2024-03-13
The Victorian Greens have welcomed reports VicForests will cease to exist by the end of June, calling the controversial state-owned logging company ‘environmental vandals’.
The Greens say VicForests was rife with a culture of slashing and burning our forests, putting countless threatened species at greater risk of extinction.
Deputy Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell, said the writing had been on the wall for VicForests for some time, after the cowboy company was plagued with illegal activity and controversy after controversy.
She said the Victorian Labor Government now needed to direct its department to focus on forest restoration and protection, and invest in specialised staff who have these skills.
Quotes attributable to Deputy Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell MP:
"It’s about time the environmental vandals VicForests were shut down. This is an organisation which has illegally logged Victoria’s forests, illegally spied on ordinary citizens, and slashed and burned precious endangered species’ habitat.
“For the sake of our forests and the animals who call them home, we now need Labor to focus its environment department on restoration and protection of our forests, with specialised staff who have these skills.
“The terrible and environmentally destructive culture of VicForests cannot be allowed to continue inside Victoria's environment department.”