Firewood collection
Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (18:18): (760) My adjournment is to the Minister for Environment on behalf of a constituent who contacted me to raise concerns about the lack of available firewood. The action I seek is for the minister to secure Victoria’s future firewood supplies, extend the firewood collection season and enable the collection of free firewood in areas with fallen trees after the recent storms, especially where there is community benefit. In many regional areas people rely on firewood for heating as electricity and gas bills continue to rise under this government. The 2024 autumn firewood collection season opened on 1 March and runs until 30 June and should be extended. On the government’s website there is no guarantee that firewood will be available for collection in the domestic firewood collection areas after it has been opened, and that is certainly true for the Bendigo region, where designated areas quickly clear out. Free firewood zones are under pressure and commercial supplies are drying up. VicForests supply a large amount of commercial firewood, but with the closure of the sustainable native timber industry, these supplies are at risk. Commercial firewood licences finished on 31 December and small specialty licences finish on 30 June.
The cost of firewood is skyrocketing, and some people are becoming so desperate that they are resorting to illegal firewood collection. Just last month, a 39-year-old man from Kyneton was fined $3000 after he pleaded guilty to illegally cutting firewood on public land. He had used a chainsaw to cut down trees in the Metcalfe state forest in September 2022. I asked the minister a question about firewood supplies in October last year, and I am yet to receive a response. It appears as though the government has no plan for affordable firewood in Victoria. Winter is fast approaching, and Victoria is facing a significant firewood shortage. The government needs to secure Victoria’s firewood supplies, extend the season and enable the collection of free firewood in areas damaged in the recent storms where there is community benefit.