Firewood theft from Victoria’s forests and parks has spiked, with nearly 10,000 trees illegally cut down for firewood.
In 2023 alone, firewood thieves damaged or destroyed more than 9200 native trees, with much of the stolen wood sold on to unsuspecting Victorians by illegal firewood operators.
Many of the trees targeted by thieves are large, old, slow-growing species that are unlikely to recover or regrow in this generation or the next, and this targeting directly risks the survival of threatened native species, including the red-tailed black cockatoo and the brush-tailed phascogale.
Victoria is rich in First Nations cultural heritage, and only a small percentage of historical sites have been recorded. Firewood theft has serious potential to damage Indigenous scarred trees, and once gone, these important cultural representations and reminders of Tradiotional Owners’ land use practices are lost for ever.
The conservation regulator and Parks Victoria have launched Taskforce Ironbark, a joint statewide initiative targeting illegal commercial firewood removal from public land and empowering Victorian firewood consumers to make choices that help protect forests and native wildlife.
Parks Victoria senior manager of enforcement Mark Breguet emphasised the importance of the taskforce.
“Taskforce Ironbark is targeting these illegal activities and raising awareness among Victorians about the importance of sourcing firewood responsibly,” he said.
“By making informed choices, we can all help protect our parks and the vital habitats they provide.”
When Victorians unintentionally buy illegally sourced firewood, often through online marketplaces, roadside stalls and word-of-mouth, they could also unknowingly be supporting the destruction of native forests and wildlife habitat.
Authorised officers are conducting targeted patrols across public land and using intelligence-gathering methods, such as concealed cameras and community reports, to catch commercial firewood thieves.
In Victoria, it is illegal to cut and take timber from public land without authorisation. Offenders face maximum penalties of more than $9879 and or 12 months in prison for each charge.
The community can help by reporting suspicious sellers or firewood theft from public land to 136 186.
For more information on how you can responsibly source firewood, go to www.vic.gov.au/sourcing-firewood
• Alice O’Brien is a Media Communication and Design student at Monash University, and is currently completing an internship with The News.