That is according to a peer-reviewed study published this year in npj Natural Hazards, which used the McArthur Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI) and an ensemble of dynamically downscaled CMIP6 climate projections to model how extreme fire weather will evolve under different levels of global warming.

Across Australia, once-in-twenty-year and once-in-fifty-year extreme fire events are projected to become 2.7 and 3.7 times more likely under 3°C of global warming. Whilst in southeast Australia’s eucalyptus forests those same benchmark events are projected to be 2.1-2.5 times more likely at the same warming level.

Tasmania faces the sharpest trajectory of any region studied.

Under 3°C of warming, 20-year return interval fire weather events are projected to become 3.2 times more likely, whilst 50-year return interval events are projected to become 4.1 times more likely. And even at 2°C of warming, Tasmania’s equivalent risk multipliers are 2.0 and 2.3, respectively.

The study, led by Ryan McGloin, warns that the Tasmanian findings warrant special attention, describing the projections as “particularly significant given Tasmania’s history of destructive bushfires and unique and vulnerable ecosystems that are potentially at risk of being replaced by more flammable vegetation when exposed to more frequent fires.”

The warning is grounded in history. The 1967 Black Tuesday fires killed 62 people and destroyed nearly 3,000 structures across southern Tasmania. Whilst in January 2013, fires razed 203 homes in the village of Dunalley alone. And unlike mainland forests, Tasmania’s vegetation mosaic — fire-sensitive rainforests, alpine shrublands and wet forests — faces a feedback loop in which more frequent fires progressively shift the landscape towards more flammable, fire-adapted vegetation.

A cycle, the authors say, has no natural brake.

The drivers differ by region. In Tasmania and southern Victoria, for example, projected increases in extreme fire weather are driven primarily by rising maximum temperatures, compounded by declining spring rainfall, which lifts the drought factor and lowers relative humidity on the continent’s worst fire days.

In the subtropical eucalyptus forests of southern Queensland and northern New South Wales, increasing humidity associated with a shift towards positive phases of the Southern Annular Mode partially moderates the temperature impact, resulting in the study’s lowest projected increases. There, 20-year and 50-year return interval events are still projected to become 1.8 and 2.0 times more likely at 3°C — figures the researchers describe as not immaterial.

Spring has emerged as the season of greatest concern. Severe fire weather days (FFDI ≥ 50) are projected to rise substantially in north-western and central Australia, while Very High fire weather days (FFDI between 24 and 50) are projected to increase in both the north and south. The pattern points to an earlier onset and overall lengthening of the fire season — with a shrinking window for hazard-reduction burns, a direct operational consequence for fire agencies.

The study — authored by Ryan McGloin, Ralph Trancoso, Jozef Syktus, Rohan Eccles, Nathan Toombs and Andrew Dowdy — is the first to apply the latest CMIP6 downscaled projections under different global warming levels to fire weather extremes specifically for southeast Australia’s eucalyptus forests.

For more information: McGloin, R., Trancoso, R., Syktus, J. et al. Substantial increases in the likelihood of extreme fire weather events for fire-prone ecosystems in Australia. npj Nat. Hazards 3, 28 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44304-026-00193-9

That is according to the latest ABARES Agricultural Commodities Report, published yesterday, which revealed that the gross value of forestry (GVP) production is expected to reach $2.23 billion in 2026-27 — a 3 per cent nominal increase or a 1 per cent real increase. And over the medium term, the GVP is projected to drop back $2.1 billion, with no material growth expected until at least 2030-31.

By the numbers, total gross value production in forests has dropped by 36 per cent over the past eight years — from about $3.4 billion in 2017-18 — with softwood relatively steady at about $1.5 billion, hardwood plantations flatlining at $0.5 billion and native forest continuing what is now a 20-year decline.

According to Diana Hallam, CEO of the Australian Forest Products Association, whilst the topline figures point to the vital role of sustainable forestry in producing essential products, the report also identified serious challenges and headwinds for the sector.

“Some of these challenges and risks include high manufacturing and energy costs, greater use of structural steel in residential and mid-rise construction, as well as a growing amount of imported timber products of varying quality flooding the Australian marketplace, including from China,” she said.

