South East Forest Rescue

Originally published 27 Feb 10, Updated 1 Mar 10 with Media Release of 27 Feb 10 from the Conservation Council ACT Region.

Several communities of koalas in the Mumbulla State Forest and the Murrah State Forest on the NSW South Coast near Bermagui are at risk of regional extinction due to plans by Forestry NSW to commence logging their forest habitat at the start of March 2010.

And the bastards are to truck majestic Australian Spotted Gums to the Japanese mill at Twofold Bay at Eden for lousy woodchips again to export to Japan so they can profit from paper.

What mugs are Forests NSW and the NSW Keneally Government?

Surveys by the NSW Department of Environment etc. have found evidence of a recovering population of around 50 koalas in the Mumbulla State Forest, south of Bermagui. A study done by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) confirms there is a small but viable koala colony in the Mumbulla and Murrah state forests, which lie between Bermagui and Bega.

In this 2010 International Year of Biodiversity Forests NSW are set to destroy one of Australia’s critical koala habitats. On the south coast of New South Wales, the area south of Bermagui known as the Murrah/Mumbulla area, has recently been confirmed as critical habitat for the very last known koala population on the Far South Coast. The koala population has been decimated by habitat destruction on private and public lands and, over the past decade, extensive forest dieback.

Volunteer conservationists say they will confront loggers head-on in an effort to save the habitat of a small colony of koalas on the far south coast of New South Wales.

Forests NSW's logging is due to start as early as Monday 1st March 2010, conservationists say. They met with Environment Minister Frank Sartor on Friday [26-Feb-2010] to discuss the issue of logging in the state's southeast forests. "The minister is deeply concerned at the situation, but seems embattled on many fronts with forest issues," Jane Salmon of the South East Regional Conservation Alliance (SERCA) said on Saturday.

Ms Salmon added. "Members of the south coast are sick to death of 40 years of woodchipping and associated environmental destruction," she said. "We are determined to save the far south coast koalas." "State Forests (Forests NSW) will not rule out the start of logging in the key koala areas as early as next Monday," she said.

[Source: 'Logging threatens NSW koalas' SMH borrowed from AAP, 27-Feb-2010.]

The decision to log these forests indicates that negotiations between the NSW Department of Environment etc and the State Government agency responsible for logging, Forests NSW, have reached a compromise and the koalas and their habitat are the losers.

Residents and local conservation groups are calling on the State and Federal Governments to save the koala population from destruction, and to save the health of the estuary and the oyster industry, in addition to retaining the vast carbon sequestration potential of the forests and retaining the tourism economic potential of the area.

"The significant social and economic costs of reduced biodiversity can only increase while our natural systems are poorly managed,” said Pru Acton, spokesperson for the South East Region Conservation Alliance.

"Credible experts agree that the cost of logging this habitat is not only the last few koalas, but also potable water supplies, oysters, the inspiration for the local artists community, and another chunk of the Wilderness Coast's tourism potential."

Conservationists state the native forest logging industry is unsustainable and only propped up by political will, public subsidies and union backing.

"It seems the NSW Government has now decided its contractual obligations to supply sawlogs locally and woodchips to Asia is more important then protecting this much loved native animal", said Pru Acton.

Residents and local conservation groups are calling on State and Federal Governments to to stop any proposed logging and follow the expert advice to implement a scientifically based and data-driven management system for koalas at a catchment scale.

They have called on the Federal Minister for the Environment, Peter Garrett, to step in and exercise the Commonwealth responsibilities for forests.

"We call on the State and Federal Governments to add the area to the National Reserve System and reunite the lands of the Yuin traditional owners through linking Mimosa Rocks National Park with Biamanga National Park", said Ms Acton.

As a result of arrests and charges against concerned residents in 2005, the NSW Government implemented a survey to establish how many koalas remained in the coastal forests between Dignams Creek and Wapengo. Although the survey was conducted across all land tenures, the few details released suggest only 15% of available habitat is occupied and koala numbers are now very low.

John Hibberd from the ACT Conservation Council says if NSW Environment Minister Frank Sartor lets the logging go ahead, the koala population will be wiped out.

"I think it's absolutely staggering that we're still having this debate", he said.

"The south coast is marked by fantastic beaches, beautiful forests and yet we're prepared to log the forests and destroy an iconic species like koalas for the sake of supporting a foreign-owned industry that's heavily subsidised by the NSW taxpayer."

A meeting between environmentalists and Mr Sartor yesterday failed to reach any agreement to protect the koalas. (See media release of Conservation Council ACT Region #MediaRelease">below.)

Noel Plumb from conservation group Chip Busters states "the community is not going to allow this koala population to become extinct because you've got an arrogant state forest agency that won't listen to anybody."

