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The EPA has fined the Forestry Corporation over a Coffs Coast logging operation. IMAGE: ABC News, 13 November 2013 |
The Forestry Corporation of NSW is a state-owned corporation which has been 'managing' state forests for the last 106 years. Amongst other names, it has conducted business as Forestry Commission of New South Wales, State Forests (NSW) and Forests NSW.
Currently this corporation appears to control approximately two million hectares of forested land (including est. 270,000 hectares set aside for commercial soft & hardwood plantations) and produces approximately 14 per cent of Australia's annual wood product.
Marching hand in hand with the growth of Forestry Corporation of NSW has been a loss of native animals due to logging.
Australia-wide such native forestry logging was calculated by the World Wildlife Fund as averaging 1.5 million native animal deaths a year between 1998-99 to 2005-06 and 2 million a year between 2006-07 to 2014-15. According to NSW EPA State of the Environment Report; As at 2020–21, 1,043 species and 115 ecological communities are listed as threatened under NSW legislation including 78 species declared extinct.
Much of the current business and operational practices put in place by Forestry Corporation of NSW rely on the three NSW Regional Forestry Agreements (RFAs) signed by the State of New South Wales and the Commonwealth of Australia between 1999 and 2001 and amended/extended by successive federal Coalition governments with little thought to either the Commonwealth's existing legislated obligations or changing levels of risk to individual species or local/state-wide habitat range.
Many residents in Northern NSW consider the North East RFA which covers logging in the coastal area between Sydney and the Queensland border as particularly egregious. In part because it exempts logging in native forests from federal biodiversity law.
In my opinion the state-owned forestry corporation is a bad actor across the board. If one looks closely at how the NSW Government deals with its infractions, it is clear that the government of the day, a number of government agencies and Forestry Corporation of NSW have developed a bureaucratic and legal dance. A dance which allows the Corporation to ignore both its legislatively imposed restrictions and its social obligations to communities within the state's extensive coastal zone, in order to continue pursuing its commercial objectives by cavalierly logging native forests for maximum wood extraction and what looks suspiciously like frequently contrived minimum penalties.
Nature Conservation Council (NSW), media release, 20 June 2022:
Just days after being fined $135,000 for destroying koala habitat on the mid-north coast, Forestry Corporation now faces charges it illegally logged a Category 1 Environmentally Significant Area in the Yambulla State Forest after the Black Summer Bushfires. [1]
“While the charges are yet to be proven, the fact the EPA launched this prosecution rings alarm bells,” Nature Conservation Council Chief Executive Chris Gambian said.
“On Friday, Forestry Corp was fined for wiping out significant koala habitat. [2] On Monday they are being prosecute for logging forests that were ruled out of bounds after the fires.
“What more evidence does the government need before it orders a comprehensive independent review of Forestry Corporation to ensure it acts lawfully and sustainably?”
In this latest action, the EPA alleges Forestry Corp breached conditions imposed to aid the recovery of the Yambulla State Forest near Eden after the 2019-20 bushfires.
The EPA says that between March and July 2020, Forestry Corp contractors logged 53 trees in a Category 1 Environmentally Significant Area in the Yambulla State Forest.
EPA Acting Executive Director Regulatory Operations Greg Sheehy said the EPA imposed these Site-Specific Operating Conditions to protect areas in forests of environmental importance that were less affected by the fires.
Mr Sheehy said in a statement released by the EPA:
“Bushland along our South Coast was severely damaged by the devastating fires, and the EPA established additional protections for bushfire affected forests like the Yambulla State Forest in order to limit further harm
“These conditions were imposed to prevent FCNSW harvesting trees in areas considered environmentally significant that were less damaged or completely untouched by the fires.
“The additional protections, applied to certain forests in NSW were designed to help wildlife and biodiversity recover in key regions.
“These laws protect areas in our forests that may be home to important shelters and food resources for local wildlife or unique native plants.”
