest trends in softwood sales. More recent, and granular data, is available through the FWPA data dashboard.In July 2024, monthly softwood sales were 241,879 m3 up 9.5% on the prior month. On the more stable year-end measure, sales for the 12 months were 2.723 million m3 which were down -2.6% on the previous period.  We can drill down into the total sales by looking at the sales by product category. The FWPA softwood data series covers 8 product groups which represent an aggregation of the more detailed data submitted by softwood sawmills to the FWPA each month.  Export lifts but from a low base The biggest increase year-ending July 2024 was in exports which were up 36.7% to 71,878m3. This category can cover any product but generally includes sales of lower grade products or packaging materials. In addition, expansion of export sales can also reflect difficult local market conditions. Another product category growing during the period was appearance grade, which was up 21.6% to 17,504m3 in year-ending July 2024. Importantly the structural sales remain the biggest category by volume with sales of structural untreated up 3.5% to 705,793m3 compared to the previous period offset to some extent by a decline in structural treated which was down 3.4% to 651,927. More >> Source & image credit: FWPA  Party support for native forestry is a must this election
Federal Labor and Coalition must provide unequivocal support for
native forestry in 48th Parliament.Both Federal Labor and the Coalition need to ensure their political support for Australia’s sustainable native forestry is clearly communicated. The sector supports the livelihoods of thousands of Australians, while millions more benefit from the essential and sought after products the sector manufactures for our everyday life, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA), Diana Hallam saidy. “The time has come in this Federal Election Campaign for Federal Labor and the Coalition to express their unequivocal support for Australia’s native forestry sector and that they’ll stand by that support in the event of a hung parliament next term. These are essential industries that Australia cannot live without and require strong Commonwealth support and a political mandate to operate. We need to know where they stand,” Diana Hallam said. “AFPA’s call to the major parties follows the Labor candidate for Bass’s unfortunate admission that she wants to shut native forestry down. We acknowledge the comment was walked back and labelled a mistake – but a clear statement from Federal Labor, as well as the Coalition on their support for native forestry, not just in Tasmania, but nationally, is required – just as Prime Minister Albanese and the Coalition provided ahead of the 2022 Federal Election. “Native forestry operations are governed by the Federal-State Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) framework – thereby both the Commonwealth and States are required to work together and a mandate is required from both levels of government. “This sector is essential for Australia’s sovereign capability in timber and wood-fibre resources, for the manufacturing of essential and everyday products and to underpin many communities that rely on the sector for direct employment and economic activity. Many of those communities are in regional Australia – and indeed, many in the federal electorate of Bass. “Native forestry has been forced to bear the brunt of constant and unwarranted attacks from radical and so called green activists who are hell bent on wanting to destroy an industry Australia cannot live without. “Both sides of federal politics need to be united in their support for native forestry. The communities and families that rely on this wonderful sector deserve to have the backing of whichever major Party forms Australia’s next Federal Government,” Diana Hallam concluded. Source: Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) Good for wool but what about wood?
The announcement this morning by Government directing public
agencies to consider using wool fibres over synthetic options is a
sensible decision, but it is disappointing wood fibres that possess the
same innovative, sustainable and health benefits to wool have been
overlooked.“The wood products that we are talking about are not only renewable but have economic and environmental advantages when it comes to carbon storage and supporting our rural communities,” said Mark Ross, Chief Executive of the Wood Processors and Manufacturers. “With New Zealand’s sustainable forestry model, using locally grown wood products incentivises our circular bioeconomy, boosts New Zealand’s domestic wood processing industry, and supports our drive to meet our climate change targets”. “Forecasting by Deloitte’s indicates that changing our market share to wood products by 25 percent would result in the removal of an additional 920,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the environment each year” said Ross, “Greater use of timber in domestic building and construction is critical to rebuilding New Zealand’s economy and providing regional jobs in a highly productive sector”. As an example, engineered wood products, such as cross laminated timber and glulam, offer multiple benefits to New Zealand, including reduced construction time, lower carbon footprint, and excellent thermal performance as compared to traditional building materials like concrete or steel. Mass timber has gained recognition for its versatility and globally is increasingly being adopted in residential and commercial construction projects. Incentivising investment and growth within the wood processing and manufacturing industry is part of the Government’s plan that was announced by Forestry Minister, Hon Todd McClay at Mystery Creek Field Days in 2024. Hence, the chance to back this announcement by prioritising wood along with wool products in Government building and construction projects is a missed opportunity. We now call on the Government to align the wool directive with wood, as to directing consideration by agencies of using wood fibre products in the construction and refurbishment of government buildings. Source: Wood Processors and Manufacturers Association of New Zealand (WPMA) .jpg) Identifying key town & city bushfire disaster lessons and insights
