Mathoura neighbours Tyson Scully and Bob Vasiljevic say the shutdown is unfair and shows how little city decision‑makers understand life in regional NSW.
Mr Vasiljevic, a pensioner living with a disability, said he relied on firewood to heat his home and could not afford alternatives.
“I rely on that firewood. I think it’s cruel (to revoke our access); cruelty of the highest manner.
“They don’t even know where Mathoura is, yet they dictate how we live.
“All it cost me was fuel, for the chainsaw and the car, but now who knows what I may have to do.”
Mr Vasiljevic said the government’s reasoning on protecting wildlife habitat and reduced supply was “rubbish”, and proposed that the lack of firewood collection could cause a greater disaster for wildlife.
“There’s that much fallen and rotting wood, habitats won’t be affected,” he said.
“Firewood collecting actually mitigates the risk of fire.
“It’s the largest red gum forest in Australia. A fire would be devastating, and there’s no way it could be brought under control.”
Mr Vasiljevic said the decision ignored the realities of heating in small towns.
“There’s no gas line, not in Mathoura or Deni. It’s either electric or wood, temperatures hit minus six, minus two, minus five - I need to wake up to put firewood into my heater in the night.
“They are discriminating against people like Tyson and myself. I would ask them (policymakers) to come down and see the forest themselves.”
Mr Scully said agreed that the decision demonstrated how far removed city decision‑makers were from regional realities.
“They can’t even pronounce our town names properly; they’ve got no idea what it’s like to live out here,” Mr Scully said.
“It’s an absolute absurdity.”
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