Responsible harvesting

The timber in the proposed harvesting area in Noojee is regrowth from the Black Friday fires of 1939.

Sadly there is no alternative area that could be harvested as the Greens oppose any replacement of areas taken out of production forest.

The industry has lost huge areas of production forest reserved on the false assumption that the lead beaters possum is endangered and with major adjustments to sustainable yield because of recent bushfires.

Following recent surveys there are now updated leadbeater possum numbers that indicate very healthy possum colonies.

The timber harvested will be supplying local sawmills at Noojee, Longwarry, Poweltown, Heyfield, Yarra Junction and Benalla with sawlog and residual wood for Australian Paper at Maryvale that produces high quality computer paper for the domestic market.

Less than six per cent of our public native forest estate is available for timber harvesting and only around .6 % of that area is harvested each year.

If this does not happen the timber will be sourced from rainforest in third world countries that do not utilise the world class forest management practices that are used in Victoria.

Victorian native timber is in great demand, is a renewable resource, stores carbon and is being harvested in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner.

Surely we are being far more responsible harvesting a small area of our own resource in a sustainable manner than destroying another countries rainforest. By doing so we are maintaining jobs in regional towns and contributing positively to the State economy.

Gary Blackwood, Member for Narracan