No Surprise for Timber Towns: Locking Up Forests Won’t Cut Demand

25 June 2026

Report No Surprise for Timber Towns: Locking Up Forests Won’t Cut Demand

Timber Towns Victoria (TTV) agrees with the Four Corners’ latest report, confirming what timber communities right across the state have been saying for years. Ending native forest harvesting in Victoria has not reduced the demand for native hardwood. It has simply moved the supply elsewhere and put it out of sight.

TTV President Cr Karen Stephens said the findings should not have surprised anyone. “Everybody has timber in their homes and wants it in their homes. What did people expect was going to happen?”

The bigger risk, Stephens said, is not where Australia sources its timber today, but where it will be forced to source it tomorrow. “We don’t want to see more imports where timber is often unverified and unsustainably sourced. We need to ensure future timber supply in Australia because at the end of the day demand for timber doesn’t change.”

That warning was echoed by Forestry Australia President Dr Michelle Freeman, who spoke to 3AW with Tom Elliott (listen here) earlier this week. “Stopping timber harvesting in one area doesn’t magically make demand for that timber go away,” Freeman said. “Australians want and need timber products, and they should. Timber is renewable and natural, it captures and stores carbon to help us combat climate change, and it’s beautiful.”

Freeman warned that the alternative is a growing reliance on imports that no one can vouch for. “Australia is a net importer of wood products from international forests. Our timber trade deficit is to the tune of $2 billion a year, and we know a significant proportion of that comes from what we call high-risk countries, those where the sustainability, environmental and social credentials are hard to verify. And that does include conflict timber from Russia coming into Australia via China.” The full interview is available via Forestry Australia.

“One of Timber Towns Victoria’s policy priorities for governments is that we are calling for ‘Policy Integration and Industry Clarity’ across state and federal governments. Unless we have a consistent state and federal policy, we are going to have these issues, and we are not going to have investment confidence in the industry moving forward.”

— Cr Karen Stephens, President, Timber Towns Victoria

The call reflects Priority 3 of TTV’s 2026 Government Brief, National Forest Policy Reform. The brief warns that policy across land use, climate, industry development, manufacturing and regional development remains fragmented. That fragmentation creates investment uncertainty, regulatory duplication, and a mismatch between fibre supply and processing capacity.

TTV is calling for Victoria’s state policy settings to be aligned with the Australian Government’s Timber Fibre Strategy. Alignment would give regional communities and the wood products sector the coordinated, long-term framework they need to plan and grow with confidence.

The Four Corners report should be a wake-up call, not an excuse to push the problem further offshore. Australians are not going to stop wanting timber. The only question is whether the country has the policy settings to supply it from forests we can stand behind.

About Timber Towns Victoria

Timber Towns Victoria (TTV) is the peak local government body representing councils across Victoria whose communities are sustained by the forest and timber industries. TTV advocates for policy settings that support sustainable forest management, regional employment and the long-term prosperity of the towns and families that depend on working forests.

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For more information, contact Timber Towns Victoria President, Glenelg Shire Mayor Cr Karen Stephens, 0488 900 645 or email secretary@timbertownsvictoria.com.au

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