The Black Saturday bushfire that destroyed Marysville could have been prevented if a power company had followed basic safety standards, according to an explosive coronial finding. For the first time, power company AusNet Services has been held directly responsible in court for causing the 2009 bushfire, which killed 40 people, levelled hundreds of homes, and …
A few months ago I shared a photo on my Facebook page with a caption that read “We cut down 3 billion trees every year–that’s an area the size of New York City every two days. This future, I do not accept it.” Immediately, a friend replied “But don’t forget! The U.S. plants 4 million …
IT’S time to move beyond extravagant claims in the fire debate and have a good look at all of the evidence and options before us. It might sound good to call for fuel reduction burns over 20 per cent of public land each year, as proposed by the East Gippsland Wildfire Taskforce. But has the taskforce …
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 …
In February 2009 the Black Saturday bushfires swept through the Mountain Ash forests of Victoria, burning 72,000 hectares. These forests are home to the tallest flowering plants on the planet, and iconic species such as the Leadbeater’s Possum, Victoria’s animal emblem. In the six years since the fires, we and other scientists have been investigating …
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 …
Premier Daniel Andrews’ green credentials have been dealt a blow, with a new report card into his government’s first year accusing Labor of moving too slowly to deliver for the environment.
It is hoped that the upcoming COP21 climate talks in Paris will produce legally binding limits to emissions of carbon dioxide, country by country. The Earth is already an average of more than one degree warmer than in pre-industrial times. Areas of western North America are 1.5 degrees warmer. The result is widespread death of …
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, …
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 …
