Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is for the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Minister Watt. Right now, in Victoria, the Andrews government is logging four MCGs' worth of native forests every day. The Victorian government pledged to end native forest logging by 2030 and protect 9,000 hectares of old-growth forests, but a damning expose by the ABC last week found that the state owned logging operator VicForests is continuing to log old-growth forests that were marked for protection. This is on top of two court findings in the last month that found that VicForests were illegally logging forests that were home to two threatened species—greater gliders and tree geebungs. Minister, what are the federal government and you, as minister, doing to ensure that Victoria's native forests are actually being protected?

Hon. Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It sort of feels like it's Victorian election week this week, doesn't it?

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Watt, please resume your seat. I would ask all senators—in particular, Senator Scarr and Senator Thorpe—to be quiet while the minister answers the question.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, clearly it's Victorian election week, and clearly there are a couple of parties who are scrambling for votes rather than getting on with the job of governing, which is what we are doing and what the Andrews government is doing in Victoria right now.

I have met with Senator Rice about forestry issues, and I understand that these are things that she cares about very sincerely. As I have explained to Senator Rice, the Albanese Labor government does support a sustainable forestry industry. We respect the fact that there are some states who have made decisions about phasing out native forestry; others have not. The reality is that our country is in a position at the moment where it has a massive timber shortage and potentially other related shortages. There are parts of the country that have chosen to continue with native forestry at the moment, including Tasmania. That is something that we support. It is their right to do that. But, of course, Senator Rice is well aware that, in states like Victoria, we have a regional forestry agreement process underway which leaves a lot of the management of those forests to states. There has obviously been litigation about these matters recently, with courts having things to say about that, and I know the Victorian government is taking those decisions seriously.

What the Albanese government is doing is trying to strike a balance between the need for a forestry industry to provide the wood, timber and paper products that we need and making sure that we are protecting the environment. That's why we went to the election with a big commitment to expand the plantation estate in Australia and plant more trees through plantations to provide that timber. But the reality is that in many parts of the country at the moment the native forestry industry plays an important role in meeting that supply, and we support the people who work in that industry. We think that's a balanced approach, and we think that's the one that Australians want to see.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Rice, your first supplementary question?

Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

() (): When it comes to protecting the critically endangered ecosystem of mountain ash forests, scientists tell us that 2030 is way too late; they will be pretty much logged out by then. At the recent climate conference, Australia joined the Forest and Climate Leaders Partnership to increase action towards last year's COP commitment to strengthen our efforts, to conserve forests and accelerate their restoration. How are you going to bring Victoria into line so we can deliver on this international commitment? Will you amend the EPBC Act to ensure that that's the case? (Time expired)

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As Senator Rice is well aware, the way the regional forest agreement system works is that it essentially displaces the EPBC in relation to forestry endeavours and has its own system of managing the environmental needs of those forests. That is a system that we continue to support.

Senator Rice is also aware that the Victorian government has made decisions about the future of its native forests. We respect their right to make those decisions but we do support the ongoing efforts in other parts of the country to pursue native forestry, including in Tasmania, which is what they've chosen to do. We are trying to strike a balanced approach which meets the forestry needs and the timber needs of our country and supports the workers in those regional communities while also maintaining environmental protections.

Senator Rice asked about the EPBC. Again, she would be aware that the EPBC and the Samuel review is currently being considered by the government, and we'll have more to say about that before too long.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Rice, a second supplementary question?

Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A week after COP27 and amongst record-breaking climate fuelled floods across the country, there has never been a more important time for climate action. A Victorian Forest Alliance report found that native forest logging in Victoria emits around three million tonnes of carbon per year, and that's the equivalent of 700,000 cars. What's the federal government doing to ensure native forests in Victoria are protected and that native forest logging isn't worsening our climate crisis?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Rice may have noticed that only last week, at the COP conference, Australia joined 25 other nations in signing up to the Forest and Climate Leaders Partnership. That is another demonstration of our determination to ensure that forestry is conducted in an environmentally sustainable manner. That is the intent of the RFAs; that is the intent of the policies that we pursued.

If particular forestry operations don't do the right thing, they will suffer the consequences of that. That's what we've seen as a result of some of that litigation at the moment. But we are not going to stray beyond our responsibilities in the forestry space. These are joint exercises between the federal and state government. Look at our election commitments. Look at our budget, which delivered over $200 million towards forestry—in particular, plantation timber—while also making sure that we're providing workers with training and increasing the efficiency of native forestry.