Firewood collection
Rikkie-Lee TYRRELL (Northern Victoria) (18:26): (1012) My adjournment matter this evening is for the Minister for Environment in the other place. For three years my constituents in the Moira shire have been crying out for somewhere to collect firewood. For three years they have been forced to either pay excessive prices to buy firewood or travel hours out of their way to be able to collect it themselves. During this cost-of-living crisis it is getting harder and harder for those on fixed incomes or families to be able to afford to keep themselves warm. I have asked time and time again for the minister to open places for my constituents to collect firewood from. It has so far fallen on deaf ears. So imagine my dismay at being told by constituents near Barmah forest that the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action is piling up many tonnes of fallen wood from the forest floor ready to burn, some of which they have already started burning. This is good, sturdy wood that northern Victorians would be happy to take away and use to keep themselves warm during this frigid winter; instead the government would rather see it literally go up in smoke. How is it any different burning this valuable resource in people’s homes than what the government is doing in the open air?
Many people cannot afford to replace their heating with expensive electric heaters like the government wants them to. We are being continually told by the government that firewood is a finite resource, yet here we see piles of good, useful firewood going to waste. The action I seek is for the minister to ease the burden on the people of the Moira shire: cease burning this valuable resource and allow the residents access to collect firewood from these piles in the Barmah forest.