Now that the Eden woodchip mill is closer to going under, the NSW government is looking to the Gillard government to rescue it. Yep – the O’Farrell conservative government that sacked 300 Department of Primary Industry staff last week and hundreds of Education Dept staff (with more TAFE positions to go) is saying it will …
Although the dingo has only been in Australia for less than 5000 years it has become a keystone predator. There is debate as to whether it is native. Since the other large marsupial predators have become extinct it is a type of honorary native species and some say they have a place protecting mammal biodiversity …
Healesville based environment group, MyEnvironment has identified a legal clash between the EPBC Act and the RFA Act. They believe our protected state faunal emblem, the Leadbeaters Possum, is having its habitat cleared against the state/federal agreement (RFA). They are using evidence that was raised during their court case to ask Tony Burke’s environment department …
The timber industry is touting a new study by Forestry Tasmania as a “landmark study” that they are using to argue that logging does not have a detrimental effect on biodiversity. The study was conducted in Tasmania’s Southern Forests Experimental Forest Landscape (SFEFL), a 112,000 Ha area west of Geeveston. Although the report has been …
Negotiations responding to the crisis in the native forest logging industry today collapsed due to the unwillingness of Forest Industry Association of Tasmania and the old growth sawmilling sector to move itself onto a sustainable footing and no longer log World Heritage-verified forests. Changes in the market place over the last five years have demonstrated …
More good news! The Tassie forest negotiations have today collapsed! Why is this GOOD news? Because it had become so watered down from the original agreed points, it was looking like another industry free-for-all in old growth and HCV forests with millions $ offered to them as well. The Feds wanted to use this as …
“Nippon Paper Industries expected to decide the ongoing viability of the mill by the end of the year.”This could be the end of logging in the entire SE of Australia! Without woodchips, it wouldn’t be viable. It’s the woodchipping sales that VicForests relies on. By golly they must be in a cold sweat. Eden woodchip …
The financial situation of the SE NSW and E Gippsland woodchipping industry has recently seen some interesting changes: 1. Jobs cut by 30% at the Eden chipmill, coming on top of an earlier round of redundancies this year. A drop from 72 down to 46 jobs.2. Reduced number of woodchip ships taking loads out from …
In 1978-79 the Fisheries and Wildlife Division of Arthur Rylah Institute carried out a study into heavy metals in the biota and sediment of the Gippsland Lakes. The research was published in 1980. They found that the concentrations of mercury in the sediment of the lakes had increased to the point where lakes King and …
“The number of threatened species has nearly tripled in the last twenty years” Our national environment laws have never been particularly strong. While the Business Council of Australia has protested that these laws are too onerous, the big picture tells a far different story. The five-yearly State of the Environment Report clearly shows that we …
