In
August 2018, at the request of the owner of a newly acquired bush property, the
Clarence Environment Centre investigated a Private Native Forestry (PNF)
operation that had been undertaken there immediately prior to the new owner
taking possession.
That
investigation uncovered horrific environmental damage, and blatant flouting of
the PNF Code of Practice, under which the logging was approved. Hundreds of
trees, many of them old-growth, were found to have been logged in breach of
almost every section of the Code.
The
Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) was called in and a team of
investigators descended on the property, spending 3 days documenting the
reported breaches. Shortly thereafter, the new landowner received an email from
the EPA stating: “We did
carry out further inspections of your property yesterday. We focused on
consolidating on (taking further waypoints, measurements, notes and
photographs) what we observed with you on 21.09.18 in area A. We also inspected
sites that you previously visited and earmarked as potential breaches of the
PNF Code. So far we have recorded a range of breaches,
many of which have been repeated across the landscape.
This
was good news, but as the months passed without further word, memories of past
disappointments over the EPA's failure to regulate the logging industry,
flooded back. The months dragged into years, and a week before the 2 year
statute of limitations was reached, the landowner received the bad news that
the EPA had closed the case, stating: “Although the EPA identified that
there were potential breaches of the PNF Code of Practice, it was not possible
to identify the responsible party to the requisite level of proof”.
What
a load of balloney! The property owners operated a sawmill on the property for
years, up until the land changed hands. How can it possibly be claimed that
because nobody actually witnessed the trees being cut down, that no one could
be held responsible?
Things
have to change but I'm not holding my breath, and I fear recent EPA stop work
orders over alleged illegal logging in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest will
likewise end in disappointment.
- John Edwards
This article was originally published in the VOICES FOR THE EARTH column in The Daily Examiner on August 17 , 2020.
This article was originally published in the VOICES FOR THE EARTH column in The Daily Examiner on August 17 , 2020.
