NSW Government's Forestry Corporation in the news, November 2023

 

The Sydney Morning Herald, 13 November 2023, p.3:

Forestry activists allege the NSW government-owned Forestry Corporation has breached regulations more than 1200 times in recent logging operations in Tallaganda State Forest, one of the last strongholds of the endangered greater glider.

AAP General News Wire, 14 November 2023:

The Forestry Corporation of NSW has been slapped with a new stop work order, amid concerns about efforts to protect endangered greater gliders.

Logging has been shut down in a second NSW forest amid claims the Forestry Corporation failed to properly look for den trees an endangered glider needs to survive.

The Environment Protection Authority has ordered the state-owned corporation to immediately halt harvesting work in parts of the Flat Rock State Forest near Ulladulla.

The watchdog has accused the corporation of failing to conduct detailed, thorough searches for den trees used by endangered southern greater gliders, as well as vulnerable yellow-bellied gliders.

It's the second time the Forestry Corporation has been accused of incompetently conducting habitat searches in recent months.

Harvesting has also been shut down in the Tallaganda State Forest, southeast of Canberra, after the EPA found multiple den trees in an area where the Forestry Corporation said there was only one.

The corporation later admitted it looked for den trees during the day when nocturnal greater gliders would have been asleep.

EPA officers went to Flat Rock this week after receiving a complaint from conservationists who went to the area to do a den tree search.

Members of South East Forest Rescue said no den trees were recorded by the Forestry Corporation but they spotted a greater glider leaving what appeared to be a hollow-bearing den tree on Sunday night.

When the EPA officers arrived on Monday, they also identified what appeared to be a greater glider den tree within 30 metres of logging.

“The EPA alleges that FCNSW has not conducted detailed and thorough searches necessary to identify all Greater Glider and Yellow-Bellied Glider den trees within the Flat Rock State Forest compartment," the watchdog said on Tuesday.

The EPA also said the Forestry Corporation had identified 137 glider sap feed trees, making it likely a family of yellow-bellied gliders was active in the area.

"Yet no den trees were identified," it said.

“Den trees and their surrounding habitat are critical for the gliders’ feeding and movement and removal of habitat removes shelter and food, making the gliders vulnerable to harm."

AAP has sought comment from the Forestry Corporation.

South East Forest Rescue staged a protest Flat Rock on Monday, after discovering the den tree.

"Again, conservationists have shown the absurdity of the Forestry Corporation looking for nocturnal species during the day," spokesman Scott Daines says.

Kita Ashman is a threatened species ecologist with WWF Australia and says there are alarming similarities between Flat Rock and Tallaganda, where conservationists also identified unlogged den trees.

"In both cases it’s been left to citizen scientists to record greater glider den trees. A deeply disturbing pattern of behaviour is emerging that cannot be allowed to continue."

Greens MP Sue Higginson says it's time for the NSW government to step in.

“It is clear that Forestry Corporation are either wilfully disregarding their legal obligations to operate consistently with their approvals or they are too incompetent to adequately conduct operations in a lawful way,'' she said.

1 Earth Media, 14 November 2023:

A magistrate dismissed a charge of ‘enter a forest w/o permission if prohibited by notice’ after the police failed to provide prima facie evidence to prove their case against Susie Russell. She has called the police action a S.L.A.P.P. – Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation.

Veteran forest defender Susie Russell defended herself in the Forster magistrates court on Tuesday November 14. The judge’s ruling meant that Ms Russell did not have to provide her evidence and she can now put the long drawn out matter to rest.

Ms Russell, a member of the North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) had been arrested at the 9 January 2023 protest at Bulga Forest, west of Port Macquarie.

Gumbaynggirr custodians are calling for our help to protect forests of the proposed Great Koala National Park

 

Approved plans for forestry operations at Newry State Forest were made active last week.(Supplied: Bellingen Activist Network) IMAGE: ABC News, 3 August 2023.

Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales, email, 5 August 2023:

The battle to protect the Great Koala National Park is ramping up. Will you support the Newry Forest protest camp and Gumbaynggirr traditional owners to protect this culturally and ecologically significant site?

