I’m back from holidays and it’s time to comment on events over the past few weeks.
Victoria
Firstly in Victoria, where the State government has brought forward the closure of native forest logging from 2030 to December 2023!
What a complete surprise that was to everyone!
We will probably never know the real history of public native forestry in Victoria (or any other State for that matter) and the reasons why it failed. History was never on the side of native forest logging anyway, it was always a matter of time and circumstances.
New Zealand made the right decision 30 years ago. It’s a shame that Australia didn’t change then also. As a result the New Zealand forest industry is now much more advanced than ours in Australia.
The problem here in Australia is that the forest industry is preparing to die in the trenches over public native forestry. According to forest industry leaders, dying in the trenches is a better strategy than have a plan for the future. I can’t see the logic in that thinking myself.
Tasmania
Following the announcement in Victoria, the adrenalin started pumping over in Tasmania where forest industry leaders think they see a major commercial opportunity coming their way.
Swimming against the tide as usual the forest industry in Tasmania wants greater access to public forests to take advantage of the lack of competition on the mainland. Instead of seeing their future now very much on borrowed time, the Tasmanian industry thinks their ship has come in!!
That demonstrates beyond doubt just how utterly deluded the forest industry has become.
There is no doubt that New South Wales will be the next State to end public native welfare forestry in the next 1-3 years, leaving Tasmania as the recalcitrant State as usual.
After almost 60 years of forestry wars in Australia the end of the war is finally in sight.
Much damage has been done politically, environmentally and socially. Many people will never recover from their wounds and deep prejudices. Such is the way of human stupidity and ego.
Probably Tasmania is the State that has suffered the most from the Forestry Wars. It has permanently corrupted our political system and left the community deeply divided.
The damage to the Tasmanian forest industry is probably permanent.
In my next blog I will reflect on possible futures for timber markets and the forest industry.
Stay tuned!
Tasmanian Blackwood Growers Cooperative 
Welcome back from your holiday Gordon.
Yes the end of native logging in Victoria is like waving a large carrot 🥕 to the one’s in Forestry here in Tasmania excellent opportunity we can log more native forests and sell the timber to the mainland market I started salvaging timber in Tasmania in 1968 in the Huon valley and have done so since in between world travel so far 55 years I have watched the waste and the corruption within Forestry no one knows the meaning of selectively harvesting and the meaning of replanting for the future apart from fast growing pine species I wish that they had put me in charge of Forestry back 50 odd years ago I do know that there would be no shortage of minor Timbers one only has to go up to the west coast of Tasmania and into a bar and say I am looking for some minor species and the thieving cowboys come out of the wood work luckily I am managing to source legally small amounts of minor species that were legally sourced many years ago and Blackwood from farm land as I will not be part of stolen timber or timber from clear fallled old growth forests.
Hi Gordon
Thanks for the update.
What the status in QLD ?
I noticed a lot chain drag clearing on recent trip Hillston to Bourke. Is that standard after recent LNP in NSW or does it happen in QLD to ?
Thanks Bruce
Hi Bruce, You are talking land clearing for agriculture, rather than forestry. Yes vast areas of inland NSW and QLD are still be cleared of all native vegetation for cattle farming. Australia’s environmental management is still 3rd world standard!
Cheers
Gordon