Native forest logging will soon become illegal in the Australian state of Victoria after a string of legal actions from environmental groups hamstrung logging activity. 
The move, which comes amid a shortage in timber supply, has been warned by the sector to lead to more illegal logging, resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs and putting a strain on the country’s wood supply.  
In the state budget announced on May 23, the centre-left Andrews government announced a $200 million (US$132 million) package for timber workers to transition away from logging in native forests for wood pulp. This brings the total funding for the transition to over $875 million….