MEDIA RELEASE
The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) attended the annual general meeting of the National Timber Councils Association (NTCA) held in Canberra yesterday. High on the agenda was innovation, community engagement, investment, and industry/government collaboration.
AFPA joined NTCA in urging all major political parties to recognise the importance of forest industries in ensuring the social and economic well-being of regional and rural communities in Australia.
President of the NTCA Cr Sandy Kam said, “Contributing $20 billion to the national economy and around 120,000 direct jobs across the full value chain, forest, wood and paper product industries are a vital part of our regional and rural communities. Members of the NTCA are looking for collaborative solutions across all levels of government to key local issues such as efficient regulation, strategic infrastructure and communications investment.”
Chief Executive Officer of AFPA, Mr Ross Hampton said, “Faced with increasing international demand for renewable and sustainable products and the necessity to reduce carbon emissions, the world is turning to wood fibre as never before. Australia is well placed to become a global leader but risks missing the boat.”
“Support by all levels of government for ‘green cities’, ‘wood preferment’ and ‘procurement’ policies that prioritise the consideration of sustainable paper and timber building products, given their low carbon footprint and embodied energy, could provide significant momentum to innovative lightweight framing and mass timber product solutions (such as Cross Laminated Timber) in Australia,” said Mr Hampton.
21.06.2016 Forest industries underpin strong regional and rural communities