STATE BUDGET: Timber gone but regional workers not forgotten

ONE of the centrepiece announcements in the State Budget 2023-24, handed down today by Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas, is that “native timber harvesting in state forests will end next year”.

But according to Minister Pallas is doesn’t mean that the government is abandoning regional Victoria, where most of the 2500 jobs are located.

On the contrary, as Mr Pallas revealed in his Budget Speech, more than $5 billion will be invested in regional Victoria through the budget, and the workers actively involved in the timber industry will be helped to make the transition to new jobs.

Eastern Victoria MP, Melina Bath begs to differ.

In a statement today, Ms Bath called the announcement by the government that it would shut down Victoria’s “sustainable native timber industry” by January 1, 2024 as “brutal” after “promising a staged transition through to 2030”.

Here’s what Mr Pallas had to say about regional Victoria, and also about the native timber industry:

“Speaker, regional Victoria is growing, with thousands of new residents generating record jobs.

“When this Government first came to office, the regional unemployment rate sat at 6.6 per cent. It’s now almost three whole percentage points lower.

“We’ve supported regional business by cutting payroll tax rates for regional employers to just one-quarter of the metro rate.

“This Budget invests over $5 billion in regional Victoria, to support its success and tackle rising costs.

“We’re installing neighbourhood batteries in regional Victoria, to help push down power bills.

“We’re also upgrading schools around our state and investing in regional healthcare.

“We’ve slashed the cost of train travel across the state, bringing regional fares into line with metro fares.

“Because a trip from Ballarat to central Melbourne is just as important as a trip from Hawthorn.

“This Budget commits to investing in another 23 new Victorian-made trains for our regional network.

“From Morwell to Mallacoota to Murrayville, from Wangaratta to Warrnambool, we’re continuing investments across our great state.”

Timber industry shut down

“Speaker, in 2019, we moved to secure a long-term and sustainable future for Victoria’s forestry industry – and for the Victorian workers who rely on it,” said Mr Pallas.

“We put forward a 30-year plan to support the sector as it transitioned, backing long ‑term, sustainable jobs and giving local workers confidence about their future.

“But since then, native forestry has been hit with increasingly severe bushfires, prolonged legal action and court decisions.

“All of that has drastically cut the timber supply we can actually use.

“Hundreds of workers across Victoria haven’t been able to work a day in months.

“It’s not good enough for us to just cross our fingers and hope for the best. We need a plan to support workers and support jobs.

“That’s why we’re stepping up to give these workers – and their communities, businesses, and partners along the supply chain – the certainty they deserve.”

He said native timber harvesting in state forests will end “next ye”, in fact it will end by January 1, 2024.

“But work has already started on a proper, managed transition.

“We’ll match some workers and their skills to jobs right across land management and critical forest bushfire response.

“We’ll retrain others to help them get jobs in growing regional industries – like renewable energy or construction.

“And most importantly, we’ll back workers and their families with the financial and mental health support they need throughout this transition.

“Just as we’ve always done, we’re being upfront with the industry – and putting in place a plan to support every worker and every business.

“Because we’ll never leave them to go it alone.”

But that’s exactly what Melina Bath MP says the government is doing, not only abandoning a legitimate and sustainable industry, but also those who work directly in the industry and communities which rely on the indirect jobs and income.

Ms Bath said the Andrews Labor Government “has signed the final death warrant for Victoria’s sustainable native timber industry and entire communities in the state’s east”.

“Despite promising a staged transition through to 2030, today’s brutal State Budget confirms the industry will shut down totally on 1 January, 2024.

“The native timber industry represents a large segment of the state’s overall timber industry, creating 2500 jobs and generating more than $770 million in revenue each year.

“Labor’s decision to fast-track its demise means that timber communities are being punished by Government incompetence.

“In late 2019, the Andrews Labor Government promised a phased transition to a plantation-based supply, with the Government now abandoning their plan.”

She said the Deputy Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Emma Kealy, said the Government’s decision is based on politics, not science or fact.

“Daniel Andrews and Labor are punishing regional Victorian communities to advance a radical green agenda that panders to inner-city Greens voters.

“So many communities rely on the timber industry for their survival and will be shattered by this decision.

“Without the timber industry’s man power and heavy machinery, our capacity to fight bushfires will be significantly reduced, putting our forests and regional communities in harm’s way.

“This decision will kill our timber industry and cause untold damage to our regional communities,” said Ms Bath.