South Australia Timber Industry Roundtable

NATIONAL SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Frank Pangallo, MP SA Best, organised a meeting on Wednesday 2nd June which included forestry, wood products, building and construction industry stakeholders to discuss the severe shortage of structural timber – the effects of which are felt globally.

As has been seen around the country, the successful uptake of the Home Builder Grant has stimulated unprecedented demand from first home buyers. Of the 100,000 Home Builder Grants approved in Australia, approximately 10,000 applicants have come from South Australia. In a normal year, you could see 8,000 homes built across the state, but there are currently 20,000 new homes in the pipeline.

This rapid uptake in new homes is not only affecting the supply of timber and engineered materials but all the hardware components required along with the availability of the necessary labour force.

In addition, with COVID-19 causing Australian’s not to travel internationally, greater funds are being pumped into home renovations at this time Kangaroo Island Forests was also a discussion point. There are 13 growers on the island and significant stocks of timber, but logistics are challenging getting the logs from the island to the mainland.

Frank Pangallo has committed to raising this matter with the SA Parliament as a serious issue that must be addressed – if not, the livelihoods of small to medium builders are at risk of closing, causing unemployment and leaving consumers waiting for their home to be built.

SA Roundtable attendees