Morgan Sawmill Owners Hope to Help Alleviate Structural Timber Shortage

Australia’s Federal Government’s Home Builder Scheme, which was launched more than 12 months ago in response to the coronavirus pandemic, is running into a structural timber shortage which is threatening to detail the state’s housing boom. Morgan Sawmill located in Jamestown is proposing to build a second mill, located in Dublin, capable of producing enough structural lumber to build about 500 homes a year, with the ability to ramp up production if affordable times supplies could be secured. The Jamestown mill itself is not set up to manufacture structural lumber but instead is manufacturing vineyard posts, packaging timber, pallets and timber for outdoor structures such as pergolas. However, in order for the second mill to become a reality, the owners Luke and Ed Morgan are seeking government assistance in the amount of $2 million (AUD) to help build the new facility, transportation subsidies to bring timber, some burned in recent wildfires, from Kangaroo Island to the new facility and some assurance that the timber supply will be consistent for an extended period of time. The government is reviewing this and other requests, with the last day to submit a request being July 15, 2021.