A period of relative peace in Tasmania’s long-running forestry debate is ending, with ABC News reporting the potential for a return to the ‘Forest Wars’. The conflict is being reignited by major changes to federal environmental laws that will bring Tasmanian logging under national oversight for the first time in decades.

According to joint statements from the Albanese and Rockliff governments, a long-standing exemption for forestry under the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act) will end on 30 June 2027. From that date, forestry operations will be required to meet new national environmental standards, similar to all other industries.

In response, both governments have formally begun negotiations on a new bilateral agreement, as reported by multiple outlets in early June. Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt said the aim is to accredit Tasmania’s existing forest management system under the new national laws to ensure a “strong and environmentally sustainable future” for the sector. The Tasmanian Government, through Resources Minister Felix Ellis, has stated it wants its system recognised to provide certainty for the industry and avoid “unnecessary duplication”.

To support the transition, the federal government announced up to $8.5 million in funding is available to Tasmania.

However, the move has drawn criticism from environmental groups. The Wilderness Society described the plan to accredit the state’s system before the new national standards are finalised as a “greenwash” of ongoing native forest destruction. The Bob Brown Foundation, which conducted logging protests in the Central Highlands earlier in the year, continues to call for an end to native forest logging entirely.

The industry also faces uncertainty. Federal Minister Murray Watt told ABC Radio Hobart that the new standards are not designed to shut down the sector but to close a long-standing gap in environmental oversight. He noted that concerns from sawmillers about future timber supply pre-date these federal law changes.

The debate comes after the state government in March 2024 flagged making up to 40,000 hectares of native forest, known as Future Potential Production Forest, available for logging, a move which at the time prompted warnings of renewed protest action.

The full discussion on the reigniting debate was detailed in the ABC News podcast ‘TassieCast’.