Hallam said the new estimates also reaffirmed the importance of aligning the government’s policy with Australia’s Timber Fibre Strategy, which outlines opportunities for the industry to make a greater contribution to national goals in carbon, innovation, and housing construction.

Softwood up, hardwood down, native at historic lows

The value of softwood plantation production is forecast to increase slightly in 2026-27, driven by short-term movements in detached housing demand. But ABARES warns that a gradual shift toward higher-density dwellings is expected to temper timber demand over the medium term, whilst projected increases in softwood log availability will ease unit prices.

Hardwood plantation production, however, is heading the other way.

And that’s because ongoing shifts in global paper markets are placing downward pressure on woodchip demand, whilst Vietnam’s growing share of global trade — combined with projected exchange rate changes — is continuing to erode Australia’s competitiveness overseas. ABARES expects Australian hardwood woodchip exports to settle at similar volumes but lower unit prices, with Australia holding a smaller, more specialised role in the market.

And then there is native forestry, where production has now fallen to historically low levels following 20 years of contraction driven by the transfer of multiple-use public native forests to nature conservation reserves and increased harvest restrictions.

A $570 million downward revision

ABARES has slashed its forestry forecast by more than $570 million — a 21 per cent revision from its December report — with exports the major driver of the writedown, down more than $619 million amid weaker production and prices.

It comes days after this masthead reported on a new white paper from the Rozetta Institute arguing that Australia needs a national roadmap to boost forest productivity and encourage new capital into the market.

On Friday, Wood Central spoke to the white paper’s lead author, Steve Walker, Principal of Terrafolia Advisory, and co-author Dr Lyndall Bull, who revealed that Australian plantations produce just 15 to 18 cubic metres per hectare per year against international benchmarks of 30 to 50.

And on Monday, Walker went further, telling Wood Central the sector’s decades-long focus on cost discipline had come at the expense of genuine value creation. “Lifting productivity on the land already planted is the fastest and most scalable opportunity,” Walker said. “International benchmarks in Brazil, India, Vietnam and China demonstrate that 30 to 50 cubic metres per hectare per year is achievable using proven technologies already available.”

“If we can do this, we can ultimately strengthen our capacity to produce more competitive engineered wood products like LVL and other EWPs,” he said, adding that the downstream benefits could add tens of millions of dollars to regional communities.

• For more information, including the ABARES full March 2026 Agricultural Commodities Report, visit the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences.

Speaking about the deal today, David Stribley, HAMR Energy’s co-founder, said the decision to set up camp in South Australia builds on its existing investments in Victoria: “The state’s world-class infrastructure, commitment to clean energy, and proximity to sustainable feedstock sources make it an excellent location to accelerate decarbonisation in aviation.”

Wood Central understands that wood residues from the Green Triangle will serve as feedstock for the massive plant, which will use Honeywell’s world-leading methanol-to-jet technology to produce more than 300,000 tonnes of low-carbon methanol, made from a mix of plantation residues and hydrogen, to provide up to 140 million litres of SAF every year. And according to Stribley, that’s enough to fully offset more than 4.5 million economy-class passenger trips between Adelaide and Melbourne over a 12-month period.

The science underpinning the value chain is advanced.

Already, researchers from the Australian Forest and Wood Innovations (AFWI) Fibre to Fuels project are working alongside 16 partners to test whether residues from the Green Triangle, home to the country’s most productive forest plantations, as well as forests in Tasmania and Western Australia, can be turned into low-carbon liquid fuels at a commercial scale. Led by Professor Mark Brown, Director of the AFWI Centre for Sustainable Futures located at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Professor Brown revealed to this masthead that the feed inputs will be provided to fuel the enormous facility.

Already, HAMR Energy has signed supply agreements with local plantation estates like OneFortyOne, which has been a vocal champion of the project since signing a memorandum of understanding last year. Meanwhile, in January, OneFortyOne Director of Corporate Strategy Nick Chan described the Green Triangle’s scale, year-round operations, and established logistics as key advantages for supplying feedstock for low-carbon fuels, calling the HAMR partnership “a defining moment for plantation forestry in Australia.”

