The Perrottet government found native logging could be ended in New South Wales without costing the budget but opposition from the Nationals blocked the proposal. A plan to end the controversial and loss-making practice of timber extraction from native forests was prepared by the environment department by October 2022. It won backing from the Liberals, including the then environment minister, James Griffin, but did not make it to cabinet because it was opposed by the junior Coalition partners. The report found Treasury could cover the cost of compensating affected workers, companies and communities by finding markets for the avoided destruction of biodiversity and release of carbon emissions. Financial firms …would secure revenue streams from firms looking to offset their environmental impacts elsewhere, exceeding the compensatory costs. …Victoria’s move, announced in Tuesday’s 2023-24 budget, brought forward the end of the industry by six years and will cost an additional $200m in support payments.