(Left – Right) TQ Chair & General Manager DTM Timber Ian Haines Parliamentary Friends of Forest & Timber Industry Co-Chair Member for Maryborough Bruce Saunders, Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries, Mark Furner, Parliamentary Friends of Forest & Timber Industry Co-Chair Tony Perrett, Member for Gympie, Timber Queensland CEO Mick Stephens, celebrate the launch of the Queensland Parliament’s “live” tree.
The carbon and biophilic benefits of providing a fresh pine Christmas tree for the Queensland Parliamentary Annexe has been enhanced this festive season with Queensland’s Parliamentary Friends of the Forest and Timber Industry network recognising the use of sustainable decorations made from renewable materials. Source: Timberbiz
Timber Queensland’s Strategic Relations and Communications Manager Clarissa Brandt said in a world increasingly focused on reducing, reusing and recycling, making conscious choices about the type of Christmas decorations we use is a small but impactful way to contribute to positive change.
“It’s not very jolly to buy plastic and metal decorations that often end up in landfill,” said Clarissa Brandt.
“By making conscious material choices, we can collectively make a difference and inspire others to follow suit,” she said.
“Live” tree decorated with sustainable decorations including locally grown and processed hoop pine plywood ornaments
Mrs Brandt says decorations from previous years will be reused alongside new additions to the Parliamentary Friends of Forest and Timber Industry network ‘Santa Sack’ of decorations including ribbons and bows made from jute, a star tree topper made from straw, twig garlands, pinecones and seed pods.
“We are also reusing our locally grown and processed Australian Araucaria plywood decorations made in the shape of a tree – signifying the growth of the Queensland’ $3.8 billion forest and timber industry and the 25,000 jobs it supports.”
Celebrating the start of the festive season Curtis Pitt, Speaker of the Queensland Parliament, together with Bruce Saunders, Member for Maryborough, were joined by Tony Perrett, Member for Gympie, and other members of Queensland’s Parliamentary Friends of the Forest and Timber Industry network during the last Parliamentary sitting week of 2023 to mark the traditional arrival of the real Christmas tree.
“A real Christmas tree is a sustainable choice as it removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as it grows and stores it in the stem and branches, highlighting the carbon friendly nature of well-managed forestry activities,” said Mrs Brandt.
“A live Christmas tree can also lift the festive spirit of everyone visiting the Parliament through the fresh smell of pine and provides joy through our natural affinity with plants”.
“Surrounding the tree are southern pine and Australian Araucaria seedlings kindly donated by HQPlantations, the largest commercial plantation grower in the state. These seedlings represent the renewability of the industry, where every five minutes in Queensland the plantation softwood industry grows enough wood to build another timber framed home,” she said.
“We are blessed in Queensland to have large areas of high quality plantations and well managed native hardwood and cypress forests across the state, which help support our renewable forest and timber industry, while also delivering carbon and other environmental benefits.”
The tree provided to the Queensland Parliament is a locally grown Monterey pine otherwise known as radiata pine (Pinus radiata), that is commonly grown for Christmas trees in Australia due to its conical shape and form.
