Peter Dutton’s plan to cut nation-building programs essential to securing the timber industry’s future would be disastrous for timber communities – that is, according to Australia’s newest soon-to-be-established trade union, the Timber, Furnishing and Textiles Union (TFTU).
On the chopping block include the National Reconstruction Fund (NRF), the Future Made in Australia (FMIA), and the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF), which the TFTU said is critical in meeting Australia’s soon-to-be-established Timber Fibre Strategy.
“If Peter Dutton cuts these programs, it’s not just jobs at risk — it’s the future of our industry,” according to Michael O’Connor, TFTU National Secretary and Co-Chair of the Strategic Forest and Renewable Materials Partnership, the committee established by the Albanese government to inform the Timber Fibre Strategy.
“Slashing these programs against the advice of industry experts would slam the brakes on investment in our industry.” These are exactly the programs that industry leaders and experts have identified as highly suitable for leveraging future growth.”
The TFTU argues that the NRF and FMIA are vital sources of investment for manufacturing, innovation, new product development, and lower-emissions intensive production (such as green production credits). Meanwhile, the HAFF is a key driver in undermining the demand for structural framing timber used extensively in residential construction and investment in timber prefab component manufacturing to expand high-quality prefabricated and modular housing.
“While Peter Dutton claims to support regional industries, his cuts would drag the timber industry backwards,” O’Connor said. “At a time when we should be expanding processing and value-adding onshore, Dutton’s cuts would leave workers and regional communities isolated.”
“Timber workers, their families and communities cannot afford to pay the price for Peter Dutton’s cuts. “We need a government that invests in regional industries — not one that abandons them, as a Peter Dutton-led Government would.”
- To learn more about Dutton’s policies, including an iron-clad commitment to protect regional forestry agreements (RFA), click here for Wood Central’s special feature from last week.