The announcement, made just 18 days out from the March 21 election, is being framed by the state government as a win for jobs and investment, with Premier Malinauskas, a long-standing supporter of the state’s forest value chain, the runaway favourite to secure a second term. Speaking about the commitment, Joe Szakacs, the state’s Minister for Trade, said the investment didn’t happen by accident.“It follows persistent work and considered planning,” Szakacs said. “Our Government warmly welcomes HAMR Energy’s backing of South Australia.”

The $10 million Series A round brought Qantas, Airbus and thyssenkrupp Uhde onto the register — as Wood Central reported last month — locking in aviation and industrial partners who are betting on the methanol-to-jet pathway to decarbonise sectors where electrification isn’t an option.

Combined with HAMR Energy’s Portland Renewable Fuels facility in Victoria, which will produce the renewable methanol, the South Australian plant gives the company two large-scale projects running off feedstock. The Portland project, backed by the Albanese government’s $1.1 billion Cleaner Fuels Program, was first flagged by Wood Central in mid-2023, when then-Victorian Minister for Energy Lily D’Ambrosio spoke about the benefits of sustainable fuels manufacturing at the Port of Portland.

Aerospace giants are tapping into forest fibre to decarbonise

The Fibre to Fuels project has assembled a coalition of more than a dozen forestry, industry and research partners — from Sustainable Timber Tasmania, PF Olsen and Timberlands Pacific through to CSIRO, the University of South Australia, the University of the Sunshine Coast and thyssenkrupp Uhde, who, alongside Wespine, OneFortyOne, South West Fibre, HVP, GTFP, SFM and Hydrowood, are assessing the composition of different residues, trialling collection and transport logistics, and mapping carbon emissions.

Dr Joseph Lawrence, executive director of the $200 million AFWI research institute, said forestry has a rare window to show what sustainable plantation management can deliver value far beyond sawlogs: “I think the story goes through biodiversity, environmental protections… and the jobs it can create.”

For growers and processors across the Green Triangle, it is another revenue stream from wood that has historically gone nowhere. Now with two HAMR Energy projects in the pipeline and a research program spanning more than a dozen partners, the value chain that starts with forest residues and ends with jet fuel on the tarmac is no longer just a pitch deck.

• For more on the push to convert Green Triangle forest waste into sustainable aviation fuel, click here for Wood Central’s coverage of Qantas Backs Plan to Turn Green Triangle Forest Waste into Jet Fuel.

Now, Australian Sustainable Hardwoods (ASH) — the country’s largest hardwood processor — says a $600,000 AFWI-funded research project is helping the industry find its way forward, with new species, new engineered products and new performance data that could change how timber windows are specified in Australia.

Daniel Wright, ASH’s National Business Development Manager, told Wood Central that window manufacturers are a big part of the company’s supply chain — from commodity and painted windows through to high-end architectural manufacturers — mostly across south-eastern states, but with a growing presence in northern New South Wales.

And Wright said the fallout from the decision to cease harvesting in Victorian forests has been immediate. “The window manufacturers of south-east Australia have been forced into a lot of change with the cessation of native timber in Victoria — just like we have,” he said. “But they also have upcoming changes to the NCC, which will structurally change how many of them operate.”

“Of course, what impacts our supply chain also impacts us.”

That disruption created confusion. “We’ve recently seen imported plantation timbers in the window market that don’t meet the specs they are intended for,” Wright said. “This was a direct result of Victoria’s hardwood being suddenly ceased. The window makers were trying to do the right thing, but were forced to make quick decisions.”

As one of the major stakeholders in the AFWI–AGWA Modernising Timber Windows project, led jointly by the Timber Development Association and the Australian Glass and Window Association, Australian Sustainable Hardwoods is providing timber species for testing their performance in modern systems.

“When we were asked to be involved, we saw this project as an opportunity to work together and help the window makers collectively find pathways forward that not only suit their specific needs, but also comply with upcoming changes to the NCC,” Wright said.

The project is also a chance for ASH to advance one of its newer species — Plantation Oak — as the company rebuilds markets lost when Victorian ash was taken away. Made from Shining Gum logs grown in a plantation for pulp, Plantation Oak is upgraded by ASH into higher-end, longer-term applications. Wright said a small part of every log can be used for architectural applications, but the majority needs to be engineered to get the best out of it.

