Logging of Victoria's native forests to end six years earlier than scheduled

An announcement by the Victorian Government in Tuesday's state budget will see logging of Victoria's native forests will come to an end in December, six years ahead of a previously announced schedule.

The move follows a landmark supreme court judgment last November that the state-owned logging agency, VicForests, had broken the law by failing to protect endangered species.

It triggered a shutdown of operations that contributed to Australia’s last white paper mill, located in the Latrobe Valley, ending production of office paper in February this year.

The Victorian Government advised that it had brought forward a previous commitment to phase out the industry by 2030 to “deliver certainty to timber workers, sawmill operators and their communities”.

The decision was also influenced by economic and environmental challenges faced by the industry, noting that bushfires, legal action and court decisions meant there were no alternative timber sources to supply the state’s mills, and there were no options for regulatory reform that could prevent further court injunctions.

It said hundreds of workers had not been able to work for months after the supreme court found VicForests had failed to protect the endangered greater glider and yellow-bellied glider.

After years of conflict over the destruction caused by clearfell logging, conservationists have praised the decision, hailing it as a monumental win for forests, wildlife and the climate. have resulted in numerous court cases brought forward by campaigners, alleging breaches of forestry laws.

Chris Schuringa, from the Victorian Forest Alliance, said campaigners were “overjoyed by this historic announcement”, noting “this is a monumental win for forests, for wildlife, for climate, and for the hard-working people who have spent countless hours surveying for endangered species, preparing evidence for court cases, lobbying, and campaigning,” she said. “Some have been fighting for this for over three decades.”

Aiming to transition workers and the industry, Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas has allocated an additional $200 million in the state budget to expaned the $875 million transition support package that will provide assistance to timber workers, sawmill operators, and communities affected by the industry's closure.

The support includes retraining programs and job placement initiatives to help workers find new employment opportunities.

The government cited bushfires, legal action, and court decisions as factors that left no alternative timber sources and no options for regulatory reform to prevent further injunctions.

While Victoria and Western Australia are putting an end to native forest logging, there are currently no plans to cease logging in NSW or Tasmania.

The Australian Greens have called for a national ban on native forest logging, urging the Federal Government to follow Victoria's lead in protecting the environment and combating climate change.

Calls for the Victorian Government to quickly end native forestry have escalated since the catastrophic 2019/20 black summer bushfires, which burned more than 1.5 hectares across the state and reduced the livable habitat for dozens of threatened species by more than half.

The reduction in areas available for logging due to the fires affected the industry’s economic viability, with VicForests reporting a $54.2 million loss in its last annual report.

Images: Logging will end in Victoria's native forests as of December (top, redit: Visit Melbourne) and formerly wooded area cleared by VicForests near Portland leaving a single tree for one koalas (below, credit: J Robertson).