50 year forest war – negotiation starts
Will the 50 year forest war in Victoria be coming to an end? Will we all be able to reach consensus on a win-win solution? The Andrews government has set up a taskforce between industry and environment reps to get down to the job of sorting the conflict out once and for all. It could involve looking at the large plantation estate we have in the west of the state which could be the secure future the industry needs, and the way to bring peace to our battered forests and dependent wildlife.
As it is purely a facilitated process that does not involve government reps or VicForests, there could be some glimmer of hope in this. We only hope that VicForests shows the same goodwill in their operations while this process is in train, as the members of the taskforce has so far. The below is from the joint media release from Friday 20th November 2015.
Amelia Young said the Taskforce will recommend a plan for the good stewardship of Victoria’s forests that can be embraced by the Victorian community. “The spirit of co-operation shown between all nature conservation, worker and industry representatives to get us to this point is highly encouraging. “We look forward to formally commencing the Taskforce and ultimately providing recommendations that will give current and future generations of Victorians confidence that our forests, air, water and wildlife are protected, the Leadbeater’s Possum saved, and that our regional industries have strong futures,” said Amelia Young.