“We’ve had success with Plantation Oak in MASSLAM, but in order to use this fibre in other market segments, we need to help build the standards and examples that everyone can follow with confidence,” he said. ASH is one of 10 timber suppliers involved in the project, alongside the Pentarch Group and others.

Now, the testing programme is about to shift up a gear.

Speaking to Wood Central today, Kylan Low — the Structural Engineer at the Timber Development Association leading the project — said next week’s round will put four configurations through their paces: a double-hung window, an awning and casement window, an awning and double casement window, and a centre bifold door. Low said the configurations are designed to capture various hardware setups used across the industry and will be tested under combined air and water pressure for durations representing storm periods.

In January, Low told Wood Central that the industry had been craving this kind of data for a very long time: “Window data hasn’t kept up with changes in codes, glazing, and timber supply.”

The project has also given a platform to the next generation. Jesse Ross — a Graduate Engineer at AGWA who has been working alongside Low since the project’s inception — recently shared his reflections on what has become his first major engineering project. Ross said that, unlike uPVC and aluminium systems, there was no prime operator in the timber window sector, meaning the entire system had to be built from the ground up.

Early testing revealed that some Australian hardwoods, such as Spotted Gum and Blackbutt, could outperform European staples. But given the project’s focus on species substitution, the team chose to work with the lowest passing species it could find. Designs have settled on 55/58 mm sash profiles with 24 mm glazing pockets, accommodating modern insulated glass units and manufacturable by small-scale workshops.

Ross said the industry engagement phase — travelling to state forums, meeting joiners, hardware suppliers and timber providers — was one of the most eye-opening parts of the experience. He found some joineries still working with outdated designs that didn’t fully comply with AS 2047 or accommodate drained insulated glass units.

“I learned that innovation is not just about creating new ideas,” Ross wrote, “but also about making them accessible to your audience.” The documentation phase — technical manuals, substitution procedures, shop drawings — is now underway, aiming to give any Australian joinery everything it needs to start building with confidence.”

The Modernising Timber Windows project is one of 30 research initiatives funded through AFWI — a $200-million-plus institute backed by $100 million in Commonwealth funding. It is generating new structural and performance data across a range of solid and engineered wood products, testing how timbers perform under AS 2047, Australia’s mandatory standard for windows and external glazed doors.

• To learn more about the Australian Forest and Wood Innovations programme, visit AFWI’s dedicated website.

It comes as the Sunshine Coast–based National Centre for Timber Durability and Design Life, which is working with Wine Australia, Forest and Wood Products Australia and the Australian Forest Products Association, has begun field trials on a mobile processing unit in McLaren Vale, south of Adelaide. The unit strips fasteners, including clips, staples, and nails, and guillotines end-of-life posts to size, preparing them for reuse without generating hazardous sawdust.

“Together with partners in both the forestry and viticulture sectors, we are developing practical pathways for the reuse of treated posts and other end‑of‑life timber products, demonstrating what collaboration across sectors, in research, industry and government can achieve,” Professor Tripti Singh, Director of the National Centre for Timber Durability and Design Life, said.

Wood Central understands the pilot forms a key part of the Australian Timber Circularity Project, which has already mapped more than 27 million CCA‑treated posts stockpiled across the country.

As it stands, Australia’s vineyards rely on more than 80 million timber posts — most treated with CCA — with at least one million or more posts breaking every year. However, Wine Australia warns the real figure may exceed 3.3 million, with the vast majority stockpiled on farms or sent to landfill due to limited disposal pathways. While licensed landfills remain the only legal end‑of‑life option, high costs and logistical constraints often leave growers with no practical alternative.

Delivered by the FABAL Group with support from the South Australian Government, the pilot aims to convert that waste into usable agricultural fencing and landscape timber. By processing posts on‑site and avoiding sawdust, the system could help growers avoid disposal costs of up to $3000 per hectare.

For Ashley Keegan, FABAL Group’s CEO, the objective is to turn a costly liability into products that can be used and reused by regional communities: “Our goal is to convert a problematic vineyard waste stream into a product that others are willing to confidently use,” Keegan said.

