_____________________________________________________

This short video explains how forests and our climate are so closely connected. Forests are our greatest land based carbon stores, shade the earth, moderate our climate and provide clouds and rainfall.

________

Rainforest case - logging ban extended to January

In December, VicForests sent logging contractors into a very controversial stand of forests - a National Rainforest Site of Significance. Our appeals to VicForest and DSE to pull logging machines out of course were ignored, and police arrested people protesting at the site.

The law states that areas designated as Sites of Significance for rainforests at a National level will be fully protected. The DSE and VicForests now claim the maps were wrong!

EEG decided this was another blatant case of breaking environmental laws to suit logging. We had no option but to apply for an injunction to the logging in the Supreme Court - AGAIN. Due to VicForests still refusing to pay our legal fees from the Brown Mountain court order in September 2010, we had to rely on the outrage-fuelled generosity of our many supporters. We managed to get the court papers lodged and heard in record time (thanks also to our super-human legal team).

The temporary halt to logging was successful while the injunction will be heard in late January (VicForests asked for an adjournment while it prepared its case).

This is a good outcome. Our lawyers have filed some very impressive court documents to show that the forests are within the boundaries of a National Rainforest Site of Significance.

Above: the bright green shows planned logging coupes.

Above: The hatched areas show the National Site of Significance for Rainforests.

Above: From the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Action Statement for Rainforests

It is just incredible that in this day and age, that a small local environment group has to take on a government agency to prevent the illegal logging of a National Rainforest Site of Significance. Most of the developed world knows the value of forests and rainforest, but the Baillieu government doesn't.

___________________

ANOTHER LEGAL WIN!

NSW group South East Forest Rescue (SEFR) has successfully won a case to prevent the operation of a wood pellet plant in Eden by the woodchip exporter SEFE (South East Fibre Export). SEFE is 100% Japanese owned by Nippon Paper and Itochu and export over a million tonnes of woodchips a year. The new plan was to produce wood pellets to fuel wood-fired electricity plants. The wood was to come from our native forest - from Nowra NSW, to East Gippsland.

Bega Valley Shire Council gave a hasty OK for the building to start in June, and SEFR warned they would take legal action if it were to proceed. It did proceed and SEFR did take legal action.

On the 16th December 2011, a decision was handed down in a NSW court saying the approval to build the pellet factory was invalid. The shire didn’t take into account public submissions, the Ecologically Sustainable Development principle and the land zoning. This means that SEFE must not operate the factory or process wood for it. A significant win for our forests!

______________

Baillieu’s new logging party

Baillieu seems to have handed his government over to miners and loggers to run. Its latest Timber Industry Action Plan which was released on 13th December could have been written by the logging industry at a bucks party.

http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/forestry/about-forestry/projects-and-initiativ...

What this plan does is try to squeeze every last tree from every last corner.

Here’s what else they plan -
• logging in parks and water catchments under the guise of ‘ecological thinning’.
• burning native forests for energy.
• rather than 5 year contracts, they are offering 20 year contracts,
• massive payouts if they can’t meet this optimistic 20 year commitment,
• hanging laws to avoid any scrutiny or having to protect the environment,
• shamelessly converting logged forests into plantations suited for commercial uses
• approval to convert prime agricultural land into plantations if under 40 ha
• any good eco-certification system will be made worthless
• gives power to VicForests to set their own level of logging
• will pay for legal cases brought against VicForests for their unlawful logging
• tax payers, not VicForests would foot the bill for policing blockades

The next few years will be challenging!

What can be done? We need Liberal voters to exhibit extreme conservative outrage (especially in marginal seats). That’s what will hurt this government. They are oblivious to logic, moral arguments or science.

Jill
14 December 2011

_______________

--------