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The
EPA has fined the Forestry Corporation over a Coffs Coast logging
operation. IMAGE:
ABC
News,
13 November 2013
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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:
Forestry
Corp pinged for logging environmentally significant forests after the
Black Summer bushfires
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.
SEE
Environment
Protection Authority v Forestry Corporation of New South Wales
[2022] NSWLEC 70 (9 June 2022)
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.
