VicForests 163 staff left in limbo: third wave of timber job losses looms

VicForests’ 163 staff, from Hamilton to Orbost, have been left in limbo as the Andrews government prepares to axe native forest logging.

Timber workers rally in the lead-up to last November’s failed to stop the Andrews government axing native timber harvesting, with total job losses set to reach almost 900. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

A third wave of timber industry job losses looms over regional Victoria, with VicForests’ 163 staff left in limbo, not knowing if they will have a job after January 1.

In May the Andrews government announced it would end native timber harvesting, which VicForests manages, on January 1, abandoning an earlier promise to wind down the industry over the next seven years.

All but 40 of VicForests’ 163 staff work in its 14 regional offices, from Hamilton to Orbost and north to Ovens and Bendoc on the NSW border.

More than 155 jobs have already been lost at Australian Paper mill at Maryville, with another 560 timber harvesting, haulage and mill workers due to lose their jobs in the new year.

All up, almost 900 Victorians have lost or face losing their timber industry jobs by January.

The Community and Public Sector Union Victoria spokesman Julian Kennelly said VicForests’ workers had been left in limbo, with no idea whether they should find another job.

“There has been no consultation with VicForests staff or CPSU prior to the government’s (May) announcement,” Mr Kennelly said.

When asked what would happen, Agriculture Minister Gayle Tierney’s office said “no decision has been made about the long-term future of VicForests at this point in time, but we thank VicForests staff for their understanding as the state transitions out of native timber harvesting.”

“Government is currently considering the future of VicForests and the activities required for forest management once native timber harvesting ends.”

But as one VicForests staff member told the CPSU “if you’re not producing timber, you don’t need staff”.

Mr Kennelly said staff did not know even know what redundancy compensation might be available.

“VicForests staff are not able to move on with life decisions about buying a house, buying a car, enrolling kids in school, spending on home maintenance, arrangements for long-term care of family members.

“VicForests employees’ mental health and wellbeing are being impacted from this extended uncertainty. What do they tell their families, partners, children?”

Mr Kennelly said “the bulk of VicForests staff are based in regional Victoria where they are part of the fabric of their communities as volunteers with sports clubs, schools, kinders, the CFA, community groups”.

“As members of Forests Fire Management Victoria they have been on the front line protecting their communities in events such as the 2019-2020 Black Summer and 2009 Black Saturday bushfires,” he said.

Most VicForests staff are highly trained as foresters and ecologists, having completed a broad range of qualifications and decades of experience in Victorian native forests developing harvesting strategies, conducting ecological surveys, regeneration and building strong relationships with their communities.