Murray Region Forestry Hub
The Murray Region Forestry Hub was originally formed as the South West Slopes Forest Industry Hub as part of the Australian government’s National Forest Industries Plan to identify the constraints limiting forestry and timber industry growth.
After consultation with our members, the South West Slopes Forestry Hub was relaunched as the Murray Region Forestry Hub (MRFH) to better reflect the extended geographical boundaries of the Hub region to include North East Victoria.
The Murray Region Forestry Hub takes in about 3.5million hectares in the area east of the Hume Freeway, west of the Great Dividing Range, south of Gundagai, and taking in the plantations of NE Victoria down to Lake Eildon. Key forestry towns in the NSW part of the Hub are Tumut, Batlow, Tumbarumba, Gundagai and Adelong. In the Victorian Hub area, the main centres for the industry are Corryong, Tallangatta, Myrtleford and Wangaratta.
This area contains around 170,000 ha of softwood plantations (both public and private). The Murray Region is home to one of the largest softwood-plantation forestry industries in Australia. Softwood is the wood from a pine tree, as distinct from hardwood that comes from gum trees or eucalypts (as found in native forests).
Strategic Plan
In our Hub region, we are focusing on measures to expand the softwood industry, by developing and prioritising potential solutions to issues the industry is facing. Our Strategic Plan identifies projects we are undertaking to find these solutions
Softwoods Working Group
The Hub works closely with the Softwoods Working Group, which has common membership with the Hub Committee. Learn more about the activities of SWG.
Latest News
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Diversifying Farm Income: Boost Your Farm’s Future
The Murray Region Forestry Hub, in partnership with the North East Catchment Management Authority, the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority, […]
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MRFH Blackberry Impacts Project
The much anticipated Blackberry Impacts project has come to a conclusion after deviating from its original scope to include the […]
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Current and Future Skills and Training Needs of the Forest and Timber Industry in the Murray Region Forestry Hub Area
The forest and timber industry in the Murray Region Forestry Hub area continues to play a major role in the rural and regional economy despite the impact of the disastrous 2019‐20 fires. Prior to this fire event, the industry provided around $1.3 billion annually in direct economic output, and directly employed nearly 2,500 people. In addition, around 4,500 people held indirect jobs that were dependent on the industry in the South West Slopes Forestry Hub region1. As of 2021, the industry employed slightly over 2,100 people2, including around 200 pulp and paper workers who were made redundant due to the closure of the Norske Skog Albury mill3. The economic consequences of the fires are still being assessed, but the industry remains a vital component of the socio‐economic fabric of communities in the Hub region.