Victorian Forest Products Association (VFPA), Media Release, 5 January 2023
The beginning of 2024 marked the end of harvesting wood fibre from Victoria’s public forests but not the end of Victoria’s sustainable native hardwood industry
“The Victorian Government’s decision last May created chaos with some businesses across the native hardwood supply chain being forced to either close permanently or diversify their business,” said Ms Deb Kerr, CEO of the Victorian Forest Products Association (VFPA).
“However, a small number of processors will continue processing the native timbers that consumers love, sourcing this wood from private sources in Victoria, from other states and from overseas.”
“Hardwood timbers are highly valued by consumers where appearance or durability are important purchase considerations, be it stairs, decks, windows, furniture, or external applications,” continued Ms Kerr.
“While the Government has ceased native forestry, Victoria’s forests still need to be managed for the health and resilience of the forest.”
“The continued decline of Victoria’s native plants and animals1 is commensurate with the increase in the National Park estate – clearly this speaks volumes that the current management approaches do not work.”
“The Victorian Government should use the start of this new era to radically change the way Victoria’s forests are managed for the next century – after all native forestry can no longer be blamed for the state of Victoria’s forest flora and fauna,”2 concluded Ms Kerr.
1 The 2021 State of Biodiversity Assessment shows continued decline in half the assessment criteria (including threatened forest dependent species), and the 2023 State of the Environment Report shows 42 per cent of forest assessment criteria and nearly half of the biodiversity are deteriorating continue to decline.
2 CSIRO Research shows that invasive species are the greatest issue facing Australia’s environment.
