Victoria’s native logging industry to end early in hammer blow to regional towns

Victoria’s native logging industry will end six years early and shocked timber workers say the Andrews government has left regional towns with “no security”.

Victoria’s native logging industry will end six years early in a major blow to regional communities.

The Andrews government on Tuesday announced its state budget would fund a $200m additional support package for workers affected by the shutdown, blaming ongoing legal disputes that have crippled harvesting across the state.

A transition to plantation-only timber was already pencilled in for 2030 but will now begin January 1, 2024.

The shock announcement has been welcomed by environmental groups who have long campaigned against the practice but will be a hammer blow for towns where a large proportion of jobs are created by the industry.

Mills have been running out of native timber supplies as multiple legal disputes have meant VicForests has been unable to perform logging in most areas.

Earlier this year, Australia’s last white paper mill at Maryvale stopped making the product, sparking job losses and fears that other workers would soon follow.

Treasurer Tim Pallas says there is very little the state can do to legislate and prevent ongoing court disputes that have held up logging. Picture: Ian Currie

Treasurer Tim Pallas said the government had received legal advice that there was very little the state could do to legislate and prevent ongoing court disputes that held up logging.

Instead, the government will shut the industry early and spend money on supporting workers to find other opportunities.

“We’ll match some workers and their skills to jobs right across land management and critical forest bushfire response,” Mr Pallas said.

“We’ll retrain others to help them get jobs in growing regional industries – like renewable energy or construction.

CFMEU Manufacturing Division National Secretary Michael O’Connor slammed the support package and said the decision was “gut-wrenching”.

He said the union and the industry had been imploring the government to negotiate with them and timing the move on budget day was an attempt to distract from bad news.

Victorian Forest Productions Assocation chief executive Deb Kerr says the government’s decision is ‘disgraceful’.

“Our priority for our members will be to compel the Victorian government to renegotiate the worker support package,” Mr O’Connor said.

“This isn’t a transition strategy this is a media strategy geared at taking the heat off the government for their pathetic bungling.

“We are now left with a similar disorganised sham approach which has plagued this industry since the government announced their 2030 shut down plan four years ago.

“The Victorian government has again demonstrated its arrogance and ignorance by acting recklessly, heartlessly and unilaterally.”

Victorian Forest Productions Assocation chief executive Deb Kerr said the government’s decision was “disgraceful”.

“It pre-empts Court decisions, future court cases and prioritises budget interests over people’s livelihoods,” she said.

“We find this decision, made to as part of today’s budget announcement, appalling.

“The Andrews government has squandered a rare opportunity to enhance Victoria’s

global standing and support its workforce by rejecting the utilisation of the most

sustainable material readily available within our own borders.

“Consequently, we will now have to depend on imports, whether sourced from interstate or overseas, to produce the hardwood products loved by Victorians.”

Daryl Hutton says the Andrews government is ‘all about the city’. Picture: David Caird

Daryl Hutton, manager of ANC Forestry in Morwell, said the support package did not leave passionate timber workers reassured as they grapple with having to “go back to school”.

“They talk about retraining and things like that, but these people were passionate about the timber industry,” Mr Hutton said.

“It’s what they grew up to do and what they wanted to do, and now they have to go back to school to go and do something else that they won’t enjoy doing quite so much.”

Mr Hutton said killing the timber industry six years earlier than planned proved the Andrews government was “all about the city” and cared little for leaving regional towns with “no security”.

“We’ve known this has been coming for a little while because it seems to be the way that Daniel Andrews wants to run the state. He still seems to be all about the cities and this is just that. Just the final bit that says that is definitely correct.”

Longwarry Sawmill manager Bruce Craig said the news would take some time to sink in for his workers.

“I knew it was coming, but I was surprised that it was announced today,” Mr Craig said.

“I was planning on it happening in another couple of years.

“There was a bit of shock (among workers) that it was announced. They’re just trying process what’s happened.

“This is what they do, this is what they’ve always done. It’s a shame. I don’t think it’s sunk in yet.”

Mr Craig, 60, is yet to plan his next move knowing he is not in a position to retire.

“I haven’t thought about that either, it doesn’t seem real yet,” he said.

“I’m a boilermaker by trade, I might have to go back for a bit.”

Member for Eastern Victoria Melina Bath warned communities would be “gutted” by the timber industry’s early death.

“You take away a livelihood in our regional communities, the flow-on effect will be massive,” Ms Bath said.

“There is no next job, silver bullet to move to. It is going to be crippling.

“The government can say they will put out TAFE vouchers. How helpful is a TAFE voucher going to be in a rural community such as Orbost?”

The government will also continue to negotiate with the Maryvale Mill’s operator Opal Australian Paper, about putting workers onto machinery that uses recycled or plantation timber.

The early shutdown comes despite the industry and local towns in Gippsland warning there were not enough new plantations being set up to cover the end of the industry in 2030.

More than 1.8 million ha of public land are part of native timber harvesting areas, with the state claiming their release would be “the largest expansion to our public forests in our state’s history”.

Environment Victoria chief executive Jono La Nauze acknowledged the pain of those who had lost jobs but said there would be need for other types of forestry work.

“Today is a monumental day for the thousands of Victorians who have worked so hard to protect Victoria’s globally unique forests,” he said.

“Future generations owe a debt to the grassroots groups, citizen scientists, the community lawyers, the staunch traditional owners and their supporters who have demanded a better future for our forests.”

Originally published as Victoria’s native logging industry to end early in hammer blow to regional towns