A loophole in Victoria's planning laws is allowing widespread native forest logging on private land, undermining the state's 2024 ban on public forest logging and threatening critically endangered species, according to citizen scientists and conservationists.
Last week, citizen scientists from Wildlife of the Central Highlands (WOTCH) discovered a Critically Endangered Leadbeater's Possum - Victoria's state emblem - at the border of a private native forest undergoing clearfell logging in Mount Horsfall on the Baw Baw Shire.
The habitat of iconic wildlife, including the Leadbeater's Possum, Long-nosed Potoroos and Greater Gliders are at risk due to the loophole.
"The State Government has effectively outsourced regulation of native forest logging to poorly resourced local councils. The Conservation Regulator that previously oversaw public land logging is sidelined and unable to regulate environmental and animal welfare concerns on private land," Jordan Crook, Parks and Nature Campaigner at Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA) said.
The groups are also aware of a permit application lodged with the East Gippsland Shire, which proposes to log 51 hectares of habitat for multiple endangered species, including Greater Gliders, Yellow-bellied Gliders and Long-footed Potoroos at Cabbage Tree Creek. This decision has been deferred to the Minister for Planning, who has yet to respond.
Expert planning advice commissioned by VNPA shows the Victorian Government can close the loophole through a straightforward amendment to statewide planning provisions. The report, prepared by Plan2Place Consulting, outlines how the government could implement a ministerial amendment to prohibit commercial timber harvesting of native forest on private land.
"Hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest habitat on private land may be open to logging, but the government can close these loopholes quickly by amending statewide provisions in the planning scheme," Mr Cook said.
"This is a straightforward and relatively quick procedure. The State Government needs to keep its word on ending native forest logging once and for all and secure the future for iconic wildlife.
"We must close this clear loophole and implement more common understandings about the concepts of native forest and native vegetation on private land and what is understood as timber plantation, which is legitimate activity if properly managed."
VNPA submitted this advice to the government in 2024 but has received no response or action.
Blake Nisbet from Wildlife of the Central Highlands added: "It feels like we've gone back in time. There appear to be no targeted surveys or protections for endangered wildlife when logging on private land, and once again citizen scientists are left to pick up the slack."
The amendment would require advice and support from the Minister for Environment and officers from the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), and ultimately be approved by the Minister for Planning.
Resources:
Planning advice can be found here
Images of the detection can be found here
