Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens
Under a Greens’ plan, the NSW Government will be able to access $140.4 million of Commonwealth funding per year, for 20 years, contingent on an end to all native forest logging in the state. Source: Timberbiz
They say the funding will go directly towards ecological restoration and ensuring a just transition for communities and workers. The Greens say they will pay for this plan by making the big corporations pay more tax.
The Greens will advocate for this funding to contribute to establishing the Great Southern National Park, which they say will ensure the protection and enjoyment of our forests by all for generations to come.
Under this proposal, there is the potential for more 400,000 hectares of state forest to be added to the reserve system once native forest logging ends.
They say funding could go towards rehabilitating and restoring forests, creating sustainable communities and jobs, working with Traditional Owners, supporting sustainable plantations, and increasing disaster resilience and management capability, including remote area firefighting
Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Nick McKim, Greens spokesperson for Forests, and Sue Higginson MLC, NSW Greens spokesperson for the Environment, were in Batemans Bay to announce the Australian Greens’ plan to end native forest logging in NSW and create the Great Southern Forest National Park.
“Ending native forest logging once and for all and restoring them is necessary for our environment, climate and community. Logging native forests is not just unsustainable, it’s untenable,” Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens said.
“The NSW South Coast forests and communities have been through devastating bushfires and logging continues to destroy the habitat of endangered species like the greater glider. Creating the Great Southern Forest National Park will ensure the protection and restoration of our precious forests and the wildlife within for generations to come. If we don’t step up for nature now – the ancient living breathing forests will become graveyards.
“By not ending native forest logging the Federal and NSW Labor governments have failed our environment, climate and communities, all to serve corporate interests over people and the planet.
“Our magnificent forests should be a sanctuary for wildlife like the Greater Gliders, not a sacrifice to industry. Yet, Federal and State Governments have sanctioned native forest logging and stood by and watched the trees fall.
“It is time for the government to stop siding with industry and start protecting our forests, climate, water, and our future.”
Senator Nick McKim, Australian Greens Spokesperson for Forests said that ending native forest logging is a huge opportunity for the people of NSW, particularly regional communities.
“We can protect nature, take climate action, and create thousands of new, well paid, skilled jobs in firefighting, rewinding and environmental restoration and management,” he said.
Sue Higginson MLC, NSW Greens Spokesperson for the Environment said that it was past time that native forest logging ended in NSW. It is driving the extinction and climate crises, and our precious forests need to be protected and regenerated.
“Stitching together the unfinished Great Southern Forests is just part of the fantastic project that is protecting and regenerating all native forests in NSW – and the Greens are putting our plan to fund it on the table,” she said.
“If the NSW Minns Labor Government wants to recover any of their credibility on the environment and forests, then they should grab this opportunity with both hands.”
