By Romy Stephens
Logging has been temporarily halted in another 13 coupes around Victoria, including Warburton, Toolangi and Powelltown.
On 29 April, the Supreme Court of Victoria granted an interlocutory injunction to halt logging in areas such as the Kalatha Valley of the Giants in Toolangi and Mount Bride near Warburton.
The injunction will remain until the end of a court case between conservation group Wildlife of the Central Highlands (WOTCH) and VicForests.
So far, an interlocutory injunction has been placed on 26 logging coupes.
In March, logging was halted in 13 coupes after WOTCH won its case against VicForests in a bid to protect threatened species’ habitat from logging following the unprecedented summer bushfires.
During last week’s judgement, WOTCH argued that an additional 13 coupes posed a threat of “serious and irreversible damage” to threatened species following the bushfires.
Warburton resident Nic Fox has been campaigning to stop native forest logging for many years.
She said she felt extreme relief when the injunction was granted.
“When we heard that they were going to log a coupe on Mount Bride, which is in my backyard, I just went this is it, they’ve gone too far,” she said.
“We’ve just had catastrophic fires that have wiped out unbelievable amounts of wildlife and the loss is just incredible.. we’ve lost enough.
“Mount Bride is the second biggest mountain here and forms the backdrop of Warburton. It’s a very sacred place for a lot of people here.”
The Victorian Association of Forest Industries’ (VAFI) chief executive Tim Johnston said the injunction provided another blow to an industry which had already been suffering.
He said “now is the time to be supporting timber workers”.
“The decision is the latest setback for the industry, which was already reeling from the bushfires, the Andrews Government’s plan to phase out the industry from 2024 to 2030, and bureaucratic delays in the harvesting of burnt coupes,” he said.
“It is clear that the ongoing uncertainty and the lack of security is devastating for workers and businesses across the native timber industry.
“Without immediate action from the Victorian Government to get harvest and haulage contractors working again and getting timber flowing into mills, the industry will grind to a halt and even more workers would be stood down.
“This is a sustainable industry that employs thousands of people in regional Victoria. During the broader economic crisis from Covid-19 that is upon us, our industry has continued to supply essential products and services that have kept supply chains running.”
VicForests said it respected the decision of the Supreme Court and is currently considering this judgement.
The court has scheduled a trial date for the full hearing of the issues in October.
