The Hub is home to a number of large wood processing facilities, including Visy Pulp and Paper, Alpine MDF, Hyne Timber, Forest One, Carter Holt Harvey and AKD NSW. There are two large plantation growers (Hancock Victoria Plantations and Forestry Corporation of NSW) as well as a number of small to medium-sized growers or managers (including Snowy Mountains Forests, Hume Forests, Agriwealth and PF Olsen Australia). Demand for wood fibre from within the hub boundary far exceeds the available fibre, which has led to the increasing requirement to bring fibre long distances into the region. This issue has been exacerbated by the Black Summer bushfires in 2019-2020 which resulted in approximately 42,000ha of the estates softwood plantation resource being burnt. There remains an ongoing threat of bushfire to the local industry and communities. Concerns have been raised that there exist regulatory barriers which hinder the management of fire and the ability to implement protection regimes.
When aiming to reduce fire risk across the landscape, land ownership or tenure coupled with the legislative responsibilities of State and Federal Governments, makes managing fire and preventative measures very complicated.
The Hub is seeking proposals from suitably qualified consultants to provide a comprehensive desktop analysis and report based on the following scope.