Timber cuts: East Gippsland loggers lose access to 56,000ha

East Gippsland’s timber communities have survived fires and Covid restrictions, but are buckling under cuts from the Andrews government.

Workers protest the closure of the Heyfield Mill. Picture: AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy

East Gippsland’s timber industry has lost access to 56,000ha of coupes containing high-value saw logs, after the Andrews Government declared much of the region a special management zone to protect the Orbost spiny crayfish and other species.

The new zone declaration means VicForests must reassess all coupes and place 100m buffers either side of streams that are crayfish habitat, as well as 50m either side of any drains, dramatically reducing the area that can be harvested.

Harvest and haulage contractors told The Weekly Times they had lost about 42 per cent of their most valuable sawlog coupes that were to be released for harvest this season.

Orbost contractor Andrew Westaway said “if we get a 40ha coupe, by the time they take out the buffers it leaves us about 8ha, which is what we would cut in four days”.

Rob Brunt, his workers and Orbost saw mills have lost access to 56,000ha of high quality sawlog coupes. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

Premier Daniel Andrews has already ruled that native forest logging will be phased out by 2030,

But another Orbost contractor, Rob Brunt, said the uncertainty and imposition an ever increasing restrictions were “another nail in the coffin” and “we won’t get past 2024”.

Mr Brunt said the cutbacks could not have come at a worse time, given everyone had battled through the 2019-20 fires, followed by Covid restrictions.

“Sawmills won’t get their logs, which is going to affect everyone along the supply chain,” Mr Brunt said.

Mr Westaway said VicForests was scrambling to find alternate coupes, but they just didn’t contain the sawlogs that were needed to supply the region’s three mills and their workers.

“VicForests have to go and reassess every coupe that was on our harvesting schedule,” Mr Westaway said.

Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio’s office stated: “around 56,000 hectares in East Gippsland have been designated Special Management Zones to mitigate the risk posed from timber harvesting to the endangered Orbost Spiny Crayfish.

“The modernised Regional Forest Agreements, agreed by the Commonwealth and Victoria, contain a commitment that Victoria will undertake risk assessments for listed species and communities and implement protections required within specified time frames.”

“Timber harvesting can be conducted in SMZs, but must cease in buffer areas around waterways if Orbost Spiny Crayfish are detected.”

Opposition Agriculture spokesman and Victorian Nationals Leader Peter Walsh said “hardworking Victorians are having their livelihoods systematically dismantled by a Labor Government, hellbent on pushing the agenda of radical green activists, despite the science telling us this zoning change is an unnecessary step.

“The Andrews Labor Government will stop at nothing to push a green agenda that’s crushing jobs and businesses in East Gippsland and the Latrobe Valley.”