May 27, 2023
At a morning tool meeting, Kevin de Hoedt's boss assured his sawmill team that they had work for the next six years.
Around lunch he broke the news that their industry would be gone in six months.
The Victorian government announced on May 23 that it would phase out the logging of native forests by next year, shocking the timber industry which had planned for the end of 2030.
Timber stocks in eastern Victoria have all but dried up after Supreme Court orders halted state logger VicForests over environmental concerns.
Hopes for a return to normal were high.
"There are no logs at the moment, but once this injunction is resolved, VicForests has promised some supply of logs," Mr de Hoedt, the kiln operator, said as he recounted the meeting.
"Three hours later or less, it was, 'Sorry guys,'" de Hoedt told AAP.
It was pretty devastating."
The 46-year-old father of two, who followed his love of fishing to eastern Victoria's Bairnsdale from Melbourne more than 20 years ago, said he was one of the lucky ones.
My wife has a steady job, but it's one income, two kids...we have a lot to consider.”
The Victorian Government supports severance pay and offers training for workers who want to retrain.
"Our support package will ensure workers receive one-to-one management to find work in land management and critical bushfire response, while others retrain in growing regional industries such as construction and renewable energy," a government spokesman said.
De Hoedt said retraining will be a challenge for those who have spent their entire working lives in factories.
"There are guys I work with who don't know how to use smart phones, they don't know anything about email, attaching files, how are they going to go on?"
About 75 kilometers to the east, in the small logging town of Orbost, a looming logging ban leaves 110 forest workers — about a fifth of the local workforce — in limbo.
But that's just the beginning, says forestry consultant Garry Squires.
"Any information that comes out is not related to the associated businesses," Squires told AAP.
“So the tire shop here, one of his biggest customers, is trucks with 22, 24 tires on each one…no doubt he's going to have to put another guy down.
"A local engineer who fixes machines full-time... will be almost out of a job."
Squires said forestry workers who retrain to become truck and forklift drivers will end up competing for fewer jobs with more experienced operators.
Orbost relies on logging, dairy and beef, and local committees have worked to develop other industries with a 2030 end date in mind.
"It takes time for a city to transition and develop its future capabilities and suddenly we don't have time," Squires told AAP.
“It threw the city into chaos.
On the outskirts of town stood a fleet of more than 20 lorries, wagons, harvesters and caravans for nearly a year of idle machinery contractor Rob Brunt.
"The Mack truck, I think we moved it over Christmas and it's been there ever since," Brunt told AAP.
Many specialized machines, each worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, will be completely redundant when the mining ban goes into effect next year.
"Obsolete. What are you doing with it?" asked Brunt.
The contractor, which previously operated two mining crews with roughly 17 machines and 35 workers, has only two excavators to make money.
Brunt shook his head and said he could hardly imagine his daily losses.
"You'll have to ask my accountant about that," Brunt said.
State Opposition Leader John Pesutto criticized the Labor government's sudden policy change at the Liberal Party's post-Budget lunch on May 26.
The $200 million (US$130 million) allocated by the state government for this is a pittance for what is needed," Pesutto said.
There are stranded assets across the industry that will have to be written off."
A government spokesman said workers in supply chain businesses would be offered training, employment and mental health support, while highly affected businesses would be eligible for support vouchers of up to $US25,000 ($16,000) and bridging grants of up to $120,000 USD ($78,500).
Forestry workers, their families and communities are our priority," the spokesman said.
We will also support our supply chain businesses to ensure they have access to specialist financial support, business planning and diversification services."
Brunt said while the advance payments were helpful, he was wary of the State Government's plans to transition the industry to forestry.
It's just rotation," Brunt said.
What machines are needed, how many suppliers and for how many months of the year?
No one can tell me."
Brunt said workers had watched their savings dwindle while debt and mortgages soared in recent months, and that was before budget plans came out with the May 23 announcement.
We all bounced back," Brunt told AAP.
Some marriages may have split because of the pressures that are going on.
The pressure this has put on this city is just enormous.
Brunt's son, who dragged tires and equipment a few meters away, will not take over the business his father has built over the past 30 years.
"My young man, there is no succession plan for him to take any of this ... he just can't do it," Brunt said.
he won't live here.
