The hypocrisy of the Andrews Labor Government was on show last week when it boasted the use of Darwin Stringybark in the construction of the new St Kilda Pier, says Gippsland East Nationals MP, Tim Bull.

“This is hardwood timber harvested from the native forests of the Top End (not plantation) and they brag about using that, while at the same time they are closing down our native hardwood timber industry here in Victoria.

“The duplicity is astonishing. Whether the forests are in the Top End or Victoria should not matter,” he said.

“The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recognises timber as the only carbon storing building material in existence and states: ‘In the long term, a sustainable forest management strategy aimed at maintaining or increasing forest carbon stocks, while producing an annual sustained yield of timber, fibre or energy from the forest, will generate the largest sustained mitigation benefit’.

“This is because the harvested trees are manufactured into product that stores carbon and the replanted trees also store carbon as they grow.”

Mr Bull said the native timber industry in East Gippsland was a significant employer and important to the economy of not only several towns, but the region more generally.

“These workers have not been treated with any respect after the government promised to keep the industry afloat until at least 2030, but it is all lies.

“The biggest lie is they have said they will transition to plantation timber by 2030, but to do that the hardwood plantations would have to be 20-30 years old now and the reality is they are not there, they have not been planted.

“So, we have a situation where the Andrews Labor Government is saying they will transition to something that does not exist and that is not fair on businesses and workers in the sector.”

Wednesday, 3 May 2023