Native forest logging was banned in Victoria, right?!
Not quite.
Despite a government ban on native forest logging on public land in Victoria, The Age on the weekend revealed the logging industry is chopping down forests on private properties, destroying areas of habitat that are home to threatened species.
Community and conservation groups say native forest logging on private land is at odds with the Victorian government’s official promise to ban native forest logging in state forests from January 2024, and inconsistent with its commitment to protect species on the brink of extinction.
The Age found Victorian timber mills continue to process native hardwood timbers – now fed by private landholders felling forests on their properties, and the government’s 300 per cent expansion of bushfire “fuel reduction” targets.
Environmental Justice Australia acts on behalf of concerned environment groups Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum Inc, and Wildlife of the Central Highlands Inc (WOTCH).
“The public would be shocked to know native logging is still happening in Victoria after the Andrews government declared it would end from last January.
The artificial boundaries between private and public land mean nothing to threatened wildlife living there. It’s ridiculous that the laws that forbid the destruction on public land of the homes of native species facing extinction don’t apply equally to private properties.”
— Steve Meacher, Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum president
Private land unprotected
Our clients are concerned that these operations are likely to cause serious harm to threatened species on private land across the state and are occurring without sufficient regulation oversight by local and state governments. Affected species include Leadbeater’s possums, greater gliders, yellow bellied gliders and many others.
- It is estimated there are 100,000 ha of merchantable native forest vegetation types on private land in the Central Highlands Regional Forestry Agreement (RFA) area alone, none of which is protected through private land covenants, indicating the scale of the issue statewide.
- There are more than a dozen operations across the State where private land native forest logging is either currently underway or planned to occur soon, with most of the relevant properties either owned by or associated with timber companies or sawmills.
Environment groups are concerned the logging operations are occurring without sufficient planning or oversight and, accordingly, are leaving federal and state listed threatened species and communities at risk of serious and imminent harm.
Our clients are calling for the Victorian Government to immediately apply its end of native forest logging commitment consistently on both public and private land across the State.
They are concerned that logging native forests on private land is now being seen as an opportunity to prop up or supplement timber resources to delay an inevitable transition to a sustainable plantation-based industry. And they seek reassurance that no government funding is being used to transition forest operations to private land logging.
Our clients are concerned about poor application and enforcement of protections for threatened species on private land – even weaker than the inadequate protections that were applied to neighbouring logging operations on public land.
Approval, assessment and regulation of logging on private lands currently sits with local government, under Victorian laws. Local governments, particularly regional councils, have reported that they are poorly resourced and lack capacity to properly understand, assess impacts and ensure application and compliance with protections for threatened species on private land logging.
Victoria is the most cleared state in Australia, with 70-80% of private land already cleared.
Our clients say the government must intervene to end all native forest logging on both private as well as public land in order to properly protect threatened species from further harm.
“Our clients are concerned that the continuation of native forest logging on private land is inconsistent with the Victorian Government’s decision to end native forest logging in state forests this year, and its commitment to protect biodiversity and threatened species.
We’ve seen numerous court cases brought in Victoria where community groups have successfully achieved better protections for threatened species by making native forest loggers comply with environment laws. However, many of those laws don’t always apply or aren’t enforced on private land.
We’ve heard councillors at East Gippsland Shire Council express similar concerns about this apparent ‘policy void’.
Our clients are particularly concerned that logging on private land is causing serious harm to threatened species without proper oversight and regulation.
Our clients are concerned that this is creating perverse outcomes for threatened wildlife. They are calling on the State Government to apply the ban on native forest logging consistently across both public and private land.”
— Natalie Hogan, Environmental Justice Australia lawyer
Confused councils
For the most part, the approval, assessment and regulation of logging on private lands sits with local government, under Victorian laws.
At an East Gippsland Shire Council meeting on 27 August 2024, the Council voted (5 to 4) to refer an application for a permit for timber harvesting in native forest on private land to the Planning Minister for determination.
"Council decided, at Tuesday's Council Meeting, that in the absence of a clearly stated position on native timber harvesting on private land, aside from guidelines which facilitate such activity, the Minister is better placed to make a determination."
“In the context of likely increasing interest in native timber harvesting on private land it is important and timely to confirm the policy settings for this activity.
Mayor Cr Tom Crook
As a Council and community, we need clarity on whether the requirements that predate the Government’s decision to cease native timber harvesting on public land (and the legal matters that preceded that) remain relevant and appropriate.”