An opinion piece John O’DonnellThe author considers that large numbers of Australian towns and cities are inadequately prepared for bushfires. This matter was initially assessed in a review on potential opportunities for improved town and city bushfire protection across Australia by O’Donnell (2021) and in another detailed review on town-and-city bushfire disaster review case studies and lessons across Australia by O’Donnell (2024). A considerable town and city disasters were considered in these reviews, including the capture of opportunities and lessons. This latest review on identifying key town and city bushfire disaster lessons and insights for Australia, considering four more recent wildfire disasters in the USA and Canada, including at Palisades. The author is aware that bushfire mitigation, fuel management, active and adaptive management, community and fire fighter safety have been at inadequate levels over the last 30 years, except for parts of Northern Australia and SW Western Australia. Thus, no apologies are made for the strong focus in this review in relation to all these areas in relation to the lessons and insights outlined below. There have been too many failures, too many bushfire disasters and ongoing failures, it is essential that these lessons are captured and implemented. Key town and city bushfire disaster lessons and insights are outlined in the full review attached here. Conclusions There have been too many bushfires wakeup calls across Australia, the US, Canada and in other countries that have been ignored and in many cases, lessons and insights not captured, experienced operators not listened to and in many cases there is ongoing complacency, acceptance of current failed approaches and ongoing barriers to regular low intensity burning across landscapes. In many cases there is inadequate political and organisation will to address all these issues and issues in relation to inadequate accountability. An issue that greatly concerns the author is that Australia has not really fully nor effectively captured and locked in many of the key lessons in relation to avoiding and reducing town and city bushfire disasters across communities on an ongoing basis, except for isolated cases. This also applies to fire fighter safety. It’s time to capture the town and city bushfire disaster lessons and insights that have been available, but not effectively captured, adopted nor shared over the last 20 plus years. It’s time to wake up and action the lessons and insights. There is inadequate funding of bushfire mitigation in Australia, including prescribed burning and other fuel management measures. There are large government savings to be made through increasing expenditure on mitigation, and so reducing the costs of responding to natural disasters, including bushfires. Savings in bushfire suppression expenditure, recovery expenditure, bureaucracy expenditure and efficiencies can be extracted, while at the same time increasing employment in mitigation and forest resilience programs. There are opportunities for economic reform within fire management across Australia and this is essential considering the huge ongoing impacts of disastrous bushfires, especially in SE Australia. If Australia doesn’t improve actioning in regards to capturing and implementing town and city bushfire lessons and insights, there will continue to be large scale impacts on communities, community members, fire fighters, the environment and massive economic and insurance impacts. Read full report Source: John O'Donnell  SnapSTAT - Forestry products exports from NZ Exports of forestry products from New Zealand by main countries of destination for the year ended June 2024. For the year ended June 2024, New Zealand's total forestry exports were $5.75 billion, with 57% going to China and just a tenth of that going to the US. With US tariffs hijacking most top news stories recently, we thought we would highlight the potential exposure for NZ log and wood exports for you. Turns out the US is our third-largest market, but it appears (see our top story last week) that we’ve got a temporary reprieve from any tariffs, although for how long is a complete unknown …
Source: MPI Students step into sustainable forestry with ForestVR™
How do you make the world of forests, sustainability, and tech careers come alive for students and communities? At the recent Try a Trade & Employment Expo in Tumut, NSW, Forestry Corporation of NSW (FCNSW) did just that — giving students an immersive and hands-on look at modern forestry using ForestLearning‘s ForestVR™.The important role of FWPA’s ForestLearning program FWPA’s ForestLearning initiative supports the education of the next generation with valuable learning resources for teacher and educators. By having access to quality, curriculum aligned teaching resources, the program ensures schoolteachers, educators and the public are served with evidence-based information on Australian forests and wood products. One of the most popular resources is the teaching tool and library of virtual reality and 360° videos, ForestVR™. With everything from drone technologies and eucalyptus leaves to ForestVR™ virtual reality headsets on display, students discovered how forestry careers blend science, technology, environmental stewardship and practical skills — all aligned with the real-world curriculum topics many teachers are already covering in subjects like science, geography, and design & technologies. Hands-on Learning with Real-World Tools At the FCNSW booth, students were invited to:
As this event showed, students were eager to explore the environment in new ways — especially when it’s immersive, interactive, and real-world context. ForestVR™ helps industry event exhibitors introduce complex topics like forest cycles, land use, and sustainable design in a way that’s engaging and helps to improve understanding of their important work. More >> Source & image credit: FWPA  Forestry company creates sanctuary for critical native snailsOneFortyOne NZ Forests has established a dedicated sanctuary to protect a rare endemic snail species in a partnership that brings together forestry, conservation, and mana whenua.The sanctuary, located within OneFortyOne's Rai Forests, provides a small safe haven for giant land-snails, Powelliphanta hochstetteri consobrina, an endangered species classified as Nationally Critical. Environment Manager of OneFortyOne NZ Forests, Jo Field, says the initiative demonstrates the company's commitment to responsible forest management. "As responsible forest managers, we believe in protecting the unique biodiversity within our forests. When we discovered these rare snails in our estate, we knew we had to take action," said Jo. "We've installed a specialised predator-proof fence to keep out pigs and weka which are significant threats to these snails. We've also modified our harvesting practices in the surrounding area to ensure these special creatures