Latest News

January 18, 2024

A tribute podcast and video by GECO forest crew to remember our dead forest defenders, read by Fiona York, Kim Shimlaki and Anita Davis, as part of the podcast series "GECO: 30 years fighting for forests"

January 11, 2024

In December 2023 we celebrated our 30th anniversary along with the end of native forest logging in Victoria! We reflected on the epic battles of the campaign, the people that passed along the way, and the people who stuck through it all thick and...

December 19, 2023

To celebrate our 30th anniversary, this new 6-part podcast series looks back on the wins, losses and lessons of a thirty year campaign to protect the forests of East Gippsland in Victoria. Produced by Fiona York and 3CR and available wherever you get your...

August 03, 2023

Holy shit. We get to turn 30 and celebrate the end of logging in Victoria at the same time... These moments are precious, and so we are throwing the party of the decade.      It will be pure punk revelry... RSVP here.  Want...

May 25, 2023

Huge news. The Premier announced today that native forest logging will cease in Victoria by Jan 1st 2024!  This is a win for the beautiful movement which has showed up for forests for decades! Every single person that came to blockades, lobbied your MP,...

May 12, 2023

On Saturday May 20th, the day Victoria's anti-protest laws come into effect, a mass survey action has been planned to protect forests, and the right to protest. Sign up to get involved here and someone will be in touch shortly with more information.   ...

March 21, 2023

GECO's mass meeting event on Tuesday March 7th, 2023 was designed to build confidence within the environment movement to continue to organise for forests, despite increasing repression. It also proposed a common platform with First Nations struggles and the union movement in how we...

February 01, 2023

The new GECO research and submission group will work within GECO to help us develop strategy, write kick ass government submissions, and bring more stories to the spotlight with journalists this year.  Want to be a part of this initiative?  Go here to sign...

December 07, 2022

Remember the Defend Errinundra campaign in 2021, which saw over 15 arrests and stopped logging for 5 months? Well, nearly 9000 ha (or over 4000 MCG’s worth!) of this critical climate refuge has now been put into Special Protection Zones, preventing logging. This is...

November 14, 2022

As a result of pressure from environment groups, including GECO’s campaign to save Kuark, in early November 2019 Daniel Andrews made the completely false post election declaration that 100% of old growth forest would be protected. It accounted to 90,000 ha at the time. ...

October 18, 2022

An interesting predicament for anyone who knows the history of logging in East Gippsland. How could the council have unanimously endorsed a forestry position paper (p133) that both the Nationals and environment groups are both on board with? As it turns out, it's what...

October 07, 2022

Immediately after the 2019 - 2020 Black Summer bushfires, the state government rolled over the disastrous Regional Forest Agreements (which commit and define the practice of native forest logging). As part of this roll over the RFAs were required to assess and implement measures...

July 15, 2022

In devastating, but unsurprising news, the iconic Southern Greater Glider was listed as endangered under federal environment laws last week. Native forest logging, climate change, and bushfires were all named as serious threats to the glider which led to the listing. The Greater Glider...

June 08, 2022

On May 24th 2022 Mary-Anne Thomas - Victorian state ALP Minister for Agriculture and Regional Development and Ingrid Stitt - ALP Minister for Workplace Safety, introduced the Sustainable Forests Timber Amendment (Timber Harvesting Safety Zones) Bill 2022 aimed at further criminalising forest protests at logging...

May 18, 2022

While native forest logging is primarily the responsibility of state governments, there is still federal overlap and responsibility. We've produced this scorecard on what the positions are of major parties for forests.