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BLINDSIDED Photograph Liam Durkin
Native timber harvesting to cease at the end of the year. ■ Decision brought forward six years ■ State government says decision will provide cert rtainty t tyy for communities ■ Nationals outraged. Chester clashes with Prime Minister in Parliament ■ Timber towns defiant Ext xtensive t coverage, expert rtt comment, reaction Pages 32-35
By LIAM DURKIN
SHOCKWAVES reverberated around the community on Tuesday, May 23 after the state government announced native timber harvesting in Victoria would come to a close at the end of the year. The closure date is now January 1, 2024 - six years ahead of the original 2030 closure date announced four years ago. Timber towns such as Heyfield are
remaining defiant after being blindsided by the announcement. Minister for Agriculture, Gayle Tierney broke the news at a sombre media conference in Morwell last week. “Today is a very difficult day, it’s a very difficult day for the timber industry,” she said. “The government has needed to make a decision and that decision is about the cessation of native timber from our state forests as of the 1st of January, 2024.”
Darren Chester
The state government pointed to ongoing litigation and bushfires for the early closure, claiming there was no alternative timber supply. Native timber harvesting was put on hold in November last year after a Supreme Court ruling against VicForests. The court ruled VicForests did not do enough to protect two possum species - greater and yellow-bellied gliders. Tuesday’s announcement was met with condemnation by local Nationals MPs.
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Shopping Locally Creates Local Jobs Authorised by Darren Chester, The National Party of Australia, Level 13, 30 Collins Street, Melbourne.
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Member for Gippsland pp
www.darrenchester.com.au
Federal Member for Gippsland, Darren Chester labelled it the most outrageous decision by a government in his more than decade-long career in politics. “In my 15 years as a Member of Parliament, I’ve never been more disgusted with a government decision than today’s announcement that Victoria will ban all native timber harvesting from January 1 next year,” he said.