are protected for generations to come. We're proud to invest in this infrastructure and modify our forestry practices to protect this species that's unique to this region.” If any live snails are found during forest operations, they can be moved to the safety of the sanctuary. Biannual monitoring will involve all partners, creating an ongoing collaborative conservation effort. Ngāti Tama, the landowners of the forest estate which is managed by OneFortyOne, play a crucial role in the sanctuary project through their practice of kaitiakitanga (guardianship). Dayveen Stephens, Environment Manager for Ngāti Tama, says the protection of these taonga species aligns with their values as kaitiaki of the land. "These snails may be small, but they are an important part of our forest ecosystem and our responsibility as kaitiaki extends to all creatures, not just the large and charismatic ones," said Dayveen. "This sanctuary creates opportunities for our whānau to be involved in monitoring and protecting these taonga. It allows us to retain connection to endemic species on our land. Working alongside OneFortyOne, we're demonstrating how commercial forestry and conservation of indigenous species can coexist,” said Dayveen. The Department of Conservation has provided technical expertise for the sanctuary project. Powelliphanta specialist Ruth Cole explains why these snails need protecting. "This particular species of Powelliphanta are found only on the upper slopes of the Bryant and Richmond ranges in the top of the South Island near Nelson, giving it high value as a local endemic. Our native species evolved separately from the rest of the world for millions of years and aren’t found anywhere else. These aren't your garden variety snails - they're carnivorous giants that can live for decades but are seriously threatened by predation, habitat loss and climate change. More >> Source & image credit: OneFortyOne Polish scientists to create ‘world’s first’ forestry robot
Polish scientists are working alongside an international team to
create a forestry robot capable of inventorying trees, counting animals,
collecting ticks and scouring the forest floor for archaeological
nuggets.The project, which is a world first, has been jointly undertaken by researchers at Poznań’s University of Life Sciences (UPP) and Adam Mickiewicz University as well as scientists from Italy and Cyprus. With the project still in its infant stages, scientists say that they will design various models and test different sets of sensors before settling on a final version. “For now, we have the idea that this will be a walking robot, with legs similar to an Alpine chamois (a species of goat-antelope found in southern Europe) to enable it to move over steep mountain slopes,” says UPP’s Anna Wierzbicka. More >> Source: TVP Image credit: Facebook Applications open for 2025/26 Growth Scholarship Program
Timber Queensland has launched its 2025–2026 Growth
Scholarship Program, inviting early and mid-career professionals and
skilled workers across the forest and timber industry to apply
for financial support to pursue tailored learning and professional
development opportunities.Designed to elevate industry capability and retain skilled talent, the Growth Scholarships provide funding for innovative learning projects that will strengthen individual career pathways and support the long-term growth of Queensland’s forest and timber sector. Clarissa Brandt, Timber Queensland’s Strategic Relations and Communications Manager, said the initiative plays a critical role in Queensland’s workforce development and sector innovation. “The Growth Scholarships support practical, purpose-driven learning, recipient’s from previous years have obtained formal qualifications, undertaken short courses, participated in overseas study tours, organised secondments to other businesses and attended conferences and expos,” Mrs Brandt said. “Applications are open to people across all parts of the supply chain—from forest management and harvesting to sawmilling, design, manufacturing, building, and sales. We’re particularly keen to support emerging leaders and technical specialists committed to strengthening the sector’s future.” Scholarship categories for 2025–2026 include:
Michael Kennedy, CEO of Kennedy’s Timber, emphasised the importance of nurturing individual ambition to fuel collective industry growth. “More than 70 years ago, my grandfather began his journey as a timber apprentice. The Kennedy’s Timber Award continues this tradition of investing in people and ensuring that passion and expertise remain central to our industry’s evolution,” Mr Kennedy said. Applicants must be aged 18–45 and either working in or studying towards a career in Queensland’s forest and timber industry. Proposed projects must demonstrate clear professional development outcomes and benefits to the broader sector. More >> Source & image credit: Timber Queensland --(2022)2.jpg) Google investing in biochar
Google has agreed to purchase 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide
removal credits from Indian startup Varaha, its first such deal
with a carbon project in India and the largest involving
biomass-produced biochar (also called horticultural
charcoal or “black gold” for soils).The offtake agreement credits will be delivered to Google by 2030 from Varaha’s industrial biochar project in the western Indian state of Gujarat, the two firms said in January. Varaha’s project will generate industrial biochar from an invasive plant species, Prosopis Juliflora, using its pyrolysis facility in Gujarat. The invasive species impacts plant biodiversity and has overtaken grasslands used for livestock. Varaha will harvest the plant and make efforts to restore native grasslands in the region, the company’s co-founder and CEO Madhur Jain said in an interview. Once the biochar is produced, a third-party auditor will submit their report to Puro.Earth to generate credits. More >> Source: TechCrunch Image credit: Noah Loverbear Jobs
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... and one to end the week on... who remembers these kids?
The NZ Mitre10 kids are back - who remembers these kids? I walked into my sister's kitchen and found my nephew, Mitch, having a snack. "Where's your mother?" I asked. "She said she was going to have a shower. Just a minute, I'll see." Mitch went to the kitchen tap and turned the hot water on full blast. A sharp yell came from above. Mitch calmly turned off the tap and said, "Yep, she's in the shower."  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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