Wednesday, 9 March 2022

Firewood collection

Mr FINN (Western Metropolitan) (17:55): (1800) My adjournment this evening is for the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change. This has been a source of some mystery to me for quite some time as I have driven around my electorate and further parts of Victoria. I have seen the amount of wood that has fallen from trees—whether they be limbs, whether they be branches, whatever they may be—and it is just left there. It mystifies me, and of course it is far worse right within the bush itself. And over a period of time—

Mrs McArthur: It’s called fuel load.

Mr FINN: It is called fuel load, Mrs McArthur. That is exactly what it is called. I recall growing up near the Otways, and we knew to take that away and get rid of it because it was waiting for a fire, and the intensity would increase and it would be a lot worse if that flotsam and jetsam was there.

My concern is that there are some of my constituents who would be very happy to go in and to take that wood away. They would be very happy to take that wood away with winter coming up. They want to put it in their fires, they want to keep warm, they want to do all the things. Particularly given the ban on gas and everything else, you have got to take into consideration the needs of people. And this is a—

Mr Leane interjected.

Mr FINN: Minister, this is a very important matter because there are a lot of people out there who would—this kills two birds with the one stone. You get wood for your fire, you warm your home—which is a marvellous thing—and you remove that load for this coming fire season. Whichever way you look at it, it is a win-win situation.

I do not understand why—well, yes, I do understand why. It is about Greens preferences, isn’t it? It is about getting Greens preferences. You give the Greens something that is not going to cost much, and this apparently does not cost much, apart from when the fires go through and destroy everything.

A member interjected.

Mr FINN: Oh, sorry, it is climate change. Yes, we heard yesterday from the Leader of the Greens about the drought that is affecting New South Wales and Queensland, yup. The action that I would like—

Mr Leane interjected.

Mr FINN: Yes, I know, I was mystified by it too, Minister, I have got to tell you. I am requesting the minister to conduct a review of policy into the collection of wood which would otherwise be firewood within state forests and within the bush, as we used to call it when I was a kid, to allow people to go in and collect that wood and allow them to use it to warm their homes and to prepare us for the next fire season.