Tuesday, 23 May 2023

Native forest logging

Ellen SANDELL (Melbourne) (14:30): Today is a historic day. Today it was announced that native forest logging in Victoria will end on 1 January. As a girl who first joined forest protests and blockades in my early 20s, I feel quite emotional standing here today. I know many people at home will as well. This is the reason I am standing here today; it is the reason I joined the Greens and became an MP in the first place. I know that I am only standing here because of all those who have been fighting against logging – and against the odds – for literally decades, so thank you. I want to say a massive thankyou to all of you. Environmentalists, NGOs, scientists, community members – you all worked your absolute guts out to drag Labor kicking and screaming to realise that native forest logging in Victoria cannot continue and is completely unsustainable. There are too many people to thank for their mammoth effort over so many decades. But what is clear is that this did not happen just because Labor woke up one morning and realised that logging was bad, it happened because NGOs, community members, traditional owners, scientists and lawyers brought court cases and did boycotts, relentless campaigning and direct action, and it all worked. Today you stood up for the forests, for the trees, who do not have a voice, and today you won. There are more fights to be had, but today we need to celebrate this win.