25 October 2010
Letter to the editor Woodchip Logging is wrong whether it’s legal or not
WOODCHIP LOGGING IS WRONG WHETHER IT’S “LEGAL” OR NOT
We hear almost daily of the growing avalanche of logging rule breaking being uncovered in our region as a result of the admirable efforts of South East Forest Rescue.
On ABC Regional radio on 25th October Monaro MP and Forest Resources Minister, Steve Whan attempted to trivialize these, claiming that reported rule breaches have “been assessed as causing no environmental damage, and are fairly minor in nature."
I suggest that the rules are trivial but the breaches, by their sheer volume and rampant nature are not.
Personally, I believe most of the logging rules are next to worthless and tell us little or nothing about whether logging is sustainable or not.
I would not dignify these rules by equating “legal” with sustainable, humane, ethical or even economically sensible.
Even if all the rules were followed, the logging would still be wrong. The biggest crime of all is the woodchipping that goes on under the protection of the law.
Yours sincerely
Harriett Swift