Victoria has the worst land clearing record in the country. In 1869 we had 88% of the state covered in forests. In 1972 it had shrunk to just 36% of the state. That’s about 60% of the forest cover being wiped off the land in about 100 years. In the 34 years since 1972, more …
(not to be confused with the ‘whoops’ factor) If only I had the negotiating skills of VicForests when I was growing up, I would never have had to eat my vegetables. I could have argued that Mum said, “You should eat your vegetables”, rather than “You must eat your vegetables”. This is the reasoning used …
First we had the Bracks government, via the DSE/VicForests, doing a trial to see if they can log old growth more slowly (the Old Growth Project), then in late February, the Minister for forests, John Thwaites, announced a new six month consultation process with the logging industry in East Gippsland to work out how many …
The TV show, Australian Story, exposed popular ALP minister, Julia Gillard, as a staunch supporter of logging (6.3.06). She went in batting for Forestry Union boss and woodchip promoter, Michael O’Connor. She talked about how much the ALP’s forest policy for Tasmania lost Labor crucial votes at the last election. However internal analysis showed the …
The Tambo or Gippsland forests, north of Bairnsdale, first suffered a 700% increase in woodchipping after its RFA was signed in 2000. On top of that, they were burnt in the 2003 fires and have been “salvage” logged at eight times the legally sustainable yield level since then. Salvaged to death Since they lie in …
One of the main reasons for blockading logging is to generate media and alert the public to what is happening in their own forests. The ’05-06 summer was a great success with plenty of blockades and good media coverage. We hear the protests have even been noticed in Spring Street. All up 12 protests were …
A quick click on the Environment Protection Authority’s website, and one is presented with an echidna claiming litterers are “going to get stung”, because littering damages the environment. Click a little further and you find another report about damage to the environment. The report is an audit by the EPA entitled Timber Production on Public …
STATE agencies guilty of logging breaches that felled protected trees and threatened endangered species have escaped punishment despite the environmental watchdog finding systemic problems in at least one forest district. A special Environment Protection Authority audit found three breaches by VicForests near Cann River in East Gippsland, home to threatened species including the long-footed potoroo. …
There could be even darker hidey-holes for political donations if John Howard’s gang gets its proposed electoral changes through. It will allow anonymous donations of up to $10,000. This means that each state, territory and federal branch of a political party could receive $10,000 each, totalling $90,000 all up – and all in total secrecy. …
A new US study of fire damaged forests in Oregon shows that allowing trees to naturally regenerate works as well or better than logging and replanting. Salvage logging actually reduced regeneration by 71%. The study also showed that undisturbed forest areas may be at lower fire risk, as logging adds to the material that would …
