Timber the unrecognised 'essential' resource

Marketing terminology is a powerful tool that can be used to influence opinions and justify policies. Historically, mining has been something governments have rarely promoted. Of late, however, we are regularly hearing terms such as "critical", "vital" or even "essential" with respect to mining certain minerals. This is providing our governments with a platform to gain public support for the imminent expansion of mining operations to provide technology and infrastructure as our nation moves to a more carbon-friendly future.

It is disappointing that similar terminology is not used by our State Government with respect to the Forest Industry. Timber is every bit as "essential" to a carbon-friendly future as certain minerals. Nevertheless, under the Andrew's Government's Forestry Plan, Victorian native timbers will soon become a relic.

With all the hype about green energy and a carbon economy, perhaps one of the most understated facts is the importance of timber in the equation. As a building material, it is the only 100% renewable structural resource that we have. It has been used for thousands of years and will continue to be desired for many years to come. Trees are God's gift to us! They draw CO₂ from the atmosphere and convert it to the oxygen that we breath. Furthermore, the timber produced from trees, when used in our homes and buildings, acts as a 'carbon bank' trapping the CO₂ in its cells. To use a cubic metre of wood, therefore, creates a net positive carbon footprint to the tune of 1,000 kg CO₂ absorbed per cubic metre. In comparison, structural steel - its main competitor in the building industry – has a negative carbon footprint to the tune of almost 9,000 kg CO₂ released per cubic metre.

Victoria has some beautiful native timber species that are cherished in our homes, in our furniture and even in musical instruments. That we would be considering a future without using these beautiful hardwoods seems illogical. Are we really seeking to eliminate the use of Victorian Ash timbers in the joinery around our homes or messmate stringybark flooring in our hallways? Can we not even afford the tiny amount of blackwood needed to build guitars locally? No more red gum or ironbark for exposed beams, or silvertop ash and stringybark species for our stunning external decks and cladding? Are we really heading towards a future where we build new tourist facilities like National Park Visitor's Centres from treated pine or imported hardwoods?

Victoria has approximately 6 million hectares of public forests (State of the Forests 2018), which make up approximately 26% of Victoria's land mass. Timber production currently utilises 0.04% of this resource (State of the Environment Report 2021) and yet is quite incredibly blamed by certain conservationists for everything from catastrophic fire events to the destruction of water catchments and the extinction of a range of wildlife species!

While I don't believe that our future hardwood timber resources should remain reliant on our native forests alone, we could easily sustain a trickle of timber for existing markets to survive. Even if this timber supply were to come from the maintenance of fire breaks and ecological thinning operations that are so badly needed to protect the public and improve the health of our forests. A reliable timber supply from our native forests is "essential" because we have little hope of developing a robust and viable hardwood plantation resource for the future if we kill all the existing markets.

Even the most optimistic plan for a transition from public native forest timber to plantation resources would require several decades to achieve. Time – in the order of 25 to 30 years - is needed to grow new hardwood plantations of suitable species. Thereafter, more time is needed to complete important R&D to understand differences in density, durability, and growth stresses in plantation-grown timber before being integrated into the building industry.

Currently, Victoria has only a few thousand hectares of fragmented hardwood plantations of species suitable for local sawmills. The vast majority of which are still some years off harvest. To replace Victoria's annual sawlog supply of 340,000 m³ (VicForest Report 2021/22) with plantation timber would require around 50,000 hectares of suitable species grown on a 30-year rotation. While there are some potential shortcuts that could be taken using engineered wood product technology, the fact remains that Victoria will require a significant hardwood planting program before a transition could be considered.

Nevertheless, with little consultation, the Victorian Government's Forestry Plan gave the Timber Industry just 10 years to transition to plantation resources. With recent supreme court injunctions, log supply to timber mills has now ground to a halt after just 3 years. While some conservationists may celebrate this short-sighted achievement, the real consequence is a long-term net loss to the environment and our economy.

Locking up native timber resources adds further pressure on an already stressed timber supply market, increasing reliance on imports, and consequently further driving up timber prices. What many conservationists conveniently ignore is the fact that many of these imports are ultimately extracted from other "native" forests anyway! Predominantly located in Southeast Asian countries with lower environmental standards than Australia. The only other alternative is that our building industry moves away from using hardwood timber altogether and turns to alternative building materials. This will result in a significantly increased carbon footprint and the sad loss of a natural and 100% renewable building material around our homes.

Criticism is easy to dish out, but alternative policies are less forthcoming from industry or politicians. For what it's worth, I believe there is a solution, but it would involve our political leaders standing up to environmentalists – as they have done for essential mining - firming up their marketing terminology and laying out a science-based, realistic plan for the long term. Timber is a critical and essential resource for an environmentally friendly future. I believe the public will accept its extraction from our native forests for the purposes of public safety, forest health and the support of existing markets. Especially if there is real evidence of suitable hardwood plantation resources being established for our future.