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Relax restrictions to collect firewood to aide storm recovery in regional Victoria

Call from the locals to let them collect the fallen tree logs to keep the valuable resource going to waste, letting them collect the logs will also help clear out the roads for access.

By news@gippsland - 18th June 2021 - Back to News

The scars of savage storms that ripped through the state last week will be etched into our landscape for months to come. The clean-up will be long and communities are calling for common sense solutions to fast-track recovery efforts.

New regulations make firewood collection easier, individuals no longer need a permit to collect firewood for home use in designated places at specific times

Commitment to protect

The immediate toll has been disastrous. Two Victorian lives tragically lost. Flooding and catastrophic winds that wreaked utter devastation on dozens of family homes, farms and communities in the Latrobe Valley and Gippsland.

The work of our emergency services volunteers and staff responding to thousands of calls for help across the state undoubtedly saved lives and protected property. After two horror years of catastrophic bushfires, the COVID-19 pandemic and now severe storms, their commitment to supporting and protecting our regional communities when we need it most has not gone unnoticed.

Communities supporting each other

I toured the storm-hit region on Monday with local Nationals MPs Melina Bath and Danny O’Brien to hear first-hand from the worst hit communities as they come together to rebuild homes, fences and buildings and to restore road access to homes and towns.

But it will take months to recover, particularly in those communities still reeling from the 2019-20 January bushfires. Despite the hardship of the past 19 months, there was a clear sense of resilience and support as community members came together to help each other get back on their feet. And in these times of hardship, government also has a clear role to play in supporting Victorians through the recovery.

Support from the government

Financial assistance – as the Commonwealth Government has provided in the form of disaster relief payments – is one such support, but it’s also about driving practical, common sense solutions that can be implemented on the ground and tailored to each community’s unique needs.

Take opportunity on valuable resource

Hundreds of uprooted trees still block access to homes and in state forests, with locals calling for roadside firewood collection rules to be changed to allow local people to lead the clean-up, while also making use of a resource that will otherwise go to waste. Although permits can be obtained for council-managed roads, current rules prevent firewood collection along VicRoads managed roads.

Meanwhile, the autumn firewood collection season in designated parts of our state forests will close on June 30. It will take many more months to properly restore road access if we don’t take the opportunity to put common sense rules in place to support the clean-up, while also making sure a valuable resource doesn’t go to waste.

The Labor Government must listen to the calls of local people by temporarily changing the rules to allow these fallen logs to be collected for firewood. We must make sure local people have the tools to support each other, and their community, with recovery.

Pictures from DELWP Port Phillip Facebook page.

Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: news@gippsland.com