This is another example of Australia shooting itself in the foot. Despite Australia having a great endowment of native hardwood timbers, noisy Australian activists prefer to leave our forests for the bushfires rather than to harvest them sustainably.

Barmy Bunnings got a serve over the same subject here two days ago. It is said that there is no such thing as bad publicity, and there are plenty of people who will think Bunnings is doing the right thing.

If you don't like Bunnings' silly virtue signalling, show you own 'zero tolerance' of such nonsense and take your business elsewhere.

The average customer doesn't care what Bunnings does or says as long as they can buy what they want at a reasonable price from them. Corporate dabbling in politics as pathetic, but who cares - honestly?

Here is another good reason NOT to waste your time and money with Bunnings.

Mitre 10. ... Mitre 10 is an Australian retail and trade hardware store chain. Operations are based on a cooperative system, where the store owners are members of the national group and each has voting rights.

Mitre 10, although generally smaller, will supply legitimate hardware items.
Mitre 10 are a franchise network owned and operated by a local; that's called "skin in the game".

Tell them what you want, they will source it for you at a good price.

Take your money there!

Dan.

ttbn
I don't doubt that you are right that most people probably don't care much about corporate 'virtue signaling', especially if they are not personally adversely affected by it.

For those that are upset by it, voting with their feet by going elsewhere is not always an option. Bunnings have so successfully ousted their competitors that it is often hard to go elsewhere, especially in regional or rural areas where most of those who are reliant on the local timber industry reside.

So .... given that so few of the community cares, should we just shrug our shoulders and say nothing? Perhaps, ... but then if there is no backlash, Bunnings' next unthinking foray into societal do-gooding might well target someone else's local industry. In my view its better to at least make them realise that their actions can have real consequences for segments of our society.

It is a pity that there have been two articles on this topic in recent days. I wasn't aware that another article had already been submitted when I submitted this one.

That said, one of the reasons for getting articles published on OLO is so that they come up in Google searches for anyone interested in finding out more about an issue. In this case, anyone who wants to know more about Bunnings Victorian timbers ban, will get access to both the superficial supportive views of environmental activists, as well as at least the two more informed views of David Hutchens and myself explaining the background and consequences of the Bunnings ban. At least this can inform a more balanced understanding of what has happened.

I hate Bunnings. But they've got what you want. Still hate them though.

It's the insidiousness of it all. Hidden in plain sight aggression.

Total marketplace domination. Kill the local family hardware and kill it's supply line too.

So soulless even the employees and customers feel the poorly masked aggression.
When you walk in the door and hear a forced cheery voice from the side saying "Hi how are you today", there it is.
That poor staff member's been forced on threat of dismissal to say that. In turn you're forced on fear of appearing impolite to acknowledge in kind.
Just so you know we know you're here, so don't steal stuff.

Friends of the earth.
Really..

The wife loves Bunnings. Dammit.

Dan. Hear, hear and well said. That said, I believe Bunnings is playing to the younger generation and their pester power.

I believe a lot of this stuff starts in our classrooms with activist teachers moulding young minds with an errant (lock it and leave it) idiotic ideological imperative.

Selectively harvested forests are less likely to burn as we saw in last summer's firestorms. that took out a BILLION or so naive species! Some on the endangered list!

Among the firestorm dead were some 44 who died of the effects of smoke inhalation. From a smoke haze seen in America!

Indigenous peoples have been selectively harvesting their forests for millennia, without harm to flora or fauna. Just the opposite!

Trees store caron whether horizontal or vertical! But cease to do so when burnt or decayed! Soil carbon can be released with the plough!

Bunnings can please themselves on their commercial decisions, which may well backfire, given the cohort that shops with them? It'll be a long time before my shadow crosses any Bunnings storefront threshold
Alan B.