Bunnings will stop selling timber logged by VicForests after a court found the state government-owned forestry agency breached conservation laws.
“Bunnings has a zero-tolerance approach to illegally logged timber that dates back two decades and our commitment is to only source timber products from legal and well managed forest operations,” Bunnings’ director of merchandise, Phil Bishop, said.
Mr Bishop said that in light of the recent federal court finding that VicForests breached the code of practice in its regional forestry agreement for the central highlands, Bunnings could no longer stock products that used its timber.
Bunnings and Officeworks in 2018 both announced they would only stock Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified products by 2020, ruling out timber and paper from the state-owned logging company VicForests.
Mr Bishop said Bunnings had long supported VicForests’ efforts to pursue FSC Controlled Wood certification by 2020 and its roadmap to get there.
The Australian Forests Products Association has described the move as being “short sighted” and a “knee-jerk reaction to pander to extremist activist groups”.
Mr Bishop said that while Bunnings only sold a small portion of VicForests’ total harvest, the company acknowledged this decision might have an impact on the industry and it was working closely with affected suppliers on a transition plan.
That would include buying any timber already processed by the affected suppliers and discussing whether those suppliers could obtain timber from alternative sources.
“Ultimately, we believe that customers and team members have the right to expect that the timber they purchase is sourced from responsible and lawful forestry operations.’’
VicForests said it was deeply concerned by Bunnings’ decision and it would be appealing against the federal court judgment once final orders were made in the case.
The court found in May that because VicForests had breached the code of practice, its exemption from national environment laws did not apply. The court ruled the agency had breached laws protecting threatened species including the greater glider and the Leadbeater’s possum.
“We will be discontinuing all sourcing of timber from VicForests and will no longer be accepting raw material input into our supply chain from VicForests as of 30 June,” Mr Bishop said.
A spokesman for VicForests said: “We are deeply concerned by Bunnings’ decision to no longer source native timber products from Victoria.
“VicForests has already advised our customers that we will be appealing the Friends of the Leadbeater’s Possum court decision, once final orders are made by the court.
“We regrow all harvested coupes with their original species, all timber harvesting and regeneration operations are conducted to conform with Victoria’s strict environmental regulations.”
Australian Forest Products Association CEO Ross Hampton said he was disappointed that Bunnings had been duped by anti-forestry disinformation campaigns that misrepresented the sustainability of Victoria’s native hardwood timber industry, and warned it would have the perverse consequence of driving more deforestation in South-East Asia.
“The truth is that Victoria has one of the most regulated, sustainably managed native forestry industries in the world, harvesting the equivalent of just four trees out of 10,000,” Mr Hampton said.
“No old growth trees are used, and every area harvested is reseeded and regenerated by law. All Victorian native forest hardwood is harvested according to the highest standards under the world’s largest forestry certification scheme – PEFC, known in Australia as Responsible wood.
“Bunnings and its customers should be under no illusion that green groups will stop at Victoria – they are hell-bent on ending all native forestry in Australia, which will mean even more imported timber from countries at high risk of deforestation and illegal logging, and it will be manufactured in countries with poor working conditions,” Mr Hampton said.
