The 5% burn target has again been questioned by Neil Comrie himself “the 390,000 ha target may not be achievable, affordable or sustainable.” (from the latest BRCIM’s 2014 annual report). The Bushfire Royal Commission’s Implementation Monitor’s 2012 Final Report advocated that the State reconsider the planned burning rolling target of five per cent and replace …
VicForests needs to ”significantly” improve its care of the state’s forests if it wants international accreditation of its timber products, according to an unflattering audit. VicForests, a Victorian government-owned business, is seeking certification from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), based in Germany, to demonstrate that its harvesting of the state’s timber is sustainable, ethical, and …
The appointment of a Threatened Species Commissioner should represent a move forward. However, it may be merely a distraction from the environmental crisis unfolding. GREG HUNT, the Federal Minister for the Environment, today announced what appears to be one of the only environmental promises kept from the Coalition’s election campaign in 2013: to appoint a …
A lethal bait called “curiosity”, designed to kill feral cats, will be a priorityof a new national commissioner to save threatened species. On Wednesday Environment Minister Greg Hunt announced the new commissioner would be Gregory Andrews – a former diplomat who currently works for the federal Environment Department – as part of a CSIRO-backed review …
The Abbott government has given $15 million to AID THE BURNING OF FORESTS. Tasmanian Liberal Senator Richard Colbeck (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture) has set up a ‘National Bushfire Mitigation Program’ supposedly for more deliberate burning of the forest understorey and midstorey. It will kill off huge areas of ground level wildlife and …
Serious deficiencies have been found in the Department of Environment’s monitoring of major projects, according to a report from the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO). The ANAO audited the department’s compliance with the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, finding there was “limited awareness” of the progress of many developments. “The increasing workload on compliance …
Deadly 1080 poison was broadcast across forested land in Gippsland and NE Victoria during May in an attempt to placate certain sheep farmers. How’s this for contradictory spin. “The sites were chosen for their inaccessibility and remoteness, proximity to private land … and the absence of spot tailed quolls”. Close to farms but inaccessible? Absence …
The Abbott government’s plan to trust environmental protection to the states will put our country’s natural landmarks in danger. I am a big believer in states’ rights, but you’ve got to know where to stop. If there’s one thing the Abbott government’s Commission of Audit got right it’s that our system of eight separate states …
FIFTEEN years ago the Howard government introduced sweeping changes to national environmental laws, with the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. Its objective was, and still is, to provide for the protection of the environment and promote the conservation of biodiversity. The act was built around an intergovernmental agreement allocating different responsibilities to the states …
Eight environment groups are turning to an international umpire to help combat the Abbott Government’s plan to dismantle environmental protection laws. The international Convention of Biological Diversity has been given a report detailing the Abbott government’s plans to hand down environment protection powers to the states and why this will worsen environmental losses. The next …
