Eighteen months ago conservationists successfully fought off a proposal to log and burn the western NSW Pilliga and Goonoo forests to create charcoal for a silicone plant at Lithgow. It was another plan for a massive woodchip operation, only this time in the ironbark and box forests. The proponents have been quietly sniffing about for …
Like religion, power positions itself as the cure for the problem it has created. Power without ethics creates elites who determine “reality” and create structures such as governments, religion, science institutions etc. They rely on “experts” who deliberately make simple reason too complex for the “ordinary”. Leaders manipulate reality and reason to suit. It is …
REAL LIVE LOONEY TUNES Years ago, a Warner Bros Loony Tune TV cartoon featured the Acme Toothpick Factory. Whole logs were shoved into the jaws of a huge machine that ground the log down to a tiny toothpick, leaving a huge pile of waste. Back then, this was pretty funny. Now that NRE has adopted …
After a long battle, NRE has finally coughed up their last detailed audit report on compliance with the Code of Forest Practice (CFP – an environmental code that’s a bit of a joke in itself). I can see why they were reluctant to release this report, even though they were obliged to release all the …
NRE is currently trying to produce estimates of how much forest and log volumes are available that don’t leave everybody rolling around the floor with fits of laughter. The Statewide Forest Resource Inventory (SFRI) aims to replace the old system of estimates on “log volumes” (read “forests”). NRE has produced quite a little PR campaign …
Victoria’s logging industry has received yet another massive tax-payer funded gift – a $2.5 million grant to build new facilities at the Creswick Forest Science Centre. A new office, laboratory and lecture theatre will ultimately accommodate a further 25 scientists and amenities for up to 100 people. Creswick conducts research and development into logging and …
Gippsland’s biggest monthly welfare handouts were announced in May – and there’s no mutual obligation or eligibility tests. Another two and half million dollars goes to an already overfed few. 1) Neville Smith timber industries at Heyfield – They were the mob who pulled out of Swifts Creek a while ago (and caused a …
For several years, NRE has been making available to the public a summary of its audit of the Code of Forest Practices (environmental guidelines to adhere to while ripping down ancient forests). NRE must hope that people will be left with the feeling that our forests are in the best possible hands – and that …
Over 100 lawyers have joined a new group that aims to end woodchipping and the logging of old-growth forests in Victoria, and overhaul the entire management of the state’s forests. The group was launched by the Federal Court’s Justice Murray Wilcox in Melbourne in mid-May. The Lawyers For Forests group joins the Doctors, Liberals and …
An inquiry is slowly cranking up into how many trees really are out there, compared to how many the government have promised. Meanwhile, important areas of acknowledged conservation value are being clearfelled to meet the demands of the logging industry. Nationally significant. Dingo Creek could become the next icon area to fight for. NRE knows …
