Nullica Logging- the other Story (Letter to the Editor)

The latest logging of Nullica State Forest (BDN 28/8/15) has been defended by the Forestry Corporation, with comments such as:

1. it will generate "high quality sawlogs ultimately to be made into products like timber flooring, decking and general housing construction and pulpwood to be used for manufacturing high quality printing paper." Fact: 80% of trees will go directly to the Eden chipmill (source: Forestry Corp Harvest Plan). Of the rest, at least half will end up at the chipmill via a sawmill, which makes this is a fairly typical Eden operation, with a 90+% yield of woodchips.

2. The "NSW timber industry adds around $2.4billion value to the economy each year and directly employs thousands of people." Fact: The Forestry Corporation loses on average $14million a year on native forest logging (source: Forestry Corporation Annual Reports). The more it logs the more it costs NSW taxpayers.

3. “Native forest operations in NSW are among the most highly regulated and tightly audited in the world." Fact: Last year, the regulatory framework was described in an official document as a “failure.” In announcing that logging rules would be revised, it admitted[1] that the Government had no idea whether the rules have protected wildlife. It also acknowledged that its rules are not even enforceable.

Further, under S. 69ZA of the Forestry Act 2012 no private citizen can launch a prosecution for a breach of logging rules; for 15 years, only another Government agency has been able to do this.

The Forestry spokesperson failed to mention the 13 threatened species (11 fauna, 2 flora) recorded in this part of Nullica Forest.

One of these is the nationally endangered Spotted Tail Quoll. There will be no meaningful protection for the quoll.

We have not heard the last of this!

[1]“Remake of the Coastal Integrated Forestry Operations Approval http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/resources/forestagreements/140209IFOAremakeweb.pdf