An investigation by nature protection groups has exposed a disturbing trend of logging endangered wildlife habitat on private land.
The discovery comes only months after the Victorian Government finally put a stop to logging native forests on public land on January 1, 2024.
Over a dozen projects have been identified, from the Central Highlands to East Gippsland and Central Victoria. Private landowners are seeking permits to log, while others have already logged or cleared native forest.
The equivalent of around 40 MCGs, or at least 187 hectares of land, has been cleared or logged to date across the state.
The Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA) joins other conservation groups in calling on the Allan Government to intervene and end destructive native forest logging on private land.
"The government has largely closed the door on native forest logging on public land but left the window wide open on private land. This loophole should be closed," said VNPA Executive Director, Matt Ruchel.
"Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos must act immediately to close all native forest logging loopholes, including on private land."
The Critically Endangered Leadbeater's Possum is one of several threatened native animals at risk from active private logging operations. Others include; Endangered Greater Gliders, Yellow-bellied Gliders, Sooty Owls, Powerful Owls, Smoky Mice and Tree Geebung.
Leadbeater's Possums have been detected within 80 metres of private land logging in the Yarra Ranges. The Leadbeater's Possum Action Statement prescribes 200-metre buffers around confirmed detection sites, but this does not apply to operations on private land.
"The state government shut down native forest logging because it had been caught out destroying endangered wildlife habitat, validated by Federal and Supreme Court cases. To find loggers are plundering the same critical habitat on private land beggars belief," said Friends of Leadbeater's Possum (FLbP) President, Steve Meacher.
"Our native forests need time to regenerate and recover after many decades of unsustainable logging," he added. "In the meantime, every patch of habitat is critical, whether on public or private land."
A long-awaited National Recovery Plan for Leadbeater's Possum was released in March this year confirming that "habitat critical to the survival of the species should not be destroyed or modified and be appropriately managed to support long-term recovery of the species."
"The recovery plan is meaningless if all levels of government, including local councils, do not effectively implement it," said FLbP President, Steve Meacher.
VNPA and other community and nature groups have written to 57 regional and peri-urban local governments responsible for issuing permits to log on private land.
"Most regional shires do not have the resources or capacity to properly understand, regulate and oversee complex impacts from native forest logging. It seems unfair that they are lumped with this onerous responsibility," said VNPA Executive Director, Matt Ruchel.
The Victorian Office of the Conservation Regulator is investigating alleged breaches on public land but has no power to intervene on private land.
There is potential for hundreds of thousands of hectares of native forest habitat on private land to be logged. By removing the responsibility from local councils, or amending state planning policies, the Victorian Government could quickly close this destructive loophole and truly protect threatened and vulnerable wildlife.
