Greens MP and spokesperson for the environment Sue Higginson said this morning that the Forestry Corporation is a ‘serial offender’ after the commencement of criminal proceedings have begun.
The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is alleging 29 offences were committed in Tallaganda State Forest in 2023.
The offences under the coastal integrated logging rules, the Forestry Act and the Biodiversity Conservation Act include failure to conduct habitat surveys, failure to operate competently, logging of protected giant trees, and destruction of habitat of threatened species including the Greater Glider.
Offences across seven compartments in Tallaganda State Forest
The offences are alleged to have occurred across seven compartments in Tallaganda State Forest and have a maximum penalty that could exceed tens of millions of dollars.
At the time of the alleged offences, a dead Southern Greater Glider was discovered near ongoing logging operations, and a review by the EPA discovered 20 protected den trees for the threatened glider species were set to be logged.
These discoveries caused consecutive stop work orders to be issued by the EPA with the Corporation eventually declaring the logging ‘complete’ without any further work.
Ms Higginson said this latest prosecution is well overdue. ’It will not bring back the forest and the Greater Glider habitat that has already been destroyed and as time has shown, it will not stop further offending. The community is constantly reporting illegal logging to the EPA, yet logging continues across the state with the bare minimum of intervention.
Forestry Corporation costing the public millions of dollars
‘The Forestry Corporation is costing the public millions of dollars every year in losses and yet blame community scrutiny and legal action for their failed business model. Now the EPA is prosecuting them again, and taxpayers are footing the bill for the Corporation’s illegal actions as well as its financial losses.’
Ms Higginson said Industrial logging is destroying our native forests and driving the extinction of Greater Gliders and other forest-dependent species.
‘It is also driving climate change by destroying our most important carbon stores. The Minns Labor Government cannot claim to be serious about biodiversity or climate while allowing this industry to continue.’
Not an isolated case
‘Tallaganda is not an isolated case. This prosecution is important, but more Tallagandas are happening every day across the state, often with no action taken at all. For every case that ends up in court, there are dozens more where illegal logging goes unchecked.’
‘Native forest logging is not just a crime against nature, it is a crime against the community. It is time for Premier Minns to end this industry once and for all.
Until then, the Forestry Corporation will keep breaking the law, forests will keep being destroyed, and the public will keep paying the price.’
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