Native logging ban officially enshrined in law though conservationists say there’s still more to be done

The ban on native logging has officially been enshrined in law though conservationists say there is still more to be done to address “the elephant in the room”. With the Conservation and Land Management Amendment Bill 2025 passing through Parliament this week the Government has put an end to large-scale commercial timber harvesting in native forests. Following a policy first announced by Labor in September 2021, native timber operations have shut down across the State, with the ban coming fully into place on January 1, 2024. This week Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn said it was a landmark moment for WA Labor and a major step forward for the protection of native forests. “We are proud to build on the legacy of the McGowan-Labor government’s 2021 decision to end commercial-scale timber harvesting,” he said. “This Bill locks in that progress, ensuring our South West native forests are protected from large-scale harvesting and managed for their long-term health in the face of climate change. “These are exceptional places, and they deserved to be protected for future generations to enjoy.” However, WA Forest alliance senior campaigner Jason Fowler said while he supported the end of logging and making it law, the Government still needed to address the “elephant in the room” as mining operations were exempt from the ban. “There’s no doubt about that this is a really fantastic win for Western Australia’s forests,” he said. “A logging ban is fantastic. But we’ve still got to deal with the elephant in the room, which is the mining companies that are doing enormous amounts of damage in the forest and South West.”