Building With Wood in Tasmania

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Above: MACq 01 Hotel, Hobart

June 7, 2017

From Guy Barnett, Minister for Resources, Minister for Building and Construction, Tasmania

'Featuring Tasmanian timbers in building construction and design is the aim of the Tasmanian Wood Encouragement Policy released today.

'In a first for any Australian state, the policy means wood will need to be considered for use in future public building projects, leading to a wide range of new opportunities to utilise Tasmanian timber.

'The Hodgman Liberal Government is committed to growing our forest industry to create jobs, and our Wood Encouragement Policy will help to deliver new opportunities for Tasmanian timbers.

'In last year’s Budget, we announced the development of a policy to encourage the greater use of wood and wood products in government building projects.

'Today, during a visit to Federal Group’s new MACq 01 Hotel, I am pleased to release our Tasmanian Wood Encouragement Policy.

Featuring local timbers, such as Tasmanian oak, throughout the interiors, MACq 01 Hotel is an example of how we can add value to our forest industry through using more wood in building and construction.

MACq 01 is the world’s first storytelling hotel; it shares the tales of Tasmania’s history and people, and the use of local timbers and other artefacts adds considerable value to the visitor experience.

The Liberal Government led the way in backing Tasmanian businesses with our Buy Local Policy for public expenditure.

Now we are backing our forest industry with a policy requiring that the use of wood be fully considered in designs where it represents value for money and does the job.

This is all about growing jobs in forestry and helping the industry to meet its target of doubling the added value of our wood and wood products by 2036.

Developed by the Department of State Growth and supported by the Ministerial Advisory Council on Forestry, the policy was the result of extensive consultation with industry bodies and stakeholders.

We look forward to soon implementing the Tasmanian Wood Encouragement Policy within government procurement processes and providing more opportunities for local timber businesses.

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Photo: Stu Gibson

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