Western Australia has joined Victoria in banning commercial logging of native forests from next year.
The WA forestry minister Jackie Jarvis says timber will only be removed from the state’s native forests in the future to maintain forest health and for approved mine site operations.
The government will spend $350 million investing in the state’s softwood pine plantations to provide building material and protect existing jobs, as well as provide another 140 new positions.
WA Environment Minister Reece Whitby said nearly two million hectares of native karri, jarrah and wandoo forests will be protected for future generations.
“This decision reflects the changing attitudes of the community towards our native forests, building on the legacy of the Gallop Labor Government ending old growth logging,” he said.
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Western Australia will soon become one of the first States in Australia to end commercial logging of native forests.
The Cook Government’s historic decision to end the unsustainable practice in the Forest Management Plan 2024-33 protects nearly two million hectares of native karri, jarrah and wandoo forests for future generations.
Following the move to end commercial native forest logging, the Cook Government committed to an $80 million Native Forest Transition Plan that included significant industry restructure payments, which have now been made to all eligible sawmills.
Most importantly, these grants will assist workers and families impacted by the end of commercial native forest logging.
“Our government is delivering on its commitment to end commercial logging in WA’s native forests from 2024, becoming one of the first Australian states to do so.”
Great to see this! While trees can be a great renewable resource, not all trees are the same.
I try to keep all my posts on [email protected] positive, but things like rodent poison and forest destruction are always on my mind. Yes, new trees can be planted, but old trees are needed for the food and refuge they provide.
We can all think of a bunch of animals that live in trees, but they don’t just sit there in a branch all day. They need old, beat up, worn, and sometimes dying trees to provide shelter, nesting areas and materials, and homes for other animals they eat. They have small home territories, and can’t just find some new forest that has all they need.
Nature has taken these centuries to make these balanced ecosystems. New growth can provide humans with all they need wood for, but the same can’t be said for those whose home it is.
We’ve all grown up hearing how important the rain forests are, but old growth forest is just as special as unique. We’ve lost so much already, we need to preserve what we have. We can get back trees, but not so easily the time it took too make those trees into what they need to be.
Sorry for the shameless plug, but I do feature Australian and NZ owls, and I try to keep the focus on the wildlife as living creatures and not just meme type pics.
A significant portion would just end up as firewood or rotting in a pile, not all trees are suitable for construction.
Come on NSW and Tas catch up …
Does QLD have much of a logging industry?
It never seems to hit the news but they do rip through “state forest” at times, SE QLD also has large Hoop and Slash Pine plantations.
QLD just has the beef land clearing problems instead.
