Almost weekly, there are articles in
the Geelong Advertiser, quoting individuals supporting
the logging of old growth forests in the Otways, the latest
Alan Billing , Chairman of Timber Towns Victoria (GA 5th
/6 headed "Group slams forest myth"). Mr Billing’s
statements are at best, a vain attempt to mislead the
public so I would like to clarify the true situation of
the logging within the Otway Forest.
80% of all the timber removed from the
Otways finishes up as woodchip (noway can this be classed
as a by-product as Mr Billings claims). In fact, logging
contractors, for some unaccountable reason are payed more
per cubic metre for residual logs than they are for sawlogs.
Logging within the Otways (as with most
of Victoria) is totally uneconomical and survives only
with heavy subsidies of some $1.5 million p.a from the
State Government (taxpayer’s money).
Over 300 ha of native forest is destroyed
each year in the Otways alone, with almost half of the
land available for logging within domestic water supply
catchments, much of which is in areas officially classified
as significant erosion risk.
The logging industry has already destroyed
two thirds of the Otway native forests with a further
20% set aside for logging over the next 20 years.
As for Mr Billing’s claim that the disturbance
of the ground by harvesting aids the regeneration of a
healthy forest, I have two statements to make –
1. If the forest hadn’t been logged in
the first place the regeneration wouldn’t be needed.
2. More than 90% of the seeds from Australian
trees and shrubs are surface germinated and require heat
such as fire or boiling water to start the germination
process. The ground disturbance that Mr Billing refers
to would only bury the seed, preventing germination.
