The South Australian Government is giving SA Pine $1.36 million to process timber, some of which will come from Kangaroo Island. Source: The Islander
Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, David Basham said the $1.36 million state government grant will help SA Pine expand its capacity to process an extra 25,000 tonnes of pine logs, which is enough to build approximately 950 houses.
The $1.36 million grant to the private business comes “for the government’s $2 million Additional Structural Timber program”.
Some timber was already being shipped off the Island on the SeaLink ferry going to a mill in Jamestown.
Logistics company T-Ports on behalf of forestry owners meanwhile is proposing to transship pine logs, as well as blue gum woodchips, off the Island using its transhipment vessel near the Kingscote jetty.
The extra timber has been made possible by SA Pine successfully negotiating a long-term timber supply agreement with ForestrySA, as well as a plan to source logs from Kangaroo Island.
Pine was about 20 per cent of the forestry trees on KI, 90 per cent of which was burned in the fires.
Harvesting company Harvestco says there is still some undamaged pine standing, while some burned pine logs were stockpiled under water in McGills dam.
“SA Pine is a successful South Australian sawmill operating out of Kuitpo and Monarto and the largest customer of ForestrySA timber sourced locally from the Mount Lofty Ranges,” Mr Bassham said.
“The SA Pine Kuitpo mill is well positioned to benefit from the joint Commonwealth-State funded transport assistance scheme to move bushfire salvage timber off Kangaroo Island to processing.”
The minister’s office said state treasury confirmed prior to election caretaker period that this initiative could be funded from within existing departmental resources.
