Urgent clarification is being sought following this week’s Federal Court decision, which found VicForests had not followed what appear to be conflicting Federal and State Government rules to protect endangered species. Industry bodies want the State and Federal governments to urgently resolve the uncertainty over the future of Regional Forest Agreements, and sustainable native timber harvesting in Australia, created by today’s Federal Court decision. Source: Timberbiz
In a judgment on Wednesday, the court agreed VicForests had breached provisions related to environmental conservation in the code of conduct, and that past and proposed logging would have a significant impact on the vulnerable greater glider and the critically endangered Leadbeater’s possum.
In her judgment, Justice Debra Mortimer found VicForests had breached the code of practice by not complying with the precautionary principle relating to conservation of the environment.
She found logging in 26 coupes had not complied with the central highlands RFA and that logging yet to be conducted in a further 41 coupes was not likely to be conducted in accordance with the RFA. One coupe was partially logged and counted in both categories.
The case is only the second in the 21-year history of Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to challenge the special exemption given to the forestry industry.
Its ramifications could extend beyond Victoria to logging operations in other states.
The court will give the parties an opportunity to agree on the appropriate orders the court should make, given the conclusions it has reached.
If there is no agreement, the parties will be able to file short submissions on appropriate orders. It will then determine what final orders should be made, including whether ongoing injunctions should be issued against VicForests to prevent any forestry operations in any of the coupes not yet logged.
In a prepared statement, VicForests acknowledged the decision of the Federal Court and
In a summary, Justice Mortimer said the court had accepted evidence that the greater glider, the Leadbeater’s possum, or both animals, were found in or around each of the 66 coupes.
In relation to the greater glider, the court found VicForests “has not engaged, and is not likely to engage, in a careful evaluation of management options to avoid wherever practical the very real threats of serious damage to the Greater Gilder which are posed by its forestry operations in the central highlands”.
It found that in planning and conducting logging and in deciding where it would log, VicForests had “insufficient regard” to high quality greater glider habitat, the presence of greater gliders in areas it planned to log, and to the additional pressures greater gliders were facing due to bushfires.
It said policies VicForests had developed that were meant to manage the greater glider were instead “defensive documents” that suggested “VicForests felt obliged to have a policy addressing further protection for the greater glider but was reluctant to implement it”.
The court found logging in the 66 coupes – both past and planned – was likely to have a significant impact on one or both species, and that management operations meant to reduce the impact “have not been effective to arrest the decline of the greater glider and the Leadbeater’s possum”.
“Not only do VicForests’ forestry operations damage or destroy existing habitat critical to the survival of the two species, they also prevent new areas of forest from developing into such habitat in the future,” the summary states.
A spokesman for the environment minister, Sussan Ley, said the department would “carefully consider the Federal Court’s 450-page judgment, noting that formal orders are yet to be made”.
He said the court had made key findings regarding the exemption national laws granted to forestry “which will require detailed consideration before the department can discuss possible implications”.
The peak organisation for forest scientists and land managers, the Institute of Foresters Australia and Australian Forest Growers (IFA/AFG) supports clarification of the Federal Court decision finding VicForests had not followed what appear to be conflicting Federal and State Government rules to protect endangered species.
IFA/AFG President, Bob Gordon said the organisation wholeheartedly supported the protection of all forest species, but the science used as a basis for the decision needed to be tested and the law needed to be clarified.
“Forest scientists who manage harvesting and regeneration operations do this job because they care passionately about the environment and sustainability. They work hard to minimise any impacts from harvesting through survey work, implementing additional protection measures and understanding the science,” Mr Gordon said.
“Our belief, supported by science, is that forests can be managed to provide multiple values which are not mutually exclusive. Conservation, carbon storage, fire management, traditional land management, recreation and harvesting can and need to co-exist.
“Forest scientists adopt a whole-of-landscape approach when managing forests, balancing these values to reach the optimum outcome. Unfortunately, our forest scientists who work in National Parks forest management are not resourced to carry out species surveys on an adequate basis – therefore it is difficult to get a landscape perspective. More funding is required to address this issue.
“In making their decision, the Court appears to have looked at the impacts within discrete coupes, rather than considering the broader landscape context.
“To understand the true impact of management actions, they must be re-looked at as part of a bigger-picture perspective which takes into account the entire landscape where they took place including the substantial conservation reserve system.
“There is extensive legislation that currently exists to how harvesting operations are undertaken in native forests, and this needs to be clarified.”
VicForests acknowledges the decision of the Federal Court and will carefully consider the implications on its harvesting program.
The decision of the Court includes matters that must be considered and assessed by Government, and VicForests is ready to assist these considerations as required.
We note that extensive areas for biodiversity protection have been set aside at the end of 2019 for protection, including 96,000ha set aside last November when the Government developed its Victorian Forestry plan. In addition, a new Greater Glider Action Statement is in place under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 and is being fully implemented by VicForests.
VicForests harvests 2500-3000 hectares each year, about 0.04%, of the entire public native forests in Victoria – nominally equivalent to 4 trees in the 10,000. About 94% of Victorian native forests are in protected areas that cannot be harvested or are unsuitable.
State and Federal Governments must resolve RFA uncertainty following Federal Court decision
The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) is calling on State and Federal Governments to urgently resolve the uncertainty over the future of Regional Forest Agreements, and sustainable native timber harvesting in Australia, created by today’s Federal Court decision.
AFPA CEO Mr Ross Hampton said the livelihoods of tens of thousands of workers in Tasmania, Victoria, NSW, and Western Australia is at stake if the questions about RFAs raised by the court decision are not urgently resolved.
“Regional Forest Agreements have been in place for more than 20 years and are required by law to be independently reviewed every five years, and all reviews conducted have found that they are meeting or exceeding all environmental objectives while providing a level of certainty to industry,” Mr Hampton said.
“Native timber harvesting in Australia is done sustainably, with the equivalent of just 4 trees in every 10,000 across Australia’s 132 million hectares of native forest, harvested annually, and then regenerated after harvest. It is a highly-regulated sector, complying with strict environmental protections, and today’s decision should not deter from that fact.”
Mr Hampton said the native timber industry is the cornerstone of many regional communities and cannot be allowed to ground to a halt because of today’s decision.
“The current economic crisis caused by COVID-19 means that every job in Australia is vital, especially in regional communities.”
“AFPA calls on the State and Federal Governments to urgently work through the implications of today’s decision to provide certainty to timber workers and their communities,” Mr Hampton said.
