Paine will commence as ForestrySA Chief Executive from 22 June, ending a five-year tenure at the peak body for South Australia’s forest products supply chain.
Nathan Paine has been appointed Chief Executive of South Australian state-owned forester ForestrySA, ending a five-year tenure as CEO of the South Australian Forest Products Association (SAFPA). That is according to ForestrySA Chair Ric Sinclair, who confirmed Paine’s appointment after a comprehensive recruitment process that drew a significant field of qualified candidates.
Paine takes over management of more than 10,000 hectares of sustainable pine plantation in the Mount Lofty Ranges, with the role extending to stewardship of more than 16,000 hectares of native forest across the Mount Lofty Ranges and Limestone Coast regions. The combined 26,000-hectare estate places the new CEO at the centre of South Australia’s state-owned forest portfolio as fibre demand escalates across the national wood supply chain.
Paine has flagged plantation expansion as the central platform of his incoming agenda, citing forecast wood-fibre demand quadrupling across Australia over the next 25 years as the structural case for growing the state-owned estate. “There is a need and an opportunity to grow ForestrySA’s plantation estate,” Paine said.
He described the role as covering both supply-side plantation expansion and community education on timber’s place in the South Australian economy, with the incoming brief stretching from the Adelaide Hills’ recreational pine forests to the Limestone Coast processing hub. The Limestone Coast anchors the state’s processing capacity, with the Adelaide Hills estate functioning as both productive plantations and recreational space for the metropolitan population.
Sinclair pointed to Paine’s track record at SAFPA as the basis for the appointment, with the Board signalling that the new CEO will be expected to build on the work of interim chief Dean Anderson through the 2025-26 fire season. “We look forward to Nathan joining the organisation and bringing his extensive experience,” Sinclair said.
Minister for Forest Industries Hon Clare Scriven MLC welcomed the appointment, with the South Australian Government endorsing Paine’s record at SAFPA as the basis for a sustained plantation-growth agenda across the state. “Nathan has been outstanding in his five years as CEO,” Scriven said.
The Paine appointment comes amid a period of leadership renewal, with Diana Hallam resigning as CEO of the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA), and the Tasmanian Forest Products Association (TFPA) CEO, Nick Steel, opting not to renew his contract after six years leading Tasmania’s peak body. Deputy CEO Richard Hyett has been appointed AFPA acting chief executive under new Chair Matt Crapp of New Forests, who has succeeded Stephen Dadd at the head of the peak federal advocacy body for Australia’s $24 billion forest products industry.
Paine commences at ForestrySA on 22 June, with the combined 26,000-hectare estate placing him at the head of South Australia’s state-owned forestry portfolio against the forecast 25-year quadrupling of Australian wood-fibre demand he has flagged as the structural case for plantation growth.
Source: https://woodcentral.com.au/forestrysa-appoints-safpas-nathan-paine-as-its-new-ceo/