Just days before the DSE attended a workshop on public safety, they approved VicForests lock and gate two major fire access roads – favoring the logging industry over and above public safety. There was no notification to the CFA brigade. These roads provide major access to the west for the local community – the most …
Trees can live hundreds, even thousands of years. But the problem is that these trees aren’t making it to old age and according to a new study, big, old trees are in decline throughout the world which can have detrimental impacts to forest ecosystems. Old trees are crucial organisms for many ecosystems: they provide homes …
Just two years ago, the hard-won River Red Gum Parks along the Murray River were declared. Now they’ve just been handed to loggers. As Gillard is poised to hand the states almost total control over Australia’s environmental gems, the Baillieu Government along with the NSW government, declares they will re-introduce logging into the Barmah and …
OK – it goes like this – VicForests haven’t made a cracker since they started operations in 2004. In 2008 they put $127 million through their books and the expenses were $132 million = $5M loss. But they were given a $5.7M handout to cut down ash forests in the fire areas (not all this …
In November 2012 – VicForests avoided being taken to the Supreme Court a third time by environment groups in an out of court settlement. This follows the case against VicForests planned logging of protected rainforest coming to an agreed end in the Supreme Court today. VicForests agreed to protect 9 areas in nationally significant rainforest …
For those who vote in the East Gippy Council elections; EEG and our sister group GEG sent 10 environment questions to the 17 wanna-be Councillors.Only two had the courtesy of replying before the deadline; Bill Gamble and Peter Giddings, with fairly good answers. Then Peter Gardiner replied late. The others obviously don’t give a stuff. …
The Auditor General is scathing in his latest report into the compliance responsibilities of DSE and the Dept Primary Industries (now responsible for logging and VicForests). But given they shamelessly break State and Federal laws and regulations themselves, how can they be expected to monitor and enforce compliance of others? These two departments have the …
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 …
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 …
