An A$11m government investment in softwood plantations in Queensland has been criticised by the state’s timber industry which says it is not enough.
Rod McInnes of Timber Queensland said two-thirds of the investment was for replanting timber harvested on existing plantations. But while welcoming the 2,500ha of new planting, he said more was needed to make the industry self-sufficient.
Mr McInnes said 1,000 people a week were moving to Queensland and 1.2 million houses needed to be built over the next 25 years, and added: “If we do not continue to plant significant new areas of plantation then we are going to end up getting further and further behind.”
The timber industry believes a further 40,000ha of plantation must be planted if the state is to meet its future timber needs from its own resources.
