Logging to resume in bushfire-affected forests on NSW south coast despite environmental warning
The Guardian by Lisa Cox 17 February 2021
The Forestry Corporation of New South Wales has signalled it will resume logging in bushfire-affected forests despite warnings from the state’s environmental regulator.
The independent state MLC, Justin Field, has called the decision “a gross act of bad faith by Forestry Corporation and John Barilaro as forestry minister”.
In a statement on Wednesday, the EPA said the forestry agency had walked away from those negotiations as they related to forestry operations on the south coast.
The agency said it had an obligation to “protect, restore and enhance the quality of the environment in NSW” and warned the Forestry Corporation it could face regulatory action.
State government agencies at war over logging forests ruined by fire
The Sydney Morning Herald By Nick O'Malley 19 February 2021
After the devastating black summer fires, the EPA and Forestry Corp agreed that the existing set of environmental rules on logging in native forests, known as the Coastal Integrated Forestry Operation Approval, or CIFOA, was no longer suitable as no one had envisaged so much of the state could be burnt while it was being negotiated.
The two agencies instead agreed to so-called “Site Specific Conditions” to manage safe logging.
Referring to Forestry Corp’s decision to resume operations under pre-fire rules on the South Coast, NSW independent MP Justin Field said it “This is the most fire impacted part of the state, more than 80 per cent was burnt and many much loved and threatened species are at risk of extinction, yet the Deputy Premier seems determined to log every last tree.”
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