The cutting of native forests will be outlawed starting at the beginning of next year, according to the Victorian government, reflecting a generally held conviction that the sector is not both environmentally and economically sustainable.
The statement will push forward the prior pledge to phase down native forest logging by 2030 and include transition support for impacted employees and communities. It is anticipated to be included in today’s state budget.
Cutting Native Forest
It comes after the state’s forests were devastated by bushfires in 2019–20, which reduced the amount of land that could be harvested, and court rulings that found the state-owned wood agency VicForests had failed to sufficiently safeguard endangered species.
In recent months, there have been increasing signs that the end is approaching. After being found by the highest court to have failed to safeguard the larger glider and yellow-bellied glider, VicForests suspended logging in November.
- Victorian government outlaws cutting of native forests.
- VicForests failed to protect endangered species due to bushfires.
- Maryvale stopped producing office paper due to a shortage of wood.
The state’s largest mill, Maryvale in the Latrobe Valley, stopped producing office paper in February and laid the blame on a scarcity of wood. VicForests already disclosed a deficit of more than $50 million during the previous fiscal year.
The government is anticipated to announce at least $200 million in additional transition support. In regions of regional Victoria that are home to local forest workers, the decision is unlikely to be well received.
The volume of plantations needed to replace the natural forest’s timber, according to critics, is not yet present.
The state’s conservation movement, which has pushed for years to establish additional national parks and stop the clear-cutting of forests, will commemorate it.
