Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Duniam for his question. The government is delivering a record $300 million in measures to the forestry sector that will support the expansion of the plantation estate, modernise our timber manufacturing and build forestry workforce skills. These measures include $112.9 million for the Accelerate Adoption of Wood Processing Innovation Program fund—that has had strong interest, I might add, with 84 applications received by the 28-February-2023 deadline; $86.2 million over five years from 2022-23 for the Support Plantation Establishment Program, which is fully subscribed and will support the establishment of at least 36,000 hectares of new plantations; $100 million for the Australia-wide National Institute for Forest Products Innovation; and $10 million for the Forestry Workforce Training Program. We're also taking steps to remove the water rule, which will provide further incentives for plantation and farm forestry participation in the Emissions Reduction Fund.