Jobs on offer in the Green Triangle as backpacker and timber shortages collide

Fishers and shearers join forestry crews but there are still more jobs up for grabs as the Green Triangle tries to meet demand of the country’s booming housing sector.

There are 27 million plantation trees to be replanted in the Green Triangle and there no backpackers to plant them.

The task is normally undertaken by a large contingent of backpackers but this year the forestry industry has been forced to turn to the domestic and New Zealand workforce to fill the 150 positions as international borders remain closed.

The new recruits included seasonal workers from the fishing and shearing industries joining the crews during their off-season.

Nene Mibus, Ehklei Ehklei and Trinidad Pasilan from Gildera Forestry Services are among a team of staff at OneFortyOne’s Glencoe Nursery managing the delivery of seedlings. Picture: Green Triangle Forest Industries

Spanning South East South Australia and South West Victoria, the region is Australia’s largest supplier of softwood product, according to Green Triangle Forest Industries Hub chair Ian McDonnell.

As pressure grows to meet demand for the country’s booming housing sector, Mr McDonnell said the limited workforce would plant 19.6 million softwood and 7.5 million hardwood seedlings while managing impromptu border shutdowns.

“It is important we continue to replace every single tree harvested and invest in new land development to keep pace with domestic consumption,” he said.

“This is a very manual and physical job but for those wanting to increase their fitness and earn a good income, working with great people, it can be a rewarding role.

“The planting season usually begins in May and can extend through to July; it is all dependent on the seasonal winter rain which is required to ensure the best growth for the new seedlings.”

Each day individual planters will average 3000 trees daily with the vast effort to cover around 20,500ha including the replacement of trees lost in the 2020 Kentbruck fire, near Nelson.

While number of contractors are still searching for last minute labourers, Matt McDonald owner of A and M Contracting has secured a full crew with a focus on hiring locals.

“We don’t rely on backpackers or transit people, we employ local people,” Mr McDonald said.

“We have local people that come back every year, a lot from the local cray fishing industry and local young guys and occasion we have some backpackers.

“Last year they were stuck in Mount Gambier and needed work so we took those on just to help them out and put food on the table.

“A lot of those backpackers were in the industries that were shut down like the wineries and the hospitality industries so they all of a sudden lost the any kind of employment.”