Environment East Gippsland is suing the state government for a fourth time! We lodged the legal papers on Monday 22nd Sept 2014. The summer fires destroyed thousands of hectares of critically important habitat for East Gippsland’s threatened wildlife. This region is the stronghold for large forest owls yet DEPI refuses to urgently review the protection …
So why isn’t the Government accepting recommendation 5 of the Hazelwood Mine Fire Inquiry? Peter Ryan claims it’s just too difficult to get carbon monoxide monitoring equipment to a site within 24 hours. Yeah? How long does it take to drive a hand held CO monitoring device from Melbourne to Victoria’s far ends? 6-7 hours …
FOR three years the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission’s independent monitor Neil Comrie has strongly advised the Victorian Government to abandon one of the commission’s recommendations: the call to burn 390,000ha of public land annually for fuel reduction. Yet Environment Minister Ryan Smith is sticking to that target and, even more puzzling, DEPI plans to increase …
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 …
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 …
Incompetence, chaos and lack of direct attack on bushfires in far East Gippsland saw 170,000 ha burnt in January and February this year. Why did this happen when so much more could have been done? Many of the problems experienced were avoidable. The Emergency Services Commissioner and Minister has only offered an internal review. The …