Last Friday, Forestry Corp was fined $135,600 fine for destroying koala habitat and ordered to pay $150,000 of the EPA’s legal cost.
As Forestry Corp is a company owned wholly by the NSW Government, the fines will ultimately be paid by NSW taxpayers.
REFERENCES
[1] FCNSW in court for alleged breaches of 2019/20 bushfire harvest rules, EPA, 20 June 2022
[2] Fines will never replace critical koala habitat destroyed by Forestry Corporation, 16-6-22, NCC
In 2018 Forestry Corporation NSW committed a series of offences between April and November of that year.
Prosecution of these offences did not begin until 2020 and culminated in a two day hearing in June 2022.
NSW Environmental Protection Agency (NSW EPA), media release, 16 June 2022:
Forestry Corporation NSW fined for forestry activities near Coffs Harbour
Fines and costs totalling $285,600 have been levelled against Forestry Corporation NSW (FCNSW) after the Land and Environment Court found tree felling in exclusion zones had done “actual harm” to koala habitat in Wild Cattle Creek Forest near Coffs Harbour.
The Land and Environment Court handed down a fine of $135,600 and ordered FCNSW to pay the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA)’s legal and investigation costs of $150,000 after FCNSW pleaded guilty to four charges brought by the EPA.
EPA Executive Director Regulatory Operations Carmen Dwyer said the prosecution sent a clear message to the forestry industry and operators.
“All forestry operators have a responsibility to protect the environment and comply with the law when carrying out tree harvesting activities,” Ms Dwyer said.
“Breaches of the forestry laws will be investigated and those responsible will be held to account.”
The felling was carried out by FCNSW contractors in 2018.
Two charges were for the felling of trees in protected rainforest areas, a third charge was for the felling of two trees in an exclusion zone around warm temperate rainforest, and the fourth was for felling four trees and other forestry activities in a Koala Exclusion Zone.
The non-compliant activities carried out in the Koala Exclusion Zone attracted the largest fine of $60,000.
Justice Robson accepted there had been harm to Koala habitat as a result of the non-compliant activities.
“The felling of the large Eucalyptus trees and the construction or operation of snig tracks were highly likely to have had an adverse impact by reducing the size and the quality of the habitat available to the breeding female and offspring,” Justice Robson said.
“As such, I accept the position adopted by the prosecutor and find that there has been actual harm.”
The EPA commenced the prosecution in 2020 after a long investigation into FCNSW’s activities in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest in 2018.
“Strict operating rules are in place to protect precious wildlife, such as the Koala. Exclusion Zones, which are a critical part of preserving the habitat of koalas to ensure their survival in this forest.
“Disregarding the rules and harvesting trees in these areas can put animals under increased stress,” Ms Dwyer said.
The offence relating to Koala Exclusion Zones carries a maximum penalty of $440,000, while the other three offences carry a maximum penalty of $110,000 each.
Some other instances (updated)
EPA fines FCNSW $15,000 for allegedly failing to comply with post-fire conditions South Brooman State Forest, media release, 23 June 2022– launch of prosecution
Forestry Corporation fo NSW fined by EPA for destroying native animal habitat, media release,11 April 2022 – total fines $45,000
Forestry Corporation of NSW fined by EPA for failing to mark out a prohibited logging zone, media release, 18 February 2021 – fine $15,000
Forestry Corporation fined for failing to mark out a prohibited logging zone, media release, 26 February 2021 – fine $30,000 plus a warning
Environment Protection Authority v John Michelin & Son Pty Ltd [2019] NSWLEC 88 (19 June 2019) – sub-licensee of Forestry NSW, penalty $43,550 plus costs
Environment Protection Authority v Forestry Commission of New South Wales [2013] NSWLEC 101 (10 July 2013) – $35,000 penalty plus costs
Director-General, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water v Forestry Commission of New South Wales [2011] NSWLEC 102 (8 June 2011) – $5,600 penalty plus costs.
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