Vicforests will be disbanded, absorbed into the Victorian bureaucracy, and cease to exist from June 30, 2024, according to legal representatives at the Supreme Court of Victoria yesterday.
The revelations came during a court hearing for Wombat Forestcare’s case, alleging that the Victorian state-owned government authority breached requirements to survey threatened species in Western Victoria.
It is the first time that a decision on the future of the besieged harvester has been revealed. It comes after the then-Andrews government announced in May 2023 that all harvesting would cease on January 1, 2024, before VicForests was de-registered as a state business corporation in September, paving the way for full wind-up.
It comes as Victorian-based harvest and haulage contractors are working with the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (or DEECA) on land management contracts connected to fire management.
“We’re hoping to engage with DEECA [about] ongoing forest fire management contracts,” Warren Fenner of W and J Fenner Logging told ABC News yesterday. He added, “I do believe it’s good for the rest of the forest community to know what’s going on.”
“And us contractors all have to sort out our businesses with DEECA, which is how it’s always been.”
In June, Wood Central reported that a Supreme Court ruling hammered the final nail in the coffin for the naive forest industry. The Court of Appeal threw out an appeal by VicForests, alleging that the company failed to adequately survey for protected glider species.
Wood Central understands that VicForest’s community forestry management, which included harvesting wind-thrown timber, ended on February 5 with “the risk of litigation” and “the cost it would burden the taxpayer with” to bring the June date forward.
The decision to wind up the controversial forest manager has been met with mixed responses – welcomed by environmental groups pushing to end native forestry nationwide and mourned by the community – known as Timber Towns – and the supply chain.
In November, Wood Central revealed a letter consigned by a collective representing 40,000 voting blocks, primarily in regional Victoria. The letter urged new Premier Jacinta Allan to meet with stakeholders “to explore better options moving forward.”
“As a collective supply chain, we are offering our expertise to work with your government to find agreed solutions,” the letter states, with the industry wanting to deliver benefits for the wider community.
They also called for “policy decisions to be grounded in robust science and consider and balance social, economic, cultural (Traditional Owners), and environmental values,” but no meeting was forthcoming.
With the formal closure of VicForests, the current Supreme Court processing is expected to end, with Justice Melinda Richards, who is currently presiding over the case, referring the parties to mediation.
According to Wombat Forestcare convenor Gayle Osborne, it had been “evident for a long time” that forests had been harvested unsustainably “with little regard for protecting endangered species”.
She said, “There is now the opportunity for our forests to be protected and rehabilitated,” before adding, “The Victorian government should now move to create new and important national parks.”
According to the ABC, VicForests has been operating on a contractual basis this year following the end of native forest logging and community forestry, undertaking Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action forest management operations – including removing timber under fire management protocols.
However, how forestry will be managed into the future remains to be determined, with Victorian Greens pushing for specialised staff to shift the focus to forest restoration and protection.
“The terrible and environmentally destructive culture of VicForests cannot be allowed to continue inside Victoria’s environment department,” Victorian Greens deputy leader Ellen Sandell said, who slammed the Victorian Labor Government last week for accepting logs from Tasmania.
With the scale down and formal closure of VicForests, it’s uncertain what will happen to the 100-strong labour force, according to Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) industrial organiser Kassey Dickie.
“They’re certain of what their future is, which is that it won’t be with VicForests,” she said, adding that “Some workers will separate from their employer, others will have opportunities to express interest in roles within DEECA … but there is uncertainty for a large portion of the workforce.”
Last year, the Age reported that the DEECA was working with VicForests and the Victorian Government to review its functions and activities, including considering how to maximise the critical skills of VicForests staff.
“This work will help develop a better understanding of VicForests’ operations and obligations and inform the decision about the organisation’s future”, a government official said.
However, according to Ms Dickie, it is nonetheless an anxious time for workers; “They’ve known what’s coming,” Ms Dickie said, “they’re in the process of working through the various options and what things look like for them.”
“For each worker, it might be a little bit different as to what’s available, what they’re thinking of doing and where they are in their career.”
When announcing the earlier-than-expected closure, Premier Daniel Andrews said, “It’s not good enough for us to just cross our fingers and hope for the best.”
“We need a plan to support workers’ families and local jobs.”
Coinciding with the budget, he committed that the state would “step up to give these workers – and their communities, businesses, and partners along the supply chain – the certainty they deserve.”
It’s understood that workers would be supported in finding new jobs and that their skills would be needed in areas such as forest management and bushfire risk reduction.
The uncertainty over the future of supply led to Australian Paper closing its Maryvale Mill in the Latrobe Valley – the last in the nation – to shut down its white paper operations.
At the time, Wood Central reported that the decision would change the company’s manufacturing program. “For example, we continue to work towards the future transfer of some brown M2 products to the M3 machine,” Opal Australian Paper said in a statement.