Last year, Wood Central reported that more than 78% of timber posts installed on vineyards across the country are treated with CCA (Copper chrome arsenate) – with the bulk of the remaining posts treated with cersole, resulting in between 12,000 and 30,000 tonnes of waste wood entering landfill every year.

However, that could change with Wine Australia revealing that the new project could create alternative, low-emissions uses for end-of-life posts: “Our goal is to develop viable opportunities to divert CCA timber from landfill and create new, valuable products within regional communities,” they said, adding that data, regulatory barriers, reuse and recycling technologies and stewardship are amongst the most significant challenges.

• To learn more about the Australian Timber Circularity Project, including the role of CCA-treated timber in the circular economy, click here for Wood Central’s special feature.

Previously covered by Wood Central, the new glulam—developed by WTIBeam in partnership with Australian Bluegum Plantations and OneFortyOne—marks a major shift in how plantation hardwoods are used. Instead of being chipped or pulped, blue gum can now be turned into high‑value structural products capable of replacing native hardwoods restricted under forest‑harvesting bans.

“It’s really pleasing to see our research deliver a real‑world application, proving that plantation‑grown blue gum can deliver high‑performance structural products at scale,” according to Tony Wright, CEO of the Green Triangle Forest Industries Hub, who added that GL24 could help Australian plantations displace imported timbers and supplement steel and concrete.

According to Edwina Vulcz, owner of WTIBeam, the glulam product signals a new way of valuing blue gum. “We’re excited to see our new product come to life in the home of plantation forestry in Mt Gambier. “Blue gum makes incredible glulam when manufactured the right way, and the high‑strength grades like GL24 can support builders to achieve longer spans, reducing material use and construction costs.”

Forestry centre opens to fanfare

Opened late last week, the $16.5 million centre is a partnership between the Peter Malinauskas‑led state government, the University of Adelaide—which has committed $6.55 million over 10 years—and the forest industry. The building brings together the National Centre for Forestry Innovation, led by Professor Jeff Morrell, the Green Triangle Forest Industries Hub and Tree Breeding Australia.

“This centre is about backing one of our state’s great regional success stories with world‑class research, innovation and skills, ensuring the forestry sector remains strong, sustainable and competitive well into the future,” Minister for Forest Industries Clare Scriven said.

“Our plantation forest region is one of the powerhouses of the Australian forest sector, and this centre will help drive economic growth, attract investment and support local jobs. By bringing together government, researchers, educators and industry in one location, we are creating the right conditions for collaboration, innovation and long‑term prosperity for the region.”

According to Professor Nicola Phillips, Vice‑Chancellor for the University of Adelaide, the new centre demonstrates how research can deliver direct benefits to regional communities and industry. “By co‑locating world‑class researchers with industry partners in the heart of the Green Triangle, ideas will be translated more efficiently from the lab to the plantation and processing floor,” she said. “The centre will also strengthen pathways between research, education and industry, ensuring that students and early career researchers gain hands‑on experience in the sector.”

Whilst Professor Morrell said the centre’s mission is to deliver practical, industry‑led research. “The centre works closely with growers, processors and product manufacturers to address real challenges such as productivity, sustainability, climate resilience and the development of high‑value timber products,” he said. “By translating science into solutions, the centre will ensure the industry continues to innovate, adapt, provide secure jobs and remain globally competitive in a rapidly changing market.”

And with the state election only weeks away, South Australian Forest Products Association CEO Nathan Paine said the opening sends a clear signal about the sector’s future. “It sends a strong message well beyond Mount Gambier, the centre reinforces South Australia’s commitment to future‑focused industries built on sustainability, innovation and community,” he told the SA Voice yesterday.

“Too often, we see good ideas announced but never delivered. Today shows what’s possible when government listens, commits and follows through,” he said. “As the birthplace of Australia’s commercial plantation forestry sector, the centre recognises the 150‑year legacy of regional workers, businesses and researchers, and it will strengthen the global competitiveness of forest industries research while creating lasting economic and employment opportunities across the Limestone Coast and throughout the state.”

