The four wildlife species that EEG has used to test the governments adherence to the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act are detailed below. The FFGA states that when a species is listed as threatened, it must have a protection plan, called an Action Statement, written up “as soon as possible”. The legal challenge looks at …
Once again, government pyromaniacs destroyed extremely valuable ecosystems and a wildlife corridor in the Kirth Kiln Regional Park near Hoddles Creek (March 2013). This was two days before a total fire ban when rainfall for the prior 6 months had been the lowest ever recorded. The fire managers called it an ‘ecological burn’, but had …
There is significant risk in establishing native forest-based bioenergy projects to substitute for Australia’s ailing woodchip export trade, including adverse climate impacts, according to a new report by environment group Markets For Change. The report, released to coincide with an industry conference in Melbourne called ‘Residues to Revenues’, questions the push to use forest wood …
Another small community group, Healesville Environment Watch commissioned an economic assessment of VicForests economic performance, since its beginnings in 2004-5. VicForests has racked up a loss of $22 million since it was formed – that means it costs us $1.50 for every cubic metre of wood it has logged. VicForests self-righteously argues a net profit …
The bushfires of 2012-13 in Victoria covered around 130,000 ha. The government has just proudly announced they have now burnt 250,000 ha of forest this Autumn (May 2013)! As well they have pumped about 18.3 million tonnes of C02 into the atmosphere. So what does this mean?Besides this being one massive unscientific experiment based on …
The woodchip piles are just about at capacity at Eden. If the chipmill doesn’t sell some woodchips soon they will have to stop chipping (and hopefully logging!)
How’s this little gem from the state budget – “The Government will provide $7 million over two years to remove trees destroyed by previous bushfires and help improve the safety for people who access public land. This program will focus on the Alpine and Mountain Ash forest areas in eastern Victoria.” This has never …
Another creatively written Annual Report for VicForests (2012-13) was presented to parliament in mid-October and it verges more towards fantasy than a serious commercial look at their performance. Steve Meacher from Healesville Environment Watch has done an analysis of the report and also compared it with their stated Corporate Plan in 2011, with the actual …
VicForests has racked up a loss of $22 million since it was formed – that means it costs us $1.50 for every cubic metre of wood it has logged. VicForests righteously claims a net profit of $11.6 million over eight years. But it has also received gifts of $24.75 million – a net cost to …
The same weeks as Kevin Rudd was returned as PM, Victoria’s Napthine government passed two anti-environment bills through parliament. The amendment to the logging Act (SFTA) gives a free-for-all to the logging mafia; everything it wants for as long as it wants with bugger-all scrutiny. All underwritten by us taxpayers for hundreds of millions if …
