The Murray Region Forestry Hub Strategic Action Plan (2024–2026) provides a comprehensive roadmap for strengthening one of Australia’s most important softwood plantation regions, covering southern NSW and north-east Victoria.
The report, prepared by Greenwood Strategy Solutions, identifies four strategic pillars—resource security, people and skills, infrastructure and supply chain efficiency, and stakeholder understanding and engagement. It highlights the region’s economic importance, contributing around $2.5 billion annually and supporting 7,000 jobs before the 2019–20 bushfires. Those fires severely impacted plantation resources, with recovery expected by the mid-2030s. Key challenges include securing long-term fibre supply, improving infrastructure, coordinating cross-border management, enhancing community perception, and addressing fire risk and land availability constraints.
The Action Plan outlines twelve priority projects to guide industry development over the next three years with a combined value of up to $800,000. High-priority actions include a transport efficiency review, fire management policy framework, plantation expansion modelling, pest and weed analysis, and a regional community engagement strategy. The plan also emphasises innovation in carbon markets, improved logistics, and use of fire detection technologies. Collectively, these initiatives aim to ensure sustainable resource security, foster regional investment, and strengthen the forestry sector’s environmental, social, and economic contributions across the Murray Region.