The Govt advises that planting of blue gum seedlings on 230 hectares of two crown land sites in the Latrobe Valley has been recently completed by VicForests. This in addition to the 250 hectares planted last year. These plantings are complementary to privately owned plantations and other land uses, including agriculture.

To facilitate additional plantation establishment, we are close to finalising the design of the Gippsland Plantations Investment Program. This important element of our program will incentivise and leverage private investment for greenfield plantation development. In addition to this, VicForests will deliver a new program focussed on maximising the contribution that farm forestry can make to increasing the supply of plantation timber. More details about these programs will be announced later this year.

Now, sawlogs take 25 years to grow under plantation arrangements as does farm forestry initiatives. Farm forestry was encouraged back around 2006 but this program was quickly curtailed with only a small uptake by farmers to establish sawlog plantations.

So, on face value, it seems that there may be a shortfall in wood supply of 15 years once production from native forests ceases in 2030. A plan to transition to plantation timber production requires not only measures to reduce the native harvest but also measures to increase the plantation harvest to match the reduction. Seems half the plan has not been thought through and the likely outcome will be people import sawlog timber from overseas and that may be no better an outcome for the environment-just shifting the problem offshore.

The Minister was asked to comment on this matter but never replied.