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 …

Continue reading

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 …

Continue reading

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 …

Continue reading

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 …

Continue reading

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 …

Continue reading

Lancefield bushfire: Controlled burn that destroyed homes ‘poorly planned, under-staffed’

A planned burn-off that broke containment lines and went on to destroy homes near Lancefield in central Victoria was under-staffed and poorly planned, an independent report has found. The investigation into last month’s fire found “significant shortcomings” in the way Victoria’s environment department carries out planned burn-offs and communicates with the community. Department of Environment, …

Continue reading

Leadbeater’s possum national park plans dealt a blow

A plan for a new national park to protect the endangered Leadbeater’s possum has been dealt a blow with revelations VicForests locked in millions of dollars worth of new logging contracts. State Labor ducked a proposal to create a Great Forest national park stretching from Kinglake to Mt Baw Baw and north-east up to Eildon in the recent …

Continue reading