Victorian communities at high risk of bushfire are far less prepared than they were during the Black Summer fires, with the decision to cease f native forestry in 2023 contributing to a talent and resource drain across the state’s timber towns. That is according to Steve Dobbyns, chair of Forest and Wood Communities Australia, who told Wood Central that the drain could have an impact on the current emergency.
Dobbyns warned that the loss of forestry and, more importantly, fire-trained foresters in vast parts of the state’s east, its north-east and the Central Highlands has left critical gaps:
“One of the consequences of ending native forest harvesting has been the loss of skilled and experienced operators,” Dobbyns warned. “We are now seeing that in the bushfire crisis, where multiple pieces of heavy plant — including dozers and harvesting machines — are currently stood down because there are not enough qualified people to operate them. Lives, property and environmental assets are at greater risk when that capability is missing.”
It comes as leaders in East Gippsland this week called on Jacinta Allen to reinstate key roles cut from the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) and Parks Victoria, who, between them, are now responsible for managing the state’s parks and forests. On Tuesday, the Weekly Times reported on allegations that DEECA and Parks Victoria had been steadily shedding staff in several timber towns, including Cann River, Orbost, Bairnsdale, Swifts Creek and Nowa Nowa.
DEECA and Parks Victoria cuts spark fears over fuel loads
Speaking about the cuts, Melina Bath, Victoria’s Opposition spokeswoman for Public Land, said restoring the jobs was essential to meeting fuel-reduction targets. “To make sure we are doing the right amount of fuel‑reduction burning, we need the best expertise,” she said. “We don’t want to be hamstrung by metropolitan Melbourne decision-making that is highly ignorant of the reality of fuel loads. We need to be regionalising the workforce.”
As it stands, Wood Central understands that there are several fast‑moving fires testing the preparedness and responsiveness of communities across regional Victoria. These include the Carlisle River fire in the state’s south‑west, which continues to threaten Gellibrand and Forrest; the Wonnangatta–Dargo Complex in East Gippsland, which remains active and is approaching Dargo; and the Walwa fire in the north‑east, impacting communities near Mt Lawson State Park. Current emergency warnings and incident updates are available on the VicEmergency website.
