The remains of Victoria’s native timber industry is in the dark about what happens next following VicForests’ rejected Supreme Court appeal. Source: Weekly Times
After the verdict, announced last Tuesday, VicForests said in a statement it was “disappointed with the Victorian Court of Appeal outcome and will review the decision in full before making any further comment”.
Heyfield Australian Sustainable Hardwoods chief executive Vince Hurley said VicForests contacted them, as one of their customers, late that day.
Mr Hurley said VicForests told its customers it was assessing the situation following the failed appeal, but he had received no further communication from them since then.
“During the winter we don’t get VicForests logs. They don’t deliver in the winter anyway,” he said.
“Right now, we are just waiting for their advice. We weren’t getting their supply anyway, so we have been using a range of other suppliers.
“But everyone is scrambling for future supply anyway, regardless of the court appeal.”
That scramble was ignited after the Victorian government’s decision to bring forward its 2030 phase-out of native forest timber harvesting to 1 January next year.
Last year Justice Melinda Richards ruled the state-owned enterprise’s pre-harvest surveys were inadequate and it was not doing enough to protect two possum species – greater and yellow-bellied gliders, with VicForests ordering stop work orders due to the injunctions.
VicForests appealed that decision on seven grounds, but the Court of Appeal dismissed its case, stating Justice Richards had correctly interpreted requirements of the code.
Costs of the appeal were awarded to the community group respondents, Environment East Gippsland and Kinglake Friends of the Forest.
VicForests has released an amended Timber Release Plan, which includes 184 new coupes and 12 coupe boundary changes.
