East coast Australia, the new Amazon

Australia’s east coast has been compared to the Amazon as a “deforestation front”. WWF’s The Living Planet report, produced every second year for the past 20 years, says global populations of vertebrate species have declined 60% since 1970. But koala numbers have disappeared at a much faster rate – more than 20% a decade – …

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Threatened Greater Gliders killed for firewood

Our sister organisation, Gippsland Environment Group (GEG) has documented the clear failure of the Minister for the Environment Lily D’Ambrosio and her department (DELWP) to protect Greater Gliders and their critical habitat in the foothills north-west of Bairnsdale. This despite knowing of their presence for over a year.  What makes this doubly criminal is that …

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Eagle slaughter

East Gippsland is a relatively rich ‘ark’ for Victoria’s remaining wildlife but these are under threat from many quarters.

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Endangered animals threatened by logging, environment groups allege

Victoria’s state-owned logging company breached rules protecting native animals and rainforests almost 30 times over three years, environment groups allege in a new report. The report comes after a dead koala was found in a logged section of forest in the Acheron Valley near Marysville that was home to the endangered Greater Glider. As revealed …

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Greater gliders: fears of ‘catastrophic’ consequences from logging in Victoria

Gliders are listed as threatened by both state and federal governments, but they are not protected by legislation. Logging has begun of trees inhabited by the threatened greater gliders in a forest also inhabited by Victoria’s faunal emblem, the threatened Leadbeater’s possum. Protections for the remaining Leadbeater’s possum population – believed to be fewer than …

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Regional Forest Agreements fail to meet their aims

Species declines and unsustainable forestry evident under RFAs Pr. David Lindenmayer, ANU; Ann Jelinek, Nature Focus Victoria; Oisin Sweeney, National Parks Association of NSW   The 20-year Regional Forest Agreements between State and Commonwealth governments are due for renewal. They aim to allow native forest harvesting while providing for conservation and future industry. RFA legislative …

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Malcolm Turnbull caves in to Tasmanian loggers

Last weekend, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull flew to Launceston for the Tasmanian Liberals’ yearly conference. Accompanied by Premier Will Hodgman, Turnbull’s first stop was the timber yard of logging company Neville-Smith Forest Products, once a part of the now-fallen Gunns logging empire. Twenty years after John Howard signed the first Regional Forest Agreement with Tasmania, …

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