Clarence Valley Independent, 21 October 2020:
The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has commenced five prosecutions in the Land and Environment Court against Forestry Corporation of NSW (FCN) for allegedly breaching licence requirements in 2018.
Allegedly committed by FCN’s contractors, the offences – the felling of trees in exclusion zones and protected areas, some of which are specifically set up to protect koala habitat – took place in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest (west southwest of Glenreagh).
The FCN states in a media release that it had set aside “three times” the required kola habitat “under the rule set” and that the “EPA’s allegations relate to nine trees”, despite “protecting an additional 6,000 trees”.
The prosecutions follow the EPA issuing a stop work order on Saturday July 18, to cease tree harvesting, in compartments 32, 33 and 34 of the forest, where “serious breaches of forestry operations rules” were alleged to have been committed.
The EPA alleges that the current alleged breaches occurred in compartments 539 and 540 of the forest, in breach of Forestry Corporation’s licence.
The EPA’s acting chief executive officer, Jacqueleine Moore, said it was unacceptable to put vulnerable species, such as the koala, in danger by breaking the rules.
“We have strict procedures in place to protect wildlife, and if they are disregarded it can put these animals under threat,” Ms Moore said.
The EPA alleges that: Forestry Corporation’s contractors felled trees and operated snig tracks (tracks created by harvesting machinery) within a koala high use area exclusion zone located within Compartment 539 of the forest; and, contractors felled trees in protected rainforest areas and an exclusion zone around warm temperate rainforest.
Offences relating to koala exclusion zones carry a maximum penalty of $440,000 each; the other “three offences carry a maximum penalty of $110,000 each”.
“In this instance, after a long investigation process that involved interviews and a consultation process with Forestry Corporation, the EPA has decided that these actions warrant prosecution,” Ms Moore said.
“We’re sending a strong message that laws created to protect the environment, and in particular vulnerable species like the koala, must be adhered to.”…..
It should be noted that NSW state forests are exempt from the provisions of State Environmental Planning Policy (Koala HabitatProtection) 2019 (amended 3 September & 16 October 2020), as is private land being commercially logged under a private native forestry plan.
Exemptions go further and it appears all land now listed as "any area of the State" in Part 5A below (apart from certain land in Ballina, Coffs Harbour City, Lismore, Kempsey & Port Stephens local government areas) is no longer covered by the Koala Habitat Protection SEPP under amendments to NSW Land Services Act 2013 being rammed through state parliament by the NSW National Party.
It seems that this may possibly only leave urban land already covered by a local government registered development control plan and the national park estate with a certain degree of protection
PART 5A - LAND MANAGEMENT (NATIVE VEGETATION)
This Part applies to any area of the State, other than the following--
(a) urban areas of the State to which State Environmental Planning Policy (Vegetation in Non-Rural Areas) 2017 applies,
(b) national park estate and other conservation areas, namely--
(i) a wilderness area declared under the Wilderness Act 1987 , or
(ii) land reserved under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 or acquired by the Minister administering that Act under Part 11 of that Act, or
(iii) land dedicated or set apart as a flora reserve under the Forestry Act 2012 (or any Act repealed by that Act), or
(iv) land to which an interim heritage order or listing on the State Heritage Register under the Heritage Act 1977 applies, or
(v) a declared area of outstanding biodiversity value under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 , or
(vi) an area declared to be critical habitat under Division 3 of Part 7A of the Fisheries Management Act 1994 , or
(vii) a declared World Heritage property within the meaning of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 of the Commonwealth, or
(viii) land dedicated or reserved under the Crown Lands Act 1989 for similar public purposes for which land is reserved, declared or listed under the other Acts referred to in this paragraph, or
(ix) land to which an interim protection order under Part 11 (Regulatory compliance mechanisms) of the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 applies, or
(x) Lord Howe Island,
(c) State forestry land, namely--
(i) land that is a State forest or timber reserve under the Forestry Act 2012 , or
(ii) land acquired under Division 4 of Part 3 of the Forestry Act 2012 for the purposes of a State forest (not being any such land acquired for the purposes of a timber plantation).
The regulations may amend this section for the purposes of adding or removing areas of the State to which this Part applies (or of revising references to areas of the State). [my yellow highlighting]
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