• To learn more about how researchers are using plantation fibre to build frames, panels and modules in factories, click here for Wood Central’s special feature on The Precinct, an IndustryEdge project funded by Australian Forest and Wood Innovations (AFWI), the $100 million‑plus Commonwealth‑supported research institute co‑matched by industry and partners.

Launched this week and supported by Minister for Forest Industries Clare Scriven, the Timber Promotion Campaign aims to shift the conversation about timber away from technical industry language and toward the material’s visibility in daily life — from house frames and cabinetry to office furniture, packaging and logistics.

And according to Nathan Paine, CEO of the SAFPA, the campaign is designed to help South Australians recognise how deeply timber is embedded in the state’s built environment and economy. “Timber is all around us – in our homes, our offices, our schools and the places we gather,” Paine said.

“It forms the structural frames of our houses, the cupboards in our kitchens, the flooring in our living rooms and the wall linings that shape our spaces. In workplaces, it’s found in desks, shelving and fit-outs, and behind the scenes, it is pallets and packaging that keep goods moving through our economy every single day.”

Paine said the campaign deliberately focuses on relatable, everyday examples rather than industry jargon, positioning timber as a familiar and trusted material that is “renewable, stores carbon and supports thousands of regional jobs.”

Wood Central understands that the campaign will roll out through digital storytelling, pop‑up showcases, professional education sessions and community engagement activities, each designed to demonstrate how timber is used across residential construction, commercial fit‑outs and supply‑chain infrastructure.

Key themes include:

• Timber’s presence in homes — from frames and floors to cabinetry and wall linings
• Its growing use in workplaces and public buildings, including mass‑timber construction
• Its role in logistics, pallets and packaging
• and finally, its contribution to regional jobs, sustainability and the circular economy

“The strength of timber is that it is both visible and invisible,” Paine said. “We see it in our homes and workplaces, yet we rarely stop to consider how essential it is to daily life and economic activity,” Paine said, adding that the new campaign will reinforce the state’s long history in plantation forestry and the importance of maintaining domestic manufacturing capability.

“This is about pride in what we grow, what we make and what we build here in South Australia,” Paine said. “Maintaining the ability to grow and manufacture our own timber products underpins our capacity to build homes, support economic growth and sustain our way of life.”

“Wesbeam has a foundation where capable, committed people are aligned to a clear purpose and take pride in what they deliver. My focus is on strengthening that culture while driving disciplined performance and operational excellence,” Everest said. “Wesbeam’s scale and national reach, combined with its reputation for quality and reliability, position us strongly as engineered timber continues to gain broader acceptance in residential and commercial construction.”

With an eye to the future, Everest said his focus is on disciplined execution and extracting full value from the platform already built. His priorities include operational excellence and productivity, safety leadership and capability development, strategic customer and stakeholder partnerships, sustainable and disciplined growth, and market expansion through innovation.

Asked why Wesbeam, Everest pointed to the company’s reputation for quality, reliability, and national reach — attributes that have cemented its role as a critical supplier to builders, merchants, and frame-and-truss manufacturers across the country. Wesbeam, he said, is a business built on “capable, committed people aligned to a clear purpose,” adding that strengthening that culture while driving disciplined performance will remain central to his leadership.

Wesbeam operates a world‑scale, 24/7 manufacturing facility in Neerabup, Western Australia, supported by a long‑term plantation timber supply agreement with the WA Government. That agreement provides a level of security and consistency that has become increasingly rare in a market grappling with supply‑chain volatility.

Everest also acknowledged the outstanding contribution of outgoing CEO James Malone, who retired after leading Wesbeam through major phases of growth and capability development. “James and the team have built strong foundations,” Everest said. “My focus is on respecting that legacy while helping the organisation continue to evolve, execute and perform.”

Founded in 2001, Wesbeam has grown into a nationally significant manufacturer with distribution hubs across Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. The company employs just under 300 people and has been recognised as a Great Place to Work for three consecutive years, whilst investment in automation, plant upgrades and sustainability initiatives continues to lift productivity as Australia looks to expand housing supply and reduce the construction industry’s carbon footprint.

