Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Victoria is home to a world-class, environmentally sustainable and highly regulated native timber industry. It's an industry which is innovative. It has invested in technology to maximise yield and reduce its environmental impacts, and it's a major employer in regions like Gippsland. So it defies logic that the Victorian Labor government wants to ban the harvesting of all native hardwood timber by 2030. The Victorian timber industry uses just four trees out of every 10,000 trees in Victoria each year. We have an advanced network of reserves and national parks to protect areas of high conservation value, so a properly regulated timber industry in Victoria is a far better option than importing timber from countries with poorer environmental protocols.

I urge the Premier to reconsider the bloody-minded decision and to listen to the union leaders in the CFMMEU, to small-business owners and to families. There are 2½ thousand jobs at stake. CFMMEU secretary Michael O'Connor says of Labor's approach to the timber industry, 'This chaotic approach to making laws is leaving out the voices of those most impacted.' It's good to see that Mr O'Connor has the guts and the integrity to stand up for blue-collar workers. I urge those opposite to join us in fighting for the jobs of the Victorian timber workers. I support a sustainable native hardwood timber industry in Victoria as part of a well-managed system that protects local jobs and the environment.