Government removes controversial ACCU water rule Major boost for new plantations

The Federal Government has removed the controversial “water rule” from the Australian Carbon Credit Unit scheme.

The water rule – with its complex exceptions - has been an ad-hoc and ineffective way of managing water resources.

The Australian Government is addressing this holistically, in partnership with states and territories, as part of the renewal of the National Water Initiative.

The rule prevented plantation and farm forestry projects from access to the carbon market, held up much-needed investment in new plantations, and disincentivised replanting trees sending the total estate into decline.

Removing the “water rule” creates certainty for forestry to better contribute to emissions reduction through increased participation in carbon farming and investment in new timber plantations.

“The removal of these restrictions nationally is great news because Australia desperately needs new production tree plantings to grow future timber and wood fibre supply. Today, the Government has delivered for industry by removing these barriers to carbon markets,” Australian Forest Products Association CEO Joel Fitzgibbon said. Australia needs one billion new production trees planted by 2030 to secure Australia’s future timber and fibre supply for everything from house frames to packaging and paper products.

Furthermore, AFPA-Master Builders Australia analysis highlighted that Australia will be 250,000 new house-frames short of demand by 2050 if Australia’s doesn’t achieve the billion new trees by 2030 goal. That’s cities the size of Newcastle and Geelong combined. Australia has the golden opportunity to ready itself for insatiable international demand for sustainably sourced wood and fibre, with global demand forecast to quadruple by 2050.

The amendment clears the way for planting up to 100 million trees Australia-wide by 2030.

“The forest products sector thanks the Government for its delivery of this key commitment. AFPA will continue to work with Minister Watt and other Government Ministers on fibre security strategies which build sovereign capability while helping Australia realise its decarbonisation ambitions,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.

Plantations and farm forestry plantings store carbon, enabling growers to participate in the ACCU scheme to generate carbon credits and earn additional income from selling these credits.

These credits are certified through the Clean Energy Regulator for compliance with the detailed requirements in ACCU scheme methods and rules to ensure they have integrity.

Applications to register new plantations and tree planting projects in the ACCU scheme with a start date after 1 June 2024 will now be assessed without being subject to the water rule.

The government has also approved four additional regions where tree planting projects can meet the water rule before its removal. They cover Regional For- estry Hubs in south and Central Queensland, North Queensland, the Northern Territory and Ord Valley, and southeast New South Wales. These newly approved regions are in addition to existing regions in Western Australia, Tasmania, New

South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

Timber Queensland CEO Mick Stephens said that the lifting of this unnecessary barrier will help to promote new plantations on farms

Continued on page 8

Front Cover: John Deere’s TimberMatic Maps and Manager has proven a gamechanger for Albury-based forestry contractor Mitch Drummond whose business has expanded from two to five employees in the past 18 months.

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