Tuesday, 31 October 2023

Timber industry

Renee HEATH (Eastern Victoria) (17:31): (549) Gopher Joinery in my electorate is a family-owned business that has been running for 20 years. They manufacture and install timber staircases, doors and other products. They thought that they had until 2030 to transition away from native timber hardwood, and they were completely sidelined when their friend Dan suddenly announced the early closure of the native timber industry.

Mary-Ann and Jude, the owners, contacted my office to share their concerns. There has been no support regarding the Highly Impacted Manufacturers Stream – Timber Supply Chain Resilience Package. This package offers up to $145,000 worth of support, but the staff from the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions could not tell Mary-Ann what support and what transition that included. When she asked the person she spoke to, they said, ‘That is above my pay grade.’ So Mary-Ann, to clarify, said, ‘So you’ve been asked to call my business, inform me of this package, help me with it, but you cannot provide me with any extra information, answers or what that assistance might be?’ There was a pause, and he said, ‘Yes, that’s right.’

The website originally said that the applications closed tonight, but thankfully – when I went and checked it again today – that has been extended until 30 April next year. However, this has still caused an awful lot of anxiety among my constituents. They have received no support in accessing the grants, and I am sure that many others affected by this closure will be experiencing that too. It is simply not good enough. There is no support, there is not enough transition time and Jude is a quality craftsman that is going to be forced to discontinue his work. Local hardwood is best suited to Victorian use because it is acclimatised. Pine warps, and if you get hardwood from other areas you have to let it sit, because it can warp, buckle or become brittle. We should be using local resources for local construction. Jude and Mary-Ann also asked, ‘Where is the timber going to come from now? Is it going to be Tasmania, Indonesia or South America?’ From all of these places it is going to have to be stored for longer amounts of time before it is able to be used.

My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Jobs and Industry. So many livelihoods will be lost due to the closure of the native timber industry, and it is causing an enormous amount of distress. The action that I seek is that the minister ensures that the department staff have the proper information, resources and training to provide those affected with the information and support they need in accessing these grants.