Tuesday, 14 November 2023

Timber industry

Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (17:17): (583) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Agriculture, and it concerns the Labor government’s latest overreach, whereby they are now instructing builders to stop using sustainable native hardwood in preparation for their catastrophic early ending of native timber harvesting by the close of 2023. In a recent letter to the Housing Industry Association the Allan Labor government strongly recommends builders cease using native hardwood varieties in flooring, staircases, beams, doors, windows, architectural features, decking and cladding. Not satisfied with the near death of a whole industry and the massive repercussions for rural communities, this government is now killing off the building industry that need timber in their builds. The government now strongly recommends that builders stop using native hardwood and requires the builders themselves to explain to their clients the state government’s appalling decision to close Victoria’s timber industry. Imagine telling that to ARM Architecture, which won the overall prize in the Australian Timber Design Awards last week for its incredible refit of the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall using brush box, a native hardwood no less. Imagine telling that to Australian Sustainable Hardwoods in eastern Victoria, which has been behind so many innovative and sustainable timber-based building projects across Australia, including St Clare’s Primary School in Officer, Eliston Family and Community Centre in Clyde and many beautiful homes in the Geelong region.

Whether Labor or the tree-hugging Greens like it or not, the reality is that Victorian hardwood is enjoyed and appreciated by many in homes and community facilities. Victorian hardwood is regularly preferred by builders and consumers for its bushfire-resistant properties compared to overseas alternatives harvested under less stringent environmental standards. The government’s all-out war on native timber only makes way for unacclimatised rainforest timber with highly questionable conservation credentials from the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. This timber is far from the best practices and current standards held by our timber industry. Victorian hardwood deserves to be recognised as a sustainable and economic solution, not an ideological football. The arrogance of this Labor government expecting builders to cease using native hardwood earlier than necessary only suspends the consumer’s free choice by manipulating product demand to justify its destructive decision to close Victoria’s timber industry. The action that I seek is for the minister to cease the dictatorial rhetoric and to reverse its senseless ban on native timber logging in Victorian forests from 2024.