Check out Regional Forest Agreement for Eden (MS Word document, 476K)

#MediaRelease">Koala Crisis Deepens in South East Forests

Conservation Council ACT Region
Media release - 27 February 2010

The crisis surrounding the possible extinction of koalas in the South East Forests deepened yesterday, as conservation groups met with the NSW Environment Minister, Frank Sartor.

"The Minister is deeply concerned at the situation but seems embattled on many fronts with forest issues," said spokespersons for the South East Regional Conservation Alliance (SERCA).

"State Forests will not rule out the start of logging in the key koala areas as early as next Monday but are also effectively blocking negotiations (to protect the koalas) with the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW) and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS)."

"It was apparent to us in the discussions with the Minister and his senior officers yesterday that State Forests has refused to supply the critical, specific timber-supply figures that would enable Minister Sartor to negotiate for alternative supply arrangements with the Minister for Forests."

"The Minister repeatedly expressed his concern that alternative supply arrangements had to be put in place because of contractual commitments to the logging industry".

Concerned environment groups say "Such figures are, according to their own logic, critical if the koalas are really to be protected from the intensive logging and wood-chipping operations now proposed by State Forests in the koala area."

"State Forests has also broken its public commitment, made at a community meeting in Bermagui in 2007* that there would be genuine community consultation about the future of these forests once the NPWS koala survey was released by DECCW."

The completed Report was finally released by DECCW only on 23 February 2010 but without the maps critical for clear community information. The survey covers approximately 10,000 hectares of the Mumbullah and Murrah State Forests which lie between Bermagui and Bega.

"This survey does however confirm south coast conservationists and community groups statements of the past 10 years, that there is a small but potentially viable population of koalas barely hanging on in the south east forests."

Noel Plumb, John Hibberd and Prue Acton "expressed the deep concern of their respective organisations to the Minister that, given State Forests' present attitude, there would inevitably be direct conflict in the these forests if State Forests attempted to start logging operations. Members of the south coast communities are sick to death of 40 years of woodchipping and associated environmental destruction, we are determined to save the Far South Coast koalas."

For further comment:

Noel Plumb,
ChipBusters,
0425 23 83 03 (Sydney)
http://chipbusters.allaroundyou.com.au

John Hibberd,
Conservation Council ACT Region,
Mobile 0407292657

Prue Acton O.B.E.
SERCA Merimbula
ph. 0264945144, m. 0419393203
www.serca-online.org

About 380km south of Sydney lies what NSW Tourism labels the beautiful ‘Sapphire Coast’ and the seaside town of Bermagui. Less than 3km north of town north along Bermagui-Cobargo Road up the Bermagui River estuary is the Bermagui State Forest – a label by the NSW Department of Primary Industry (DPI) given to Spotted Gum forest habitat for Yellow Bellied Gliders, Grey-Headed Flying Foxes, Tiger Quolls, Sooty Owls, Sea Eagles, Possums, Koalas and a range of native fauna and flora.

Spotted Gum (Corymbia maculata)

Australia’s magnificent and unique Spotted Gums are naturally distributed in open forests along the hilly coastal corridor from south-east Queensland down through New South Wales and with a few isolated pockets in East Gippsland, Victoria. They belong to the botanical family ‘Myrtaceae’ and grow straight and tall up to 40 metres. Their height attracts roosting by Sea Eagles. [Listen to ABC Audio on a 400 year old spotted gum]

Spotted gums flower once every two years and produce a rich pollen that attracts native birds such as Lorikeets and Yellow Tailed Cockatoos as wells as possums and flying foxes including the now endangered Grey-Headed Flying Fox. [SOURCE]

Unlike the declaration of a ‘National Park’ which affords federal environmental protection to forest habitat, the State label of a ‘State Forest’ is a misnomer. A ‘State Forest’ is deemed a timber and woodchip resource for logging. The same public relations label is used across New South Wales, ACT, Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and Queensland. A State Forest is not treated as a forest for its natural habitat values, but rather as a logging coup on death row, that can be chainsawed at will anytime. Perhaps ‘Death Row Forest’ is a more apt label than speaking the State euphemism of ‘State Forests’.

And its public relations label logging as ‘harvesting’, a euphemism to belie the destructive reality.

NSW Logging Offensive 1988

On the back of a century of clear felling Bermagui State Forest was logged in the late 1980s. Then according to data from the Bureau of Resource Science, 148ha were “thinned” in 1996, and another 133ha that same year, then 94ha in 1999.

Typically 70% of the spotted gums goes to Boral’s mills in Narooma, Nowra and Batemans Bay as sawlogs to be processed into mainly flooring. The remainder end up as woodchips at Nippon Paper’s woodchip mill at Twofold Bay for export to Japan.

So Australia’s precious endangered habitat is being destroyed for flooring and paper.

