Roof truss suppliers across my region are declaring Australias severe timber shortage a national crisis that is having significant knock-on effects, not only for the building industry but for jobs and the economy.

And its not going to end any time soon, according to one of the nations leading prefab manufacturers, Timber Truss, based in my region in Geelong.

Business Manager, Steve Collier, says the shortage will have long lasting implications for the cost of housing and jobs in the industry.

Steve says timber from overseas is costing between 85 to 125 per cent more and this is inevitably being passed on to the client, and leading to a concerning increase in the cost of housing.

And the flow on impact for apprentices, local carpenters, electricians, roofer and plumbers, and the related retail sector are being felt.

Its crushing for builders. I feel particularly for the smaller construction firms and family building businesses who cant even get a quote for a job.

Ultimately this means, building jobs are being pushing back by about three months on average.

So, what is the Morrison Government doing about this? Very little, it appears.

Not onlyhasthe Morrison-Joyce Government failedto anticipate and develop a plan to managethe nations timber shortage,ithas contributed to the crisis.

The Governmentslack ofasubstantivepolicy,combined withfailure to act on its own tree planting targets,has once againshownthat its incapable of realvision,planningandimplementation.

And its notlikethe Government wasnt warned this crisis was coming.

Back inlate June,CFMEU National Secretary Michael O'Connor wrote to Housing Minister MichaelSukkar,thenIndustry Minister Christian Porter and Assistant Minister for Forestry JonathonDuniamrequesting an urgent meeting to discuss support for the forestry sector.

And now,more thansix months into the crisis, theresstill no coherent plan from theMorrison-JoyceGovernment.

Victorias Master Builders Association CEO Rebecca Casson says builders are beingsobadly squeezeditssending some broke.Its law that builderswho have entered contractsmust absorb the cost of delays,such as fromtimbershortages.

Its true Australia is caught up in a world-wideshortage of timber. TheUSispayingas much as400% higher than normal for timber.

And,thedevastating 2019-20Black Summerbush fires on the eastern Australian seaboard havealsocontributed to thecurrentshortage.

However,Australiamight not have been in such a dire position had the Government hadits eyeson the ball.

In normal circumstances only about 20% of Australias construction timber is imported.So,thiscrisisismoreabout domestic management than international supply issues.

More homes than ever are being built around the nation. Some figures suggest 20 % more houses in 2021 than any previous year.

Thecurrentbuilding surge has been spurred on byvarious factors, somevery muchwithin the Governments direct control.

The Governments ownHomeBuilderprogramfor instance,which has seen135,000 applications. The program isplacingadditionalpressureon limitedsuppliesanddriving up prices.

However,fixing thebuilding timber supplyissue needsa longer-termsolution.

Arecentjointreport by Master Builders Australia and the Australian Forest Products AssociationsaysAustralia timber shortagewill escalate.

By 2035thenation will be short250,000 house frames thats the equivalent of the housingstockin thecities of Greater Geelongand Newcastle combined.

An urgent national plan is needed to address the timber shortage. But,what the Morrison-Joyce Government has providedso far is a policy vacuum.

In the short-term, to alleviate the current problem, there must be support for sawmills. They must be given extra processing opportunities.

In the longer-term, we must ensure there is timber plantation stock to meet future housing demand.

Currentlythereisonly 2,750 hectares of new plantations of softwoodnationally.

Yet,we need400,000 new hectares of plantations by 2030justtomeetfuturedemand.

The Morrison-Joyce Government promised to meetaone-billionplantationtrees targetin2018. As usual,MrMorrisonhasfailed to do anything.

So,his own target hasnotbeenmeet.In fact, aconcessional loan program set up to help meet theone-billion trees target is yet to even open.

Importantly, we mustnotlet the Governments failurebe usedby itto justify increasedlogging ofournative forests.

Deputy Speaker, the construction industry is key to our economic growth, and in my region of high growth, it is vital.

Sadly, the Morrison-Joyce Government is failing our timber industry. Theyre failed the construction industry. Theyre failing local builders and apprentices. Theyre failing our housing consumers.

They will continue to fail all of them,well into the future,ifthey dontact now.

Delivered in Parliament on 25 Oct 2021