NORTH COAST MEETINGS ON CHANGES TO LOGGING REGULATIONS IN NSW STATE FORESTS

The latest in a series of meetings will be held in Grafton on Saturday June 30 to present the facts about what proposed changes to logging rules in North Coast state forests will mean for wildlife and biodiversity.

Conservation groups are holding these meetings following the State Government's failure to respond to public concerns beyond a bunch of 'motherhood' statements dispensed by local politicians, and the refusal by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to visit north coast forests to see first hand the irreparable damage that has resulted from 20 years of unbridled pillage.

The Regional Forests Agreements end in a few years, and because state forests across the region have suffered from serious over-logging to meet unrealistic wood supply contracts, the State Government is trying to push through radical changes to find more timber.

They claim these changes will not result in net changes to wood supply, or to erosion of environmental values. Their explanation that this would be achievable through their buy-back of some supply contracts, cannot be believed, because the real reason those contracts were bought out was because there was no timber to fill them. Essentially NSW taxpayers forked out hundreds of millions of dollars to buy out contracts for timber that never existed.

However, to achieve their stated aim of no net change to timber supply, the government now intends to allow the logging of previously protected old-growth forest, by re-evaluating their old-growth status. So much for no erosion of environmental values.

Buffer zones on headwater streams have also been reduced from 10 metres to 5 metres, while removing most species-specific protections for threatened species, including the need to look for Koalas. This will allow more trees to be logged.

Possibly the worst plan is to increase logging intensity throughout public forests, identifying over 50 State Forests on the north coast where clear felling and/or double intensity logging will occur. Continued logging of forests affected by dieback is also planned, a problem that resulted from over logging in the first instance.

The Grafton meeting will be held upstairs in the Grafton Services Club at 5 pm on Saturday June 30.

            -John Edwards

PUBLIC CONSULTATION BY ENVIRONMENT GROUPS ON WEAKENED LOGGING RULES

Conservationists in NSW have been appalled at the NSW Government's new plans for logging  state forests.  The lack of proper and meaningful consultation has further angered those concerned about the decimation these new plans will bring to public forests - forests which belong to the people of the state - not to the logging industry.

MEDIA RELEASE

North Coast Environment Council

The North Coast Environment Council has accused the NSW Government of trying to
keep the public in the dark and attract as little attention as possible for its proposals for
public forests to increase logging intensity, zone 140,000 hectares for clearfelling, remove
the need to look for and protect most threatened species before logging, reduce stream
buffers and open oldgrowth forest up for logging.

“The Government is trying to hide their intent by holding NO public consultations. So
the NCEC, North East Forest Alliance and local conservation groups are collaborating in
organising public meetings across the region to explain what is proposed to interested
community members.

“The first meeting will be on Wednesday May 30, in Port Macquarie at 6.30pm at the
CWA Rooms at 11 Horton St.,” said Susie Russell, NCEC Vice-President.

“In the weeks that follow, there will be meetings in Bellingen, Coffs Harbour, Lismore,
Kyogle, Byron Bay, Murwillumbah and Nimbin.

“While the Government has documents open for comment, we know the destructive
outcomes are already pre-determined. Conservationists were explicitly barred from being
able to provide information or comment to the Natural Resources Commission during the
drafting phase. And now, unlike the fanfare about the koala strategy a few weeks ago,
there is minimum publicity being sought by Government Ministers about the weakening
of the logging rules.

“If the proposed rules are implemented, every population centre on the north coast will
see its water yields drop as intensive land clearfell logging dries out the catchments.
There will be increased erosion and sedimentation of streams from decreased stream
buffers. The extinction cliff for many of our native animals and plants will be reached
faster as there will no longer be a requirement to look for them prior to logging. The
carbon storage capacity of our forest estate will be greatly diminished as logging intensity
increases and the dense, young regrowth is more flammable than the mature forests it
replaces.

“All this at a time when climate change is accelerating and the planet's temperature is
rising. We need now to be protecting our future by maximising the shade, natural water
and carbon storage, while connecting habitats to enable animals to move to more suitable
areas,” she said.

“As well, our earlier predictions that areas of forest that have been off-limits to logging
for the last 20 years will now be logged was correct. Areas of oldgrowth, stream
protection buffers, high quality koala habitat are to be sacrificed to meet wood contracts.
The logging industry is now engaged in a last gasp hunt for the few remaining bigger trees.
Most of the smaller logs it has to clear to get to them, are the new export woodchipping
industry. But this time they are for fuel in wood-fired power stations, rather than pulp for
paper.

“When it comes to forestry in NSW and across Australia, we are going backwards. We
are seeing more intensive logging for lesser value products. This is the modern equivalent
of whaling. Only a social movement will stop them. Government is well and truly in their
pocket,” Ms Russell said.