Since the bushfires devastated our town and region, our local softwood sawmill and jobs are under threat and we are calling on the local community to show their support through TimberforTumba.

The Tumbarumba Mill is the biggest employer and the lifeblood of South West Slopes of New South Wales country town Tumbarumba, transforming a small village into a vibrant town upon development in 2001.

Family owned by 138-year-old Hyne Timber, the Mill employs more than 200 directly and supports literally hundreds and hundreds of jobs indirectly.

Employees and the community are deeply concerned regarding the future of the Mill following the devastating bushfires which decimated 40% of the Mill’s local plantation pine supply and the flow on impacts this will have to the town.

It is inevitable that, as a result of the fires, hundreds of jobs are at risk with significant supply chain disruption unless solutions can be found to the shortage of local log supply. The people most impacted have already had a devastating year due to impacts of the bushfires on their town and their personal lives.

The Mill has found a solution to save jobs, support the regional economy and supply of renewable, plantation pine timber by diverting some saw logs from export into the Mill, subject to Government support.

We need to find a way to transport the logs to the Mill because the logs are situated in other states and transport costs are the sticking factor.

We are not asking for a hand out; it is a hand up to support existing sovereign manufacturing in Australia, save jobs where they indeed can be saved and protect Australian supply chains.

Getting these extra logs to the Mill over the next three years will cost approximately $70 million. The Mill is able to fund just over $40 million themselves, but we need help to make up the remaining $30 million due to the additional haulage distance.

Currently, neither the NSW or Federal Government have a mechanism for supporting our cause because their grant programs don’t include transport costs.

The Tumbarumba Mill and surrounding community need the Government to open up avenues for industry led bushfire recovery solutions to be assessed where they make economic sense.

Help us to show the Government we have a plan and we need their help through the bushfire recovery program. Please support TimberforTumba!

• Currently, the forestry industry in the South West Slopes of New South Wales supports over 5,000 jobs or one in every two jobs in the region and creates $2 billion in economic activity per annum.
• As a result of the 2019/20 bushfires, log feedstock to the Tumbarumba Mill in NSW has been decimated by 40%.
• Family owned by 138-year-old Hyne Timber, the Mill employs more than 200 directly and supports literally hundreds and hundreds of jobs indirectly.
• It is inevitable that hundreds of jobs are at risk unless solutions can be found.
• Through discussions with private growers, the Tumbarumba Mill has identified alternative log availability which can be diverted from export subject to government support.
• These private growers have confirmed that at least 441,000m³ of sustainably grown, plantation pine can be made available to the Mill over the next three years.
• During those three years, the Mill will work on ways to process more of the logs that are available in the region after the fires and identify transport efficiencies that will mean the support is no longer required.
• The Mill will pay most of the costs so the support is a hand up, not a hand out: exactly the type of support the Prime Minister and Premier promised the people of Tumbarumba when they visited following the fires.
• This is a small fraction of the plantation pine sawlogs exported from Australia each year.
• We believe redirecting logs from export and into the Australian economy, retaining job security for hundreds of people and our Australian supply chain resilience, is a compelling case for government investment, now more than ever.
• Economic analysis has determined the Mill needs to secure almost $30 million in support over three years on top of their own investment of $42 million, which will convert into an estimated $173 million for the Australian economy.
• There is currently no such avenue to apply for bushfire recovery support for transport which would in turn save hundreds of jobs and the local supply chain.
• The government should establish a process for industry led bushfire recovery solutions where no current avenue for support exists and the business case makes good sense for the Australian economy.

Tumbarumba is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, about 480 kilometres southwest of the state capital, Sydney. Tumbarumba is located on the periphery of the Riverina and South West Slopes regions at the western edge of the Snowy Mountains.