Victorian native timber harvesters shut down operations
Native timber harvesters in Victoria are shutting down their equipment as the industry comes to an official end. The date was brought forward by the state government from 2030 to today after supreme court orders limited the areas available for logging. It leaves many scrambling to find alternative work with some contractors starting again after decades in the timber industry.
Transcript
00:00 After almost 40 years harvesting native timber across Victoria, Warren Fenner is bidding
00:07 farewell to an industry that's employed his family for generations.
00:13 I worked very hard to get my business to where it is now and I wanted to build that for my
00:19 family. Now I've got to take another pathway and I've got to start again.
00:22 Once a thriving business in the eastern Victorian town of Club Terrace, his staffing has halved
00:28 since Supreme Court orders reduced the area available for logging in November 2022.
00:34 One went to Tasmania, one went to Singleton as a heavy haulage driver, one went to Bendigo
00:39 to work on civil construction and the rest have been, haven't got any work.
00:46 Mr Warren invested nearly $1.5 million into new equipment for hardwood timber harvesting,
00:53 preparing for the initial closure date of 2030. With that date being brought forward
00:58 to today, he's put in another $750,000 to pivot his business to vegetation management,
01:05 but it's not enough to re-employ lost workers.
01:09 It's probably only not even going to replace half the workers that have lost their jobs.
01:15 It leaves timber towns like Warbost in the dark, with locals urging a re-brand, fearing
01:21 young people will move away to find work.
01:24 That has a big impact on our sporting clubs, on our schools, on our main street, on the
01:29 traders in the main street. There needs to be a lot more infrastructure developed to
01:34 attract people.
01:35 As timber towns grieve the end of an era, environmental groups say it's the right move
01:40 for the future. They've been campaigning for the end of logging for decades, launching
01:45 multiple court cases as part of that battle.
01:49 The best way to halt the extinction crisis is to securely protect the habitat of endangered
01:56 species in national parks. We're not there yet.
02:00 A drawn out feud now over.
02:03 [BLANK_AUDIO]