…., for the past few days Gumbaynggirr custodians, environment groups and the wider community have peacefully protested to save the forest from logging destruction.

The forest has recently won a few moments of temporary reprieve from the bulldozers in the past few days. The campaign has had a series of powerful protests and received coverage in the Coffs Coast Advocate, NBN, NITV, and The Echo.

Gumbayngirr traditional owners Sandy Greenwood, Uncle Micklo Jarrett and Uncle Bud Marshall.

But the fight is not over and those at the camp are calling out for your support.

“If we don't act now our deeply significant cultural heritage will be desecrated, our beautiful old-growth trees will be logged, rare flora will become extinct and our koalas and endangered species will literally have nowhere else to go.” Sandy Greenwood, Gumbaynggirr Custodian.

This alliance has catalysed around a peaceful protest camp at the entry of the forest. This camp has served as an important place for meetings, events and interviews with journalists.

Are you able to put your name down to help out at camp?

Sign up here to get involved

Whether you’re able to visit once or take on a weekly task—there is something for everyone to do.

“It would be a disaster and a disgrace to see some of our totemic animals like the Koala disappear for motives of greed.

“The ancestral beings gave us our lore, our culture, and taught us how to live in harmony with the land. Everything was precious – we needed these places to survive. If they keep going like this we won’t have forest left. This forest needs to be a sanctuary for our people and other animals.”

Gumbaynggirr spokesperson, Micklo Jarrett.

This campaign to protect Newry State Forest relies on people like you stepping up and working together.

Please sign up here and a camp organiser will get in touch with you about next steps.

In the inspiring words of Sandy Greenwood: “The time to act is now—we will save our forests.”......

Ed Mortimer

Organising Director

Nature Conservation Council of NSW

https://www.nature.org.au/

Has Kyogle Council in Northern NSW become a creature of the timber industry?

In 2018 the NSW Dept. of Primary Industries produced a report that examined the NSW planning and regulatory instruments that interact with private native forestry (PNF) using the entire NSW north coast region as a case study -  from Gosford local government area to the NSW-Qld border - to which was added Tenterfield, Glen Innes Severn, Guyra, Armidale Dumaresq, Uralla, Walcha and Tamworth LGAs for good measure.

The report found planning constraints and exclusions applied to 734,992 ha, which equated to 25.6% of the total area of private native forest on the NSW north coast. In effect, these areas are acting as large-scale informal conservation reserves. With a total of 689,300 ha of that land requiring dual consent from the NSW Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and local councils before private forestry agreements could be applied to this land.

The report noted that: Private native forestry is prohibited by council LEPs on a further 6.5%3 (174,560 ha) of private native forest land. The balance of the private native forest estate (68.5%) has zoning that permits forestry without council consent.

It also found that: The Private Native Forestry Code of Practice for Northern NSW prohibits forest operations within any area identified as core koala habitat within the meaning of State Environment Planning Policy (SEPP) 44—Koala Habitat Protection (SEPP 44). Koalas are known to be present in low densities across all of the North coast’s 34 council areas. It identified SEPP 44 as an impediment with the potential to significantly reduce the availability of private timber resources.

The Berejiklian and Perrottet Coalition Governments, along with the NSW National Party and timber industry lobbyists, appear to have spent the years since 2018 attempting to dismantle protections on any and all land in private hands which has what is considered harvestable native timber stands. In this aim the state government has frequently been successful.

In 2022 they had an unexpected measure of success in the Kyogle local government area, which covers 3,589 square km and has a resident population of est. 9,359 people [ABS Census 2021].

Kyogle Koalas IMAGE: “KOALA COUNTRY” leaflet, September 2017

ABC News, 15 November 2022:

On the day the NSW government was forced into an embarrassing backdown over proposed changes to private native forestry approvals, a council on the state's north coast has voted to give up the powers at the centre of the controversy.

Kyogle Council voted to scrap the dual approval process for native forestry on private land, leaving approvals entirely in the hands of Local Land Services (LLS).

