With a federal election expected in three months, Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will visit the crucial seat of Bass on Monday for a national plantation forestry announcement.
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Mr Morrison will announce $86 million for a cash-grant scheme to help foresters and farmers in 11 declared regional forest hubs - including the whole of Tasmania - establish new softwood and hardwood plantations.
The federal government funding would make up 40 per cent of the total, and it "expects" the states and territories to provide the remaining 60 per cent.
Businesses applying for a grant would be required to at least match it on a 50-50 basis to cover the cost of establishing a new plantation, giving the scheme a $300 million total target.
Should all of the states and territories agree with the funding proposal, Mr Morrison said the target was for 150 million trees to be planted by the end of 2027.
In 2018, the government's National Forest Industries Plan highlighted the need for "a billion new trees in forestry plantations" over the next decade to meet wood and fibre needs. The plan resulted in the establishment of regional forest hubs, with funding extended until 2025.
Mr Morrison said the grants program would be about "getting more trees in the ground" and improving timber supply, while Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said the role of states and territories would be crucial because they manage forestry resources.
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The Australian Forest Products Association had been calling on the government to do more to "deliver the urgently needed timber" for housing construction, as timber supply shortages started to cause delays.
Last year, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics found that Australia's commercial plantation area had actually decreased in size by 198,700 hectares between 2014 and 2020.
The report prompted the AFPA and Master Builders Australia to estimate the country could be 250,000 house frames short by 2035 unless drastic action was taken by governments.
They called on the government to "fast track" the billion trees plan and add 400,000 hectares of plantation timber by 2030.
First of many expected visits to Tasmania's North
During the 2019 election campaign, Mr Morrison made regular visits to the seats of Bass and Braddon, both of which the Liberal Party won from Labor.
Bridget Archer won Bass by just 563 votes after a 5.8 per cent swing, making it the coalition's most marginally-held electorate.
The party's success in the North and North-West proved crucial in the coalition gaining a two-seat lower house majority.
Several projects promised for the two electorates before the last election are yet to be completed, including no start on a $64 million shiploader at Burnie port and delays in the $10 million Albert Hall project in Launceston.
Mr Morrison and Mr Frydenberg are expected to make several stops near Launceston during their visit on Monday.