• To learn more about Wesbeam and its projects, click here for Wood Central’s special feature on Bluerock Project’s Tupy Gardens, a $25 million timber-framed apartment complex where Bluerock picked Wesbeam’s LVL over brick.

The investment lands as airlines and heavy emitters race to secure long‑term supplies of low-carbon fuels. According to Nick Chan, Director of Corporate Strategy for OneFortyOne, which manages plantation estates in Australia and New Zealand, the investment is “a defining moment for plantation forestry in Australia,” pointing to the Green Triangle’s scale, year‑round operations and established logistics as key advantages in supplying feedstock for low‑carbon fuels.

For Qantas, which has committed to using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as part of its decarbonisation strategy, the benefits extend far beyond aviation. “A domestic SAF sector means jobs, regional investment, and economic growth across Australia,” said Chief Sustainability Officer Fiona Messent, who added that HAMR Energy’s vertically integrated model “represents a significant step forward” in establishing a local industry.

Airbus sees strategic value in the technology. Stephen Forshaw, Airbus’s chief representative for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, said HAMR’s methanol‑to‑jet pathway is “a very interesting technology pathway” that could accelerate the sector’s transition to cleaner fuels.

Wood Central understands that HAMR Energy’s flagship development, the Portland Renewable Fuels facility in the Green Triangle, will convert residues into 300,000 tonnes of low‑carbon methanol every year. That methanol can be used directly as a marine fuel or upgraded into sustainable aviation fuel — a market expected to grow rapidly, with global demand reaching 500 million tonnes by 2050. Meanwhile, a second project, Australia’s first major methanol‑to‑jet plant, is expected to produce 135 million litres of SAF each year and support hundreds of regional jobs.

The latest investment comes after HAMR Energy last year revealed that it was working on a research project, the Fibe to Fuels (F2F) initiative in partnership with the Australian Forest and Wood Innovations (AFWI) Centre for Sustainable Futures on the Sunshine Coast. The program is testing the commercial viability of producing methanol from plantation residues using entrained‑flow gasification — a pathway that could unlock new revenue streams for growers while strengthening Australia’s energy security.

HAMR Energy Director Alex Smith said the research is showing how residues from plantations across Tasmania, Western Australia, as well as the Green Triangle, can be converted into low‑carbon fuels, helping forestry businesses “unlock new value from their plantations” while reducing emissions from aviation and shipping.

That is according to the South Australian Forest Products Association (SAFPA), which today published its 2026 State Election Policy Platform, Protecting South Australia’s Sovereign Timber Capability, alongside a new policy paper outlining the immediate actions needed to protect domestic timber manufacturing.

“South Australia is proudly the birthplace of Australia’s plantation forestry industry, and for 150 years, regional South Australians have grown, harvested and manufactured timber that has helped build this State,” according to Nathan Paine, CEO of the SAFPA. “The forest industries contribute nearly $3 billion to the State’s economy each year and directly and indirectly support more than 21,000 jobs.”

Paine said the new platform builds on SAFPA’s 2021 agenda and focuses on expanding the plantation estate, strengthening local manufacturing and ensuring the sector continues to support housing supply, employment, food supply chains and decarbonisation.

The release follows the opening of two new state‑of‑the‑art Technical Colleges — one at Tonsley and the other at Mount Gambier — both constructed using locally manufactured NeXTimber by Timberlink cross‑laminated timber and Australian Sustainable Hardwoods glue-laminated timber. And calls for stronger sovereign capacity come as Premier Malinauskas and Anthony Albanese agreed on a new federal–state agreement that will see 17,000 new homes built across the state, including 7,000 for first‑home buyers, on a scale of development.

Paine said stronger procurement policies would help ensure public investment continues to support South Australian manufacturing. “This is not about protectionism, it’s about ensuring South Australia retains the sovereign capability to grow, process and manufacture one of its most essential renewable materials.”

New community research commissioned by SAFPA shows strong public support for protecting critical industries and ensuring South Australia grows enough plantation timber to meet future housing needs. Nearly half of voters said they were more likely to support candidates who back policies to secure the local timber supply, while polling in Mount Gambier confirmed firm regional backing for sovereign timber manufacturing and local jobs.