Wednesday, 12 November 2025

 Danny O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (19:05): (1391) My adjournment matter this evening is for the Minister for Environment, and the action I seek is for the minister to intervene to stop what I think is a wasteful situation happening in Gippsland with respect to timber. I am advised that Forest Fire Management Victoria or Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) crews are undertaking various activities over a period of time and have been for some time now, including clearing roadsides and creating firebreaks in various parts of East Gippsland. This is I think also happening across the state, but the issue I am raising is specifically in East Gippsland. The trees that are being cleared to create these firebreaks or roadsides are often quite good timber. At one level some of it should be made available for firewood, and at another level I am advised that quite a bit of the timber is actually good-quality timber and could be used by timber mills. Surprise, surprise, we actually do still have some timber mills trying to survive in the post–Dan Andrews timber shutdown world that is Victoria, but they are surviving with different sources of timber, including some private sources.

I have a small timber mill in my electorate – very small, only three or four employees, but a really good local small business that takes timber off farms, from introduced species like cypress and the like, and turns it into all sorts of products. They would love – they would be desperate indeed – to get hold of some of this timber that is currently being loaded up on the side of the road and left there. As I said, it could be and should be used for firewood when it is not applicable for anything else. But I am told that this timber mill has actually seen the logs, and it is very clear that it actually could be good for milling, for use. Not only would this be good for the timber mill in my electorate and the jobs that it creates, it would be good for forest fire management. It would be good for the environment because we would not be leaving a whole lot of wood piled up and causing a potential future fire hazard, and more importantly, it would be sold. We are not talking about giving this away for free. It could be sold by the government to small timber mills and the proceeds reinvested back into DEECA and forest fire management to ensure that we can continue to protect our forests and protect our communities with firebreaks and the like, making sure that roads are open for people who want to use our beautiful native forests. For whatever reason – I do not know if it is illegal; I do not believe it is and I think it is a policy decision – at the moment this wood is being left alone. I am calling on the minister to step in and ensure that a sensible decision is taken, that this wood that is cleared anyway, that has fallen to the ground, is utilised properly and for good benefit for all Victorians.