"We've got a history in Kyogle of a strong timber industry, and the fact that it is still functioning today is a testament to generations past and present and how well they're managing their land," Mayor Kylie Thomas said.

"Why would we get in the way of that?"…...

The meeting heard there were 133 private native forestry (PNF) plans in place across the Kyogle Shire which have been approved by the LLS but have not been put forward to the council.

A staff report said the council would struggle to approve any PNF plans, because it could not approve proposals that would have an adverse effect on the environment.

It argued that scrapping the dual-approval process would help address the regulatory stalemate.

The council's vote came on the same day the state government announced it would not proceed with contentious private native forestry legislation.

Under the current law, landholders need approval from both their local council and a state authority (LLS).

The bill would have removed the requirement to go to council, but it was abandoned after concerns were raised about its impact on koala habitat.

The Nationals member for Tweed, Geoff Provest, threatened to cross the floor on the issue.

"In my whole political life, I've never crossed the floor, so to speak, or voted against a government policy," he said.

"In this case I have a strong belief and I think I've got the support of my wider community that this is not good legislation."…….

Read the full article here. 

BACKGROUND

To those who worked behind the scenes, those who emailed, tweeted, agitated - I thank you for this and for 🐨
I note the battle to stop the Bill is won but the Minister continues to champion the policy so it is a reprieve not yet a win. But we getting there! https://t.co/3QHwYQDzJa

— Catherine Cusack (@katieqs) November 14, 2022

In its 14 November 2022 ordinary monthly meeting business paper Kyogle Council asserted that the local government area has the third highest amount of private native forest on the North Coast of NSW with approximately 160,000 hectares. It further stated that: As of 2022, Council records indicate that there are 146 current approved PNF plans in the Kyogle local government area covering 382 parcels of land. Local Land Services advises that over half of all forest under freehold title is subject to an approved PNF. A further 84 PNF plans covering 279 parcels of land have historically been approved, however, it is likely these approvals have expired.

Council officers have discussed the above issue with the Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) with a view to finding a solution which ensures that duplication in regulatory processes is removed while ensuring that state and local government interests are protected.

DPE and Council officers agree that the best way forward is to amend the Kyogle LEP to make PNF permitted without consent on land zoned RU1 – Primary Production. This would enable any land owner who obtains an approved PNF Plan from LLS after the proposed amendment to the LEP takes effect, to proceed with PNF without obtaining development consent from Council. The cost to Council of implementing the withdrawal from the dual consent process is optimistically set by staff at $25,000.

IndyNR.com, 1 September 2022:

Logging at a property near the Border Ranges National Park was first noticed by a Kyogle Environment Group member on their way to the park.

Kyogle Council general manager Graham Kennett said the council received a complaint about the logging of native forest at a site along Forest Rd on July 25.

“Council officers inspected the site that day and immediately reported the matter to the Environmental Protection Authority and Local Land Services, who are the two state government agencies responsible for the regulation and approval of private native forests,” Mr Kennett said.

“Council also issued an emergency stop works order the following day.”

The property on Forest Rd is a short drive from the national park and 30km north of Kyogle.

The Kyogle Environment Group contacted Minister for Environment and Heritage James Griffin, Minister for Agriculture Dugald Saunders, State MP Janelle Saffin and MLC Sue Higginson as well as the EPA.

KEG secretary Sue Page received a letter about the logging from the EPA’s Carmen Dwyer.

The letter said the EPA had conducted two inspections at the property and identified alleged non-compliance issues.

“These matters are now subject to a formal investigation,” Ms Dwyer said.

Logging laws require landholders and contractors to comply with the Private Native Forestry Code of Practice.

“The EPA is currently investigating compliance issues at the property. Forestry operations have been suspended at the site following separate regulatory action instituted by Kyogle Council,” an EPA spokesperson said.

Neither council nor the EPA could give further details until the investigation is complete……. 

Prime Minister Albanese & Environment Minister Plibersek need to urgently re-evaluate the former Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison government policy as it pertains to native forestry agreements along the 100km wide & 1,973km long NSW mainland coastal zone

 

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:

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.