One Nation Vows to Revive Victoria's Native Timber Industry

Victoria's native timber industry may be revived if there is a change in government at the November election, with One Nation and the Coalition committing to restarting native forest logging. The industry was shut down by the Labor government in January 2024.

One Nation's Narracan candidate Ben Lucas said the party's policy supported country-of-origin labelling laws on timber and wood products, and a self-funding model in which harvest revenue supported forest improvement and fire prevention.

"I don't know if you're picking up on a theme here with One Nation, but we don't need to overlord and control everything — the industry are the subject matter experts," he said.

Lucas said the party would incentivise the use of Australian timber in construction through a "local wood first" policy in government procurement and would ensure timber was extracted using a selective harvesting model.

"You can't take away the forestry industry from a town like Noojee and replace the economy with a truffle festival once a year," Mr Lucas said.

However, when pressed for details, Lucas would not clarify how much it could cost or what would be involved in reopening native forests to logging.

"This is a broad policy and it's very open-ended, but with clear guidelines on how we want to do it and why we want to do it," Mr Lucas said.

"We've got the words on paper and if we get in, we can have some influence on how that happens."

The Coalition is still working through the details of its policy, but Nationals leader Danny O'Brien previously vowed to restore native forest logging. Nationals MP Melina Bath said the coalition was finalising its policy but also backed a return to logging.

"We will be announcing a suite of packages and policies in relation to this," Ms Bath said.

"They're still going through a parliamentary process and we make sure … that we've done our costings correctly."

Victoria's Regional Development Minister Michaela Settle said restarting native forestry under a Coalition or One Nation government would cost Victorians.

According to a 2026 Victorian Auditor-General's report, the Victorian government's decision to shut down the industry affected 1,000 workers and 200 businesses. The report found the Victorian government spent $1.5 billion on transition arrangements and 87 per cent of workers had retired or found new jobs.

Orbost District Chamber of Commerce and Industry secretary Garry Squires said any move to revive the forestry sector would be well received in the regions.

"The reality is you can't just start big harvesting operations right across Victoria in a hurry, but start off slowly with thinning operations," he said.

Victorian Forest Products Association chief executive Andrew White said the sector needed a commitment beyond the election to develop a long-term industry plan.

"Capital investment in manufacturing is not cheap. And in order for there to be a viable industry, whether it's soft wood or hardwood going forward, we need that long-term vision," he said.