Wednesday, 6 April 2022

Petitions

Following petition presented to house:

Timber industry

The Petition of certain citizens of the State of Victoria draws to the attention of the Legislative Council the need to retain ecologically sustainable timber harvesting for high-value products as consumers value local and ecologically sustainable native timbers.

Contemporary ecologically sustainable timber harvesting is being blamed for detrimental ecological legacies of wildfire, past land clearing, invasive species and historical harvesting. However, contemporary timber harvesting is a valuable tool that creates mosaic disturbances—increasing species richness, biodiversity and ecosystem resilience.

The Victorian Forestry Plan (VFP) will cease low-impact, selective, ecologically sustainable, value adding timber harvesting for furniture and musical instruments, taking an extreme approach to the future of our forests.

The Government has neglected its election promises to support ecologically sustainable forest management, adopting specific Victorian Greens’ policies to develop the VFP.

The VFP does not align with consistent independent expert advice from the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council, scientific understandings or community preferences. It also overlooks the diversity of harvesting methods that do not have issues of supply and do not conflict with wildlife protection.

Victorians will lose a fundamental cultural connection in accessing timber from the bush, a connection as old as humanity.

The petitioners therefore request that the Legislative Council call on the Government to amend the Victorian Forestry Plan to provide for ecologically sustainable production of hardwood timber in state forests, with a focus on high value products and attain the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification for all VicForests timber harvesting operations across Victoria.

By Mrs McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (893 signatures).

Laid on table.