It has been an exciting week for forests.
This week marked a turning point. The issues that forest communities have been campaigning on for the past two years, since Victoria's so-called "end of native forest logging", are finally part of the national conversation. We've continued to raise concerns about unfinished business, ongoing logging loopholes and the lack of permanent protection for Victoria's forests.
Over the past week, VFA has been actively working hard to fill in the missing parts of the story, providing additional context, analysis and updates. If you haven't already, check out our social media channels and visit our website.
As we head towards the Victorian election in November, the momentum is building. The next five months will be critical as we continue pushing for permanent protection of Victoria's forests, greater transparency and accountability, and an end to the logging loopholes that keep native forest logging alive.
If you missed the coverage, here's a quick roundup.
This week, ABC's Four Corners aired Timber Turmoil – a major investigation into Victoria's unfinished transition away from native forest logging. The program shines a spotlight on the questions many of us have been asking for years: where has the $1.5 billion forest transition package gone, and why are native forests still being logged elsewhere to feed the same supply chains?
Watch Four Corners – Timber Turmoil
Read
Environmental Justice Australia's new report, Following the Money, examines how Victoria's $1.5 billion forest transition package has been spent and asks important questions about whether public money is still supporting native forest logging through interstate supply chains.
Take Action
This week's media attention has put native forests firmly back on the national agenda. Now is the time to keep the pressure on.
More coverage
If you'd like to dive deeper, we also recommend:
• The Age: Bianca Hall's Where did the $1.5 billion go?
sorry subscription only but to get the gist see here
• The Conversation: Professor David Lindenmayer & Chris Taylors Victoria claims to have stopped native logging. So why is it importing Tasmanian forests? For some good fact checking of key logging industry lies.
Thank you for being part of this movement. Every conversation, every action and every person speaking up helps build the pressure for lasting forest protection.
We'll be back later this month with our regular VFA update, including a full calendar of events across Victoria.
Throughout July and August, communities will be hosting screenings of Forest Country followed by discussions with fire behaviour scientist Dr Philip Zylstra. These events are a great opportunity to continue the conversation sparked by Four Corners, learn more about the future of our forests, and connect with others working to protect them.
We hope you'll join us!
In solidarity,
Nic- Secretary, Victorian Forest Alliance
https://www.victorianforestalliance.org.au/
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We acknowledge that the Victorian Forest Alliance operates on the sovereign land of First Nations Peoples. The forests we defend and restore are unceded Lands.
We recognise and respect that the forests we work to protect exist on a number of Sovereign Aboriginal Nations, and we pay our respects to Elders past and present.