NSW Logging Offensive, Oct 2008

In October 2008, NSW Forests logged what it labeled “two compartments” in Bermagui State Forest north of Bermagui. It justified this under the infamous Eden Regional Forest Agreement (RFA). This RFA is one of three established in 1999, in which the NSW Government relegated 15.1 million hectares of native forests across New South Wales for logging anytime.

The usual public relations spin preceded the logging. Southern Region manager of Forests NSW, Ian Barnes,t;/small>


It was at this time that DPI Minister Ian MacDonald started to use Dick Cheney tactics and push his weight around with protesters. The following questions to the NSW Legislative Council by NSW Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon on 28th October 2008 highlight the escalated use of law enforcement into a heavy handed riot squad:

Ms LEE RHIANNON: ”I direct my question to the Minister for Police. Did officers stationed at Batemans Bay police station in collaboration with Forests New South Wales hold a meeting at the Bermagui Country Club in September to warn locals associated with calling for forest protection not to protest when logging commenced in the Bermagui State Forest? Does the holding of this meeting reflect that Batemans Bay police officers have adopted a zero tolerance policing approach to forest protesters? Considering that since logging started in Bermagui State Forest on 27 October with a group of about 40 protesters gathered in the vicinity, about 15 police cars, more than 20 police, including members of the Public Order and Riot Squad, a mobile police command bus and two police rescue vans have been in attendance, will this level of policing continue for the coming six weeks of logging in this area? What is the anticipated cost of this operation?


The Hon. TONY KELLY: The Far South Coast Local Area Command of the New South Wales Police Force has been advised that New South Wales Forests is to commence logging compartments of Bermagui State Forest later this month. As in the past, protests are expected. As always, the New South Wales Police Force is committed to maintaining public order. For this reason, local police and various commands, including the Public Order and Riot Squad, Highway Patrol and Rescue Squad will join together to conduct an operation. This operation will focus on ensuring the protection of persons engaged in lawful activities. Local police have made it clear that anyone engaging in unlawful or dangerous activity in or near the logging operation will have action taken against them. When offences continue and are considered dangerous, police will arrest and charge people as necessary. Police respect people's rights to protest during these times; in no way are they looking to prevent lawful and peaceful protests. Police have asked anyone who intends to protest to contact them so that they can attempt to facilitate lawful activity, minimise disruption and focus on protecting the safety of everyone involved.”

[SOURCE: Hansard]

NSW Logging Offensive Feb 2009

On Monday 2nd February 2009, logging operations resumed in the Bermagui State Forest after the summer holiday break period and continued for about two months. Bruce Mathie and Sons is one of the prominent loggers in the area, but most timber finds its way either as saw logs to Boral for Spotted Gum flooring or else to Nippon Papers woodchip mill at Twofold Bay, Eden for export to Japan.

The forest rapers, ‘Forests NSW’ bulldozed, chainsawed and logged, then left with their booty.

Ian MacDonald’s Forestry Regulation 2009

But rather that do the right thing by the environment and by the community and obey the law of the land, those in power (Forests NSW) forced changes to the law of the land to bloody well suit themselves. Arguably reminiscent of England’s King Henry VIII changing laws to accommodate his adultery, or Joh Bjelke-Petersen’s gerrymandering that secured his electoral hold on power.

In order to keep the cameras and local conservationist away from the loggers destructive practices, Forests NSW got the Minister to legislate an exclusion area around its logging with the public relations labeling of “mainly for safety reasons”.

On 1 September 2009, the NSW Forestry Regulation 2009 came into force making it illegal for anyone to trespass into areas marked by NSW Forests for logging. This has given Forests NSW absolute logging power with the police as its enforcement lackies.

Forests NSW Minister for Primary Industries Ian MacDonald tabled the Bill and it became law preventing democratic protests by people trying to save important habitat from destruction. It has given loggers free reign to log State Forests with impunity.

Under Part 3, Division 1, Clause 11 of this Regulation, a logger has legal authority to request anyone to leave a forestry area and this includes if that person “causes inconvenience.”

Under Clause 12, a logger can forcible remove anyone from a forestry area “who is causing annoyance or inconvenience.” Surely such removal by a logger can be construed an assault under the Crimes Act? It is draconian. It is certainly an assault on Australians’ democratic right to protest. What was Ian MacDonald thinking?

NSW Logging Offensive Sep 2009

In September 2009, Forests NSW commenced logging again in Bermagui State Forest, like pack rapists marauding through a maternity ward.

Sure enough, on Monday, 14th September 2009, Police arrested two of four forest campaigners who had allegedly entered Bermagui State Forest in what Forests NSW had labeled logging compartments 2001 and 2002. Apparenpe known to support koalas is unacceptable, particularly when the NSW government cannot prove their claims that koalas can be found anywhere in the south east,” said Robert Bertram, local Friends of Five Forests member.

