Wednesday, 31 July 2024

Public Accounts and Estimates Committee

Report on the 2023–24 Budget Estimates

Tim BULL (Gippsland East) (10:59): I rise to make a few comments on the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee 2023–24 budget estimates report. My reference point is page 146, and the reference is to ‘Management of public land and forests’. I want to make a couple of points in relation to the active management of our forests. The first one is an issue that we are going to have in the forthcoming years around firewood supply for a number of our people who rely on solid fuel heating. One of the biggest suppliers of domestic firewood was the native timber industry. When I have raised this in the past and I have asked questions on notice in relation to this topic, one of the answers that I have got back from the minister is that we are still going to have public firewood collection. The issue with that is we have a huge cohort within our rural communities of pensioners, the elderly and people with disability who rely on commercial operators to provide them with their firewood. There is a huge amount; it is a very high retirement area, East Gippsland. When I asked this question of where their firewood supply is going to come from, there were a few blank stares initially. I do not think that the government had understood the ramifications on firewood supply when they closed the industry.

Following on from that we had some commentary that the timber that is removed as part of the strategic firebreak program will be made available for commercial firewood. Harvest and haulage contractors that have transitioned over to the government tell me that there is about two to 2½ years work in those strategic firebreaks. So the minister of the day has bought a little bit of time but needs to come up with a solution of how we going to use our state forests to provide domestic firewood supply, because simply opening it for collection suits some but there are a huge cohort that rely on their firewood to be delivered to them. Previously firewood collectors were given coupes. That has now been removed, and consideration needs to be given to providing it back.

While we are talking about the strategic firebreaks, Sydenham Inlet Road is one of those that has been earmarked. It services the town of Bemm River, and a few people might have holidayed at lovely Bemm River. If they have, they will know that there is one road in and one road out. That road has the Croajingolong National Park on either side, and it is heavily forested. They want the road cleared and the firebreak that has been promised on that road put into place. At present we have had a lot of, I guess, discussion over who is going to provide the maintenance of that firebreak, because it is a shire road but it will be a government firebreak. This matter needs to be resolved. That needs to go in prior to this summer to afford that community the protection that it indeed needs.

I also want to talk quickly about our wild dog program. I have spoken about that in this chamber before. There is a decision imminent by this government on whether they are going to continue the wild dog program in the east of the state or whether they will get rid of it or whether they will water it down. It needs to be maintained. The argument is that farmer fencing – boundary fencing – is the solution. It is one tool that is helpful, but when you have got trees falling over fences, and sambar deer, wombats and the like, we need our wild dog trappers in place. We have lost an enormous amount of stock in East Gippsland, even over recent weeks, and you cannot trap dogs on private land in open paddocks. You need to use the trails and the tracks around the interface with private property to get those dogs.

I urge the minister to make a decision and make the right decision. I have since been told, just today, that in the Bendoc–Bonang area the dogger who controls the wild dogs is on holidays. Everyone deserves a break, but there is no replacement there. Already we have impacts in that area. So I would encourage the government to have a program in place that when a dogger is away for whatever reason, whether it be holidays or ill health, we have that focus remain by having a replacement dogger put in place. It is critically important.

I could go on and on and on about the issues we have about public land management. We need the Cape Conran cabins rebuilt. The fact that that has been held up for 4½ years is a disgrace. But I will end my commentary there.