“We know that the bushfires savaged something like 40% of the domestic plantation resource, and we also know that the establishment of new plantations has stalled in Australia over the last decade, so we’re 20 years away from having a net resource available,” John Halkett
Talk about a collection of less than optimal circumstances. Once you factor in the catastrophic effect the bushfires of 2020 had on timber plantations (taking out nearly 130,000 hectares of plantation burnt to go with the 8,300,000 hectares of native forest that perished), then add government stimulus (both here and abroad) for the construction industry and you are left with a limited amount of domestic stock to go with worldwide demand we haven’t seen in some time.
In an attempt to address the nation’s growing structural timber deficit crisis, one of Australia’s largest timber-producing regions will explore using low-value wood fibre in engineered products to address the nation’s growing structural timber deficit crisis. Australia’s timber shortage is expected to worsen with demand for housing set to increase 50 per cent by 2050.
A new project will try to convert low-grade timber into wood products suitable for construction the new engineered wood products would be made from softwood and hardwood pulp. The Green Triangle forestry industry, spanning parts of western Victoria and the Limestone Coast in South Australia, has received a $1.3 million federal grant to explore the creation of new wood products using softwood and hardwood pulp.
The project comes amid the ongoing export log ban by China and structural timber shortages faced by homebuilders, renovators and the construction sector. A report by Forest and Wood Products Australia claims demand for new housing will climb from 183,000 new dwellings per year to 259,000 by 2050.
Will this prove to be the silver bullet Australia needs to stem the tide of shortages and supply issues? Likely not, but any forward progress is a huge bonus. Watch this space.
Recovery 25 years on
Dylan Lewis, a grown man in a shirt labeled “enforcer” and some of the best live performances in Australian television history.
Cold Hard Tax
Calculating capital gains tax? Here is a little guide from NAB to help you avoid any issues.
Council comparisons
Want to see how your council spends your rates? With a few small clicks you can.
Fremantle Council has foreshadowed its support for the future redevelopment of prime coastal land near Port Beach, but only if key planning issues are resolved first. The North Fremantle Development Precinct is a 23-hectare site between Tydeman Road and the Leighton Beach redevelopment. The precinct has historically been used for industrial purposes including a fuel terminal, lubricant depot and wool processing plant, but is now largely vacant.
The site’s current owners have applied to the WA Planning Commission to have the land rezoned from ‘Industrial’ to ‘Urban’ and ‘Parks and Recreation’. The WAPC referred the proposal to the City of Fremantle to provide its preliminary comments.
Fremantle Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge said if the land was no longer required for industrial purposes redeveloping it for residential and recreational use was logical, but there were a number of issues that would need to be resolved before that could happen. “The land in question falls within the scope of the Future of Fremantle Planning Committee, which has been set up by the state government to examine land use and economic development opportunities for Fremantle in the wake of its decision to build a new container port at Kwinana,” Mayor Fitzhardinge said.
“It makes sense to allow the committee to do its work and consider this site in a broader context before heading down the path of rezoning it for urban development. “The key to this is that there needs to be much more rigorous consideration of how much land should be set aside as a long-term buffer against coastal erosion, while also maintaining sufficient public open space and room for facilities such as surf clubs, car parks, and change rooms as sea levels rise.
Got a coffee spot that puts a smile on your dial? The local bar that goes that extra mile? How about the takeaway spot that comes up big in the clutch when the fridge is empty and the shops are closed? We need your help! Every Tuesday we will be shouting out a small business hero that deserves a signal boost, because the sense of community that we feel from our neighbours helps bring us all closer together.
Let us know if you have any input whatsoever, we are eager to (hopefully) find out some glorious unknowns over the next few months.
Now if you prefer to consume your information through audio instead of through text (which is understandable) come and check out or podcast which lives here. It is a show we are doing weekly which has a nice blend of education and entertainment aimed at the prospective homebuyer.