Forest Products Industry

It’s obvious Victoria’s Great Outdoors Taskforce is nothing more than a distraction, dreamt up by Premier Jacinta Allan and her spin doctors as a shiny bauble to distract from the real issue: creating the Great Forest National Park. Source: Weekly Times Don’t for one second believe the taskforce’s recommendations will lead to anything, as the government is broke and has been forced to slash 208 staff from the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, which manages our state forests. Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos announced the taskforce would begin a two-month public consultation on a “landmark opportunity to open up 1.8 million hectares of Victoria’s native forests that were formerly used for native timber harvesting”. He must think Victorians are stupid, given the public already has free access to almost all 1.8m hectares. Restrictions only applied to a scattering of timber coupes that VicForests’ contractors harvested each year, which added up to between 2500ha to 6000ha, leaving more than 99% of the area open to the public. It also appears that the government can’t add up. The 1.8m hectares that Mr Dimopoulos says were “formerly used for timber harvesting”, includes 390,000ha of the Central Highlands, which the government’s Eminent Panel for Community Engagement is currently investigating for incorporation in a new Great Forest National Park. It means the taskforce is only looking at about 1.4m hectares. But when asked about the inconsistency Mr Dimopoulos’ office stated, “the taskforce assessment area includes approximately 1.5m hectares of state forests areas that were subject to the former timber harvesting allocation order, as well up to approximately 590,000ha of relevant adjacent State Forests”. So somehow the area has now grown to 2.09m hectares? It appears the minister and his departmental lackeys are just making up policy on the run. Everyone who enjoys camping where they wish in our state’s forests, hunting, fishing, horse or trail-bike riding, prospecting or just enjoying the freedom of the outdoors, needs to ask one simple questions of the Allan Government. Given native forest timber harvesting ended on January 1 this year, why does the government need to create the 390,000ha Great Forest National Park? Ms Allan says, “as Premier, and as a proud country Victorian, I will never put a padlock on our public forest”. But the only reason to create the new park is to lock in inner city green leaning Labor voters at the next election, by creating a massive new park that slowly strangles recreational users’ access. Free and dispersed camping will come to an end. A booking regime will come into place, along with fees. Tracks will be closed and all activities tightly controlled. Parks Victoria will also battle to manage another 390,000ha on top of the 4.12m ha already under its control, given the government gutted $95m from its budget and is preparing make 100 staff redundant in the New Year. Premier Allan and her ministers need to stop treating Victorians like fools. Peter Hunt is The Weekly Times’ senior reporter