Auditor General’s timber report puts spotlight back on Gippsland

GIPPSLAND timber workers have been left worse off after the closure of the native timber industry, the Victorian Auditor General has found, in a report local MLC Melina Bath says exposes the failure of Labor’s transition plan.

The ban on native timber logging on public land took effect on January 1, 2024, affecting up to 4,000 jobs across regional Victoria, with Gippsland the hardest hit region.

The Allan Government budgeted more than $1.5 billion for the transition but the Auditor General has found it cannot demonstrate whether displaced workers are better off.

As of June 30 last year the Forestry Transition Program reported 137 new jobs created and 436 jobs retained.

The Auditor General said those figures were not supported by reliable evidence such as progress reports or employee information.

Most timber workers were employed full time before the shutdown but most were pushed into casual or insecure work afterward.

The report also found the department responsible for the program was not adequately monitoring its effectiveness and could not reliably show outcomes such as job security or business viability.

The Worker Support Program, delivered through ForestWorks and the Gippsland Trades and Labour Council, is due to wind up on June 30 this year.

The Auditor General found the department had not assessed whether workers and businesses would need ongoing support beyond that date.

Closures at Opal Australian Paper’s Maryvale Mill, one of the Latrobe Valley’s largest private employers, and the ASH mill at Heyfield, along with timber towns such as Orbost where a quarter of jobs were tied to native logging, have rippled through the broader Gippsland economy.

South Gippsland and Bass Coast builders, cabinet makers, furniture producers and heritage restoration trades also rely on Victorian hardwood supply now routed through plantation, imports or recycled timber.

Eastern Victoria Region MLC Melina Bath, a longstanding critic of the shutdown, said the findings validated what workers and regional communities had been saying for years.

“The Auditor General found that despite budgeting $1.5 billion to shut the industry the Allan Government cannot demonstrate whether displaced timber workers are better off,” Ms Bath said.

“Job quality has declined and employment is less secure, with Labor failing to track income or job security outcomes.

“These are not the markers of a successful industry transition.

“Instead of transitioning and supporting displaced workers, Labor’s plan has driven economic instability that continues to harm regional communities.”

Ms Bath said the report revealed failures in governance and oversight.

“Accountability was inconsistent, worsened by Labor’s reliance on highly paid consultants.

“The Allan Government has no credible plan beyond 2026 to manage the ongoing impacts on workers and affected communities.

“The report confirms Labor shut a sustainable industry first and considered the consequences second.

“Our regional communities deserved fairness, consultation, secure jobs and accountability, but instead they received disingenuous government spin.”

Ms Bath said remaining transition funding needed to be reviewed to ensure it went to workers, families and communities, rather than further bureaucracy.

The Auditor General made one recommendation to the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action to improve how it measures and verifies the program’s outcomes for workers and businesses.

The full report, Supporting the Transition out of Native Forest Logging, is available at audit.vic.gov.au.