Hard evidence that logging the native Australian forests does not add up economically and that it will have risk of ‘serious or irreversible harm’ to native forests appears to hold no water with the current NSW state government.
According to the NSW Forestry Corporation’s annual report logging native forests is not only driving species to extinction it is also costing taxpayers millions of dollars according to the Nature Conservation Council.
‘In 2020-21, the native forestry arm of the NSW Government’s logging company lost $20 million and prospects of it turning a profit any time soon are dim. This result should be good news for our native forests because there is now no rational economic argument for propping up that part of the industry,’ Nature Conservation Council Chief Executive Chris Gambian said.
‘The latest annual report shows NSW taxpayers unwittingly paying to cut down forests the people want protected. It’s not just ecologically and economically unsustainable, it is morally indefensible.’
None-the-less NSW Forestry Minister Dugald Saunders has confirmed negotiations are on foot to extend North Coast logging contracts for five years to 2028 despite a Government report warning that existing logging cannot continue and that post fire logging presents a risk of ‘serious or irreversible harm’ to native forests.
Independent NSW MLC Justin Field said ‘It’s totally unacceptable that the Minister would even consider extending contracts when the Government still hasn’t responded to the impact of the 2019/20 fires on our forests.’
‘The report from the Natural Resources Commission (NRC) makes clear that business as usual for the native forest logging industry is simply not possible or acceptable in the aftermath of the 2019/20 fires,’Mr Field said.
‘The Government is acting like the fires never happened. They are trying to lock in contracts that will devastate North Coast forests despite their own experts recognising a significant impact on wood supply.
‘I’m calling on the Minister to halt all contract negotiations and establish an immediate moratorium on logging in ‘extreme’, ‘high’, and ‘medium’ risk sites identified by the NRC report. The Government must explain how they will sustainably manage our forests into the future before any new contracts are signed.’
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