North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) continues to call for an end to the logging of public native forests as Forestry NSW losses on such logging rises to $29 million on the back of a $15 million loss in the 2022-23 financial year following on from a $9 million loss in 2021-22 & a $20 million loss in 2020-21 year

 

Snapshot image via Meredith Staunton on X/Twitter
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According to NEFA, the FCNSW 2023/24 Biomaterial Report identifies Forestry NSW as logging 9,484 ha of native forests in the last financial year.

The current state minister responsible for the Forestry Act 2012 (NSW) is Tara Moriarty MLC, Minister for Agriculture. Under the Forestry Act 2012, Forestry Corporation of New South Wales (Forestry NSW), has two voting shareholders, the NSW Treasurer (currently Daniel Mookhey MLC) and Minister for Finance (currently Courtney Houssos MLC), who appoint the Board of Directors.

Forestry NSW as a government-owned corporation manages around two million hectares of multiple-use public native forests, including coastal native forests, cypress forests and red gum forests and, a small number of hardwood plantations.

The responsibility and accountability 'buck' has always stopped with successive NSW governments when it comes to forestry in this state and, in 2024 there is no legitimate excuse for the Minns Labor Government and Ministers Moriarty, Mookhey and Houssos to continue down this environmentally and financially ruinous path towards a multiple species flora & fauna extinction event.

North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) is heading to the Federal Court to challenge the New South Wales North East Regional Forest Agreement

 

"The North East Forest Alliance was formed in 1989 as an alliance of groups and individuals from throughout north-east NSW, with the principal aims of protecting rainforest, oldgrowth, wilderness and threatened species. NEFA has pursued these goals through forest blockades, rallies, court cases, submissions, lobbying, and protracted negotiations" [https://www.nefa.org.au/about_nefa]

On 30 July 2021 the North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) lodged its latest case in the Federal Court against the Commonwealth and NSW Governments.

If you live anywhere on the NSW North Coast, want to preserve our unique, biodiverse forests for future generations and are considering making a donation, go to: 

 https://chuffed.org/project/nefa-is-taking-government-to-court.

 https://youtu.be/XM-N1bnzhvk

Environmental Defenders Office (EDO), Latest News, 4 August 2021:

NSW Forest Logging Agreement Faces Legal Challenge over Climate, Biodiversity

In a legal first, Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) is heading to the Federal Court to challenge a New South Wales Regional Forest Agreement (RFA).

The North East RFA covers logging in the coastal area between Sydney and the Queensland border. It exempts logging in native forests from federal biodiversity law.

Originally signed between the Commonwealth and New South Wales in 2000, it was renewed in 2018 for another 20 years with rolling extensions that could continue indefinitely.

In the summer of 2019-20, devastating bushfires ripped through native forests in the RFA region, including areas of the World Heritage-listed Gondwana Rainforests of Australia.

On behalf of client the North East Forest Alliance (NEFA), EDO will argue that when the North East RFA was renewed, the Commonwealth did not have regard to endangered species, the state of old growth forests or the impacts of climate change, as the EDO will argue it was required to do.

NEFA is asking the Federal Court to declare that the North East RFA does not validly exempt native forest logging from federal biodiversity assessment and approval requirements (EPBC Act).

NEFA is acting to protect native forests, which provide critical habitat for vulnerable and endangered species such as koalas and greater gliders and to ensure that the laws that regulate logging in these forests are up-to-date and fit for purpose. It is the first legal challenge to an RFA in New South Wales.

Senior Solicitor Emily Long has carriage of this case under the supervision of Andrew Kwan.

EDO is grateful for the assistance of Jeremy Kirk SC and James Johnson and Claire Roberts of counsel who are briefed to appear in this matter.

EDO Chief Executive Officer David Morris said:

“We are challenging the Federal Government over its failure to assess how another 20-plus years of logging, against a background of a changing climate, will impact our forest ecosystems, endangered species and old growth forests.

“The Commonwealth didn’t want to incur the costs of conducting a proper assessment, waving through a 20-year extension of native forest logging without proper scrutiny.

“Under the current system, if a population of koalas is being threatened by a new development, the project needs to be assessed at the Federal level. But if the same population of koalas is being threatened by a logging project, it’s been rubber stamped on the basis of 20-year-old environmental assessments.

“We have known for years that as the climate changes, fires will follow. And yet the North East RFA was renewed without an assessment of how climate change will impact the health and resilience of our native forest ecosystems. Less than 12 months later, fires began ravaging native forests across the region.

“This RFA is a powerful instrument that allows the forestry industry to bypass Federal biodiversity assessments. To be robust, these agreements must be founded on the latest scientific knowledge on climate and the state of our forest ecosystems.”

20-year Extension of Native Forest Logging

Myrtle State Forest Courtesy of NEFA

Regional Forest Agreements are signed between the Commonwealth and the states, allowing forestry operations to be exempt from assessment and approval under the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC ACT).

There are ten RFAs in force around Australia. The North East RFA is one of three in New South Wales, the others are the Eden RFA and Southern RFA.

Image: NSW Environment Protection Authority

The North East RFA encompasses a huge area spanning from NSW’s Central Coast to Queensland’s Gold Coast. It encompasses critically endangered ecosystems such as Central Hunter Valley eucalypt forest, New England Peppermint Grassy Woodlands, as well as Lowland and Littoral rainforests.

The ecosystems under the agreement include vital habitat for vulnerable and endangered species such as the grey-headed flying fox, the greater glider, the spot-tailed quoll.

In order for an RFA to exempt native forest logging from the usual federal biodiversity assessment and approval requirements, when the Commonwealth enters into an RFA it is legally required to have regard to assessments of environmental values – including endangered species and old growth – and the principles of ecologically sustainable management. EDO will argue for NEFA that when the North East RFA was renewed in 2018, the Commonwealth was required to, but did not assess climate change, endangered species or old growth forests.

In the subsequent 2019-20 bushfire season, the Black Summer bushfires devastated these ecosystems and the species that call them home, changing native forests in these regions beyond recognition.

According to the Natural Resources Commission 2020 report, 2019-2020 Bushfires: Extent of impact on old growth forest2, 28% of the Upper North East section of the North East RFA was fire affected, with over 65% of the forest canopy in that area being either totally or partially burnt. 23% of the Lower North East section of the North East RFA was fire affected, with 52% of the forest canopy in that area being either totally or partially burnt. 

On behalf of NEFA, EDO will argue that the lack of crucial assessments before the 2018 renewal means the decision to extend the North East RFA was not made in accordance with the relevant legislation. As a consequence, the Federal Court should find the North East RFA does not lawfully exempt logging in the north east RFA region from federal biodiversity assessment and approval requirements.