MEDIA RELEASE 28 October 2026 |

The Coalition’s pre-election promise to restart native forest logging under the guise of “thinning” would be an environmental disaster and as unrealistic as restarting commercial whaling, warned Victoria’s leading environment groups today. 

The Victorians for Nature alliance, which includes the Victorian National Parks Association, the Wilderness Society, Environment Victoria and the Victorian Forest Alliance, says at least ten ecological, financial and regulatory barriers stand in the way – ranging from environmental impacts, to regulatory and economic barriers, including court cases that found native forest logging breached environment laws.

The Coalition has today pledged to open 5,000 hectares a year for ‘thinning’. One Nation also recently pledged to revive the native forest logging industry. 

“Logging native forests is catastrophic for wildlife; particularly those that depend on hollows specific to older trees such as greater gliders and powerful owls. Forests are worth so much more standing; providing clean drinking water, reducing erosion, carbon capture/storage, habitat and destination tourism. It is pointless to restart something with such low public support, and so many flaws, barriers and costs.” said Nic Fox from the Victorian Forest Alliance.

Between 2019 and 2023, the state government owned logging agency VicForests recorded $127 million in losses. Between 2019 and 2024, VicForests relied on $466 million in government financial support. Native forest logging was propped up by taxpayer funding, and came at a huge cost to some of the most ecologically significant forests on the planet, home to numerous threatened plants and animals.

“Native forest logging in Victoria operated at a financial loss for decades and was largely propped up with taxpayers dollars. $1.5 billion has been spent on transitioning the industry in Victoria. Pouring more public money into reviving a failed, unpopular industry makes no sense.” said Jo Hopkins, Victorian Campaigns Manager, Wilderness Society. 

The Wilderness Society released a report yesterday, that found time in Victoria’s nature is worth $2.6 billion a year, and that 35% of Victoria’s economy relies on nature and ecosystems in the state.

“Catastrophic bushfires have ravaged huge areas of forest across the state. Native forests that have been logged are failing to regenerate at an alarming rate and have been declining for years. The idea that native forest logging could be brought back with thinning is nonsensical,” said Chris Schuringa, Nature Campaigns Manager at Environment Victoria.

“Apart from the fact there is no longer sufficient hardwood timber available (outside of existing plantations) there is no special legal exemption from national environmental laws. Most of the enabling legislation at the state level has been taken away. The courts have repeatedly found native forest logging to breach environmental laws. Any promises being made to return native forest logging are unrealistic” said Matt Ruchel, Executive Director, Victorian National Parks Association.

“If they want a sustainable industry, political parties should focus on well managed ecological sensitive plantation industries and promoting farm forestry, not resurrecting a flawed and divisive past. Any party or person thinking they can bring back native forest logging is clearly out of touch.”

Victorians for Nature

Victorians for Nature is a new alliance of leading environment groups in Victoria and includes the Victorian National Park Association, The Wilderness Society, Environment Victoria, The Victorian Forest Alliance as well as local supporters. 

It exists to hold governments and corporations to account for systematic destruction in Victoria. And to demand better.

victoriansfornature.au

Background information

Key reasons why it is unworkable to return native forest logging:

  1. The environmental impacts of native forest logging have been extensive on public land: Logging fragments and degrades wildlife habitat, pushing threatened species closer to extinction, damages the ecological systems of forests, disrupts water systems (both quality and quantity), reduces carbon storage and once forests are logged, they take hundreds of years to recover.
  2. Native forests are failing to regenerate after logging: Recent research examining 42,000 hectares of logged mountain ash forest in Victoria’s Central Highlands found widespread regeneration failure and significant reduction in ecological function, impacting carbon storage, water regulation and habitat for wildlife.
  3. Native forest logging operates at a financial loss: Between 2019 and 2023, VicForests recorded $127 million in losses. Between 2019 and 2024, VicForests relied on $466 million in government financial support (see VicForests Annual Reports 2018-19 to 2023-24). Native forest logging is propped up by tax payer funding, while damaging native habitats and wildlife.
  4. Native forest logging is a waste of tax payers money: At least $1.5 billion of Victoria taxpayers’ dollars has been spent on an industry transition away from native forest logging, which will be wasted if native forest logging returns.
  5. Victoria’s timber industry is strong and vibrant without native forest logging. Before native forest logging ended, the plantation industry already made up 94% of Victoria’s timber industry, with 19 out of 20 trees cut in Victoria already coming from plantations. The plantation industry continues to grow and it contributes enormously to Victoria’s economy, particularly in rural and regional areas. Support for native forest logging incoherently disadvantages this growth industry.
  6. The plantation sector is diversifying into manufacturing high value native forest substitute products from hardwood plantations and this needs to be supported. Native forest logging undermines this transition to high value processing in plantation timber.
  7. Australia has a trade surplus in forest products. We export twice as much timber products as we import. Like almost every other sector (telephones, computers, clothes, cars) Australia’s high labour costs mean we export raw materials and import higher value materials. Portland is one of the largest exporters of plantation logs in the country. We should be focusing on a future policy that value-adds this resource here in Victoria rather than turning to a nostalgic past of uneconomic native forest wood sourcing.
  8. Fire impacts are severe: The 2019–20 Black Summer bushfires severely affected forests in eastern Victoria, intensifying pressure on already stressed forest ecosystems. The fires destroyed vast areas of habitat for threatened species and significantly reduced the volume and quality of timber available in areas previously allocated for logging.
  9. Unlawful impacts: Courts repeatedly found VicForests had breached environmental laws. Community groups brought legal proceedings that exposed unlawful logging impacting threatened species and protected forest areas. These proceedings resulted in logging being restricted or halted in areas where courts found VicForests could not lawfully continue.
  10. Native forests no longer needed for pulp and paper: Opal Paper’s Maryvale Mill no longer needs wood from native forest to operate. 
  11. Special Treatment has been removed: Regional Forest Agreements, which exempted native forestry from national environmental laws, have been removed. National environmental laws have been refreshed and strengthened in some areas, likely increasing compliance costs. 
  12. New enabling legislation would take years: Most of the key enabling legislation for broad scale native forest logging have largely been abolished by the state government. While loopholes remain, returning native forest logging would require a complete rebuilding of a regulatory system, likely to take years. 
  13. Permanent protection should be prioritised: States across Australia are adding to the national parks estate, as part of global commitments to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030, but Victoria has dropped the ball in the east of the state. In the original media release announcing an end to native forest logging, Premier Daniel Andrews stated: “The Government will establish an advisory panel to consider and make recommendations to the Government on the areas of our forests that qualify for protection as National Parks…”. But this commitment was later abandoned and recommendations for modest protection in the Central Highlands by the Government Eminent Person Panel for Community Engagement were also rejected.