“This is yet another example of Forests NSW lack of care for community and the environment,” said Lisa Stone, spokesperson for South East Forest Rescue.

“They are logging old-growth in Dampier, threatened species habitat in South Brooman, endangered species habitat in Nadgee and now this.”

“The loss of biodiversity coupled with logging and burning means the condition of many forests is as bad as the endangered ecological communities on private land, unable to support most threatened and endangered species and unable to recover.”

“We urge the newly appointed Minister for the Environment, Mr John Robertson, to step in on behalf of the native forests and their dependents and stop these archaic practices.”

"The current government policy of destroying habitat to satisfy ‘wood supply agreements’ is robbing from the future generations their chance of survival. The amount of breaches was astounding and shows that Forests NSW cannot be trusted to log these important areas of Koala habitat."

"We have inspected many other logging operations in the past year and have found the same breaches everywhere we have looked. This is pe known to support koalas is unacceptable, particularly when the NSW government cannot prove their claims that koalas can be found anywhere in the south east,” said Robert Bertram, local Friends of Five Forests member.

“This is yet another example of Forests NSW lack of care for community and the environment,” said Lisa Stone, spokesperson for South East Forest Rescue.

“They are logging old-growth in Dampier, threatened species habitat in South Brooman, endangered species habitat in Nadgee and now this.”

“The loss of biodiversity coupled with logging and burning means the condition of many forests is as bad as the endangered ecological communities on private land, unable to support most threatened and endangered species and unable to recover.”

“We urge the newly appointed Minister for the Environment, Mr John Robertson, to step in on behalf of the native forests and their dependents and stop these archaic practices.”

"The current government policy of destroying habitat to satisfy ‘wood supply agreements’ is robbing from the future generations their chance of survival. The amount of breaches was astounding and shows that Forests NSW cannot be trusted to log these important areas of Koala habitat."

"We have inspected many other logging operations in the past year and have found the same breaches everywhere we have looked. This is not a once off mistake but a systemic disgust for any environmental protection measures.”

South East Region Conservation Alliance

Conservationists state the native forest logging industry is unsustainable and only propped up by political will, public subsidies and union backing.

Spokesperson for the South East Region Conservation Alliance, Pru
Acton, says:

"The significant social and economic costs of reduced biodiversity can only increase while our natural systems are poorly managed.”

"Credible experts agree that the cost of logging this habitat is not only the last few koalas, but also potable water supplies, oysters, the inspiration for the local artists community, and another chunk of the Wilderness Coast's tourism potential."

"It seems the NSW Government has now decided its contractual obligations to supply sawlogs locally and woodchips to Asia is more important then protecting this much loved native animal."[SOURCE: ‘Logging resumes at Bermagui’ by Stan Gorton of Narooma News, 4-Feb-09]

Meanwhile NSW Forests remains culturally contemptuous to NSW forest

Forests NSW recruit their students with Communications degrees to lie for it on its website:

“State forests in NSW are managed sustainably to provide a supply of timber today and into the future, to protect the environmental values of the forest and provide community amenities.”

Forests NSW website claims that “Ecologically sustainable forest management (ESFM) is our guiding philosophy. ESFM is about managing forests to maintain ecological principles and biodiversity while optimising the benefits to the community from all uses of the forest…”

Revolving Door politics of NSW Labor

In the revolving door politics of NSW Labor, Premier #3 Nathan Rees on 16th November 2009 sacked Ian MacDonald from his DPI Ministry. Rees was himself sacked as premier on 3 December, then a week later, Labor Premier #4 Kristina Keneally reappointed Ian MacDonald Minister for State & Regional Development and Minister for Mineral & Forest Resources in December 2009.

The labeling of Minster for ‘Forest Resources’ leaves NSW State Forests in no doubt about the death row status. Throughout NSW Labor’s factional power shuffle Macca’s chair never got cold.

DPI Minister, Tony Kelly, overseeing Forests NSW, claimed on 18 November 2009 “The NSW Government has a solid track-record for maintaining prosperous and sustainable primary industries, I will be working hard with industry to ensure this tradition continues.”[SOURCE]

This author’s position

All State Forests should be added to Australia’a National Park Estate. Boral and Nippon Paper can transition their logging operations into plantation-only FSC resources.

The Twofold Bay Woodchip Mill was set up near Eden in 1969 by Daishowa Paper Manufacturing Company over 35 million tonnes of native forest chips have been exported, mostly to Japan.

In contributing to the annihilation of thousands of hectares of Australia’s native forest habitat the Twofold Bay Woodchip Mill is Australia’s Habitat Auschwitz.

It must be unceremoniously closed down immediately.