2023-08-29
The Greens have condemned the Forestry Corporation of NSW for threatening endangered species by logging the habitat of the great glider in Tallaganda state forest.
They are calling on state and federal governments to urgently act to scrap the Regional Forest Agreements to end native forest logging and protect endangered species.
Lines attributable to Australian Greens’ spokesperson for forests Janet Rice:
“This forest and these gliders are national heritage - the Commonwealth has a responsibility to protect them, particularly in light of how much forest burnt in 2019 in NSW and Victoria.
“It shouldn't be up to the vandals of the NSW forestry commission to send greater gliders closer and closer to extinction.
“If we want zero extinctions as Tanya Plibersek has promised then we need to end native forest logging across the country immediately.
“Forests are going to be under even greater threat from fire in the future with more extreme conditions due to global heating.
“The Regional Forest Agreements have allowed for decades of reckless destruction of native forests across Australia, pushed native wildlife to the brink of extinction, endangered our water supplies, heightened bushfire risk, and made the climate crisis worse.
“Native forest logging is a dying industry and there’s no way around it.
“We need a permanent, national ban on native forest logging and a just transition plan for forestry workers.”
Lines attributable to NSW Greens’ spokesperson for forests Sue Higginson:
“The NSW Government must immediately pause all plans to log Tallaganda Forest. We can not allow Greater Glider extinction logging and make no mistake, that’s what this is.
“There are dozens of Greater Glider den trees in Tallaganda that are proposed to be logged, but Forestry Corporation have only mapped a single tree for habitat protection across the 5,000 hectares that they want to destroy.
“Forestry Corporation are legally required to conduct pre-logging fauna and flora surveys but they can not have done this adequately as their report has drastically under-assessed the Greater Glider habitat and population in this area that is critical for the survival of the Greater Glider.
“I’ve called on the NSW Minister for Environment and the Environment Protection Authority to use their powers and issue an immediate stop work order for logging operations in Tallaganda State Forest until an independent review of the Greater Glider habitat can be undertaken.
“The NSW Government has committed to zero extinctions in NSW but the continued logging of critical Greater Glider Habitat, one of only two remaining in the state, is a blatant failure to take the necessary actions to prevent the extinction of Greater Gliders."