Close the logging loopholes

Victoria’s tall forests are the most carbon-dense on the planet. They’re home to the world’s tallest flowering tree, the magnificent mountain ash, and endangered wildlife found nowhere else on Earth, like the greater glider and Leadbeater's possum.

Sadly, decades of over-logging and wildfires have driven these iconic forests to the verge of collapse and the threatened species that call them home to the brink of extinction.

Together, we pushed for industrial native forest logging in Victoria to end “officially” on 1 January 2024. But loopholes remain in the current laws and the Liberals have said outright ...

Victoria’s tall forests are the most carbon-dense on the planet. They’re home to the world’s tallest flowering tree, the magnificent mountain ash, and endangered wildlife found nowhere else on Earth, like the greater glider and Leadbeater's possum.

Sadly, decades of over-logging and wildfires have driven these iconic forests to the verge of collapse and the threatened species that call them home to the brink of extinction.

Together, we pushed for industrial native forest logging in Victoria to end “officially” on 1 January 2024. But loopholes remain in the current laws and the Liberals have said outright that if returned to power they’d bring back industrial native forest logging.

Right now, the Victorian state government is drafting a new Public Land Act. This is an opportunity to protect Victoria’s tall forests for good by closing the loopholes.

Will you email your state MP telling them to close the loopholes before the legislation is tabled to permanently protect Victoria’s high conservation value forests?

Image: Environment East Gippsland

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Send an email to your state MP asking them to protect Victoria’s native forests by closing logging loopholes

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Subject:

Industrial native forest logging in Victoria ‘officially’ ended on 1 January 2024, but the laws that enable it remain in place. This means Victoria's old growth forests are still being cut down, and remain at risk of industrial scale logging returning.

The Victorian state government is drafting a new Public Land Act.

I am writing to you to support permanently excluding industrial and commercial resource extraction (including salvage logging, timber harvesting and industrial mining) via changes to the state forest land category as part of Public Land Act or equivalent legislation.

I am calling for the following commitments from the Victorian government:

1. The forthcoming Public Land Act or equivalent legislation should include legislative changes that protect all ‘state forests’ from all future industrial and commercial resource extraction.

2. The terms of reference for new ‘Healthy Forest Plans’ explicitly exclude extractive activities.

3. To amend the Forests Act 1958 and Forests (Licences and Permits) Regulations 2019 (Vic) (Forests (Licences and Permits) Regulations). These Acts currently enable the issuing of forest produce licences, including for timber. A future government could restart logging simply by issuing new forest produce licences under this legislation

4. Review Forest Fire Management Victoria's (FFMV) activities and the inadequacies of our current legislation in properly overseeing and guiding the ecological impacts of these operations.

5. Repeal of the Forests (Wood Pulp Agreement) Act 1996. This contract between the State of Victoria and the paper manufacturing company Australia Paper Pty Ltd Opal Australian Paper for the supply of pulpwood from native forests on public land is now redundant and it therefore would be appropriate for the Victorian government to terminate the Agreement and repeal the Act in its entirety.

6, Close the loophole that currently allows native forest logging on private land as this practice is not properly regulated.

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