Uncertainty remains following VicForests’ failed Supreme Court Appeal

Uncertainty has clouded Victoria’s native timber industry as it remains unclear what VicForests’ operations will look like for the rest of this year.

The remains of Victoria’s native timber industry is in the dark about what happens next following VicForests’ rejected Supreme Court appeal.

After the verdict, announced last Tuesday, VicForests said in a statement it was “disappointed with the Victorian Court of Appeal outcome and will review the decision in full before making any further comment”.

Heyfield Australian Sustainable Hardwoods chief executive Vince Hurley said VicForests contacted them, as one of their customers, late that day.

Mr Hurley said VicForests told its customers it was assessing the situation following the failed appeal, but he had received no further communication from them since then.

“During the winter we don’t get VicForests logs, they don’t deliver in the winter anyway,” he said.

“Right now we are just waiting for their advice. We weren’t getting their supply anyway so we have been using a range of other suppliers.

Australian Sustainable Hardwoods Heyfield chief executive Vince Hurley. Picture: Andrew Batsch

“But everyone is scrambling for future supply anyway, regardless of the court appeal.”

That scramble was ignited after the Victorian Government’s decision to cut short its 2030 phase out of native forest timber harvesting to January 1 next year in its 2023-24 state budget.

Last year Justice Melinda Richards ruled the state-owned enterprise’s pre-harvest surveys were inadequate and it was not doing enough to protect two possum species – greater and yellow-bellied gliders, with VicForests ordering stop work orders due to the injunctions.

VicForests appealed that decision on seven grounds; however, the Court of Appeal dismissed VicForests’ case, stating Justice Richards had correctly interpreted the requirements of the Code during her initial judgment, and that the declarations and injunctions were lawful.

Costs of the appeal were awarded to the community group respondents, Environment East Gippsland and Kinglake Friends of the Forest.

Last week VicForests released an amended Timber Release Plan to support the new transition time frame out of native harvesting.

The approved TRP changes include 184 new coupes, 12 coupe boundary changes and two coupe driveway additions for previously approved coupes.