Protecting our forests and wildlife for generations to come. Stand under one of the tall Mountain Ash trees that cloak Victoria’s central highlands and look up. These giants are the tallest flowering trees in the world. Their hollows are home to critically endangered Leadbeater’s Possums and Greater Gilders. Part of the life-giving Great Dividing Range, these magnificent old-growth forests are the lungs of our land. They filter the air we breathe and purify the water we drink. They’re a pivotal link in a 3,600 kilometre-long lifeline that stretches the length of the Great Dividing Range. They’re a refuge for our threatened wildlife and a playground for our communities. But right now, logging companies are clear-felling these forests – knocking down ancient tree after ancient tree to make copy paper. Our environment laws are not strong enough to stop them. This can’t go on. We must protect these forests.
A new National Park
The Victorian government can start by creating the Great Forest National Park, which will connect and protect 355,000 hectares of tall mountain ash forests in the Central Highlands of Victoria. A new national park will help protect the critically endangered Leadbeater’s Possum. It will safeguard the purity of our water catchments, decrease the intensity of devastating bushfires and give everyone an incredible natural playground just an hour from the city. We love our unique forests and want to see them protected. That’s why we’ve taken a seat at the historic Forest Industry Taskforce alongside other environment, union and industry groups. Together, we are coming together to find a way forward for Victoria’s forests.