VicForests facing legal action again

The state government owned logging company VicForests, is in the legal crosshairs of environmentalists yet again.  Lawyers acting on behalf of Environment East Gippsland have this week formally requested an explanation as to why a rich habitat site suited for rare forest-dependant wildlife was not surveyed before logging commenced last week. “We believe this is …

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VicForests stops logging after legal action

MEDIA RELEASE Just one day after lawyers presented a ‘please explain’ letter to the CEO of VicForests, logging has been stopped and machinery will be pulled out of a high habitat value stand of forest where tree felling had commenced, north east of Orbost.  “We believe the logging that took place was unlawful but appreciate …

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VicForests stops logging 24 hours after EEG legal action!

Just one day after our lawyers presented a ‘please explain’ letter to the CEO of VicForests (see our media release), logging has been stopped and machinery will be pulled out of a high habitat value stand of forest where tree felling had commenced, north east of Orbost. We believe the logging was unlawful – VicForests …

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Forest Industry Taskforce gets under way

The VNPA’s Matt Ruchel reports on the State Government’s plan to reach community consensus on forest management. A week before the Andrews Government celebrated its first year in office, the Premier released the Terms of Reference for the long-awaited Forest Industry Taskforce.These Terms are the starter’s gun for discussions to begin on the future of …

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Andrews Government slow out of the blocks on environment in year one, more urgent action needed

A report into the environmental performance of the Andrews Government in their first year in office finds modest but slow progress in implementing election promises and developing a leadership agenda on the environment. The report, entitled ‘Envirowatch: One Year In’ was prepared by Environment Victoria and tracks the delivery of the Andrew Government’s environmental election promises. The …

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50 year forest war – negotiation starts

Will the 50 year forest war in Victoria be coming to an end? Will we all be able to reach consensus on a win-win solution? The Andrews government has set up a taskforce between industry and environment reps to get down to the job of sorting the conflict out once and for all. It could …

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We quibble over ‘lawfare’, but the law is not protecting species properly anyway

The federal government is set to go ahead with its crackdown on environmental “lawfare”, which would restrict green groups’ legal standing to challenge mining approvals and other developments. The Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications yesterday endorsed the proposed changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, citing the “costs to proponents and …

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