Thousands of tonnes of windblown sawlogs salvaged from the Wombat Forest are being left to split and decay, despite urgent calls from Victoria’s remaining timber mills to repurpose the wood for high-value products such as flooring and stair treads. The logs, felled after the devastating 2021 storm and covered by Wood Central in 2023, were extracted from the forest but have been left exposed to the elements. However, without proper storage or hydration, operators warn that the timber will crack and degrade, rendering it suitable only for firewood.
“These logs could have been milled and put into housing, but now they will be burnt, putting more smoke into the atmosphere,” said Gayle McCarthy, a former timber industry operator, who spoke to the Weekly Times this week. “They’ve been felled and left in the paddock with no water to prevent splitting, so they’re going to crack—which is a waste of taxpayers’ money.”
Operators say the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) has refused to release the logs, citing the closure of VicForests—Victoria’s former native forest manager—as a legal barrier to selling the timber. VicForests ceased operations on June 30, 2024, following the state government’s decision to end native forest harvesting.
And despite having more than a year to resolve the issue, DEECA has yet to provide a pathway for mills to access the salvaged timber. Industry sources claim internal divisions within the department are contributing to the delay, with one faction advocating for active forest management and another resisting due to fears over political backlash: “It feels like there are two DEECAs,” said one mill operator. “One wants to work out a plan, the other refuses to act.”
Meanwhile, concerns are mounting over hardwood plantation logs accumulating at Opal’s Maryvale paper mill. The mill, which ceased white paper production in January 2023, continues to receive logs under a long-term supply contract with Hancock Victorian Plantations Holdings. Although Opal now manufactures kraft and recycled brown papers, workers say hardwood logs make up only a small fraction of the current input. “It’s just another example of the waste inflicted on the industry by the government,” said one operator.
The shutdown of Reflex white paper production followed the Victorian Labor Government’s decision to end native forest harvesting, which had supplied low-grade hardwood logs to the mill. Back in Wombat Forest, McCarthy warns that thousands more windblown logs remain scattered across the forest floor—posing not only a waste of valuable resources but also a significant fire risk.
- To learn more about the impact of the decision to close Victoria’s native forest industry on Australia’s timber supply, click here for Wood Central’s special feature from July 2024. And to find out more about the windthrown timber in the Wombat State Forest – and whether traditional owners operating in the forest were consulted before the closure, click here for Wood Central’s exclusive interview with the Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations in 2023.
