2020-01-24
The Victorian Greens have called on the Andrews Government to establish a long-term bushfire recovery plan to prevent the further destruction of environment and wildlife across the state.
180 threatened species have had 50 per cent or more of their habitat burned and there are concerns some species may have even been pushed to extinction.
In order to adequately protect and restore critical habitats, the Andrews Government must:
- Immediately cease logging in native forests to prevent endangered species from going extinct, and stop the logging industry from tearing down critical post-bushfire habitats via ‘salvage’ logging
- Establish a $100 million dollar fund to increase protection for our most threatened animals, including specific plans for each threatened species (NSW already has a $100 million dollar fund for this purpose)
- Strengthen the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act to stop big corporations from destroying habitat for private gain
Victorian Greens spokesperson for environment, Ellen Sandell, said the unprecedented bushfires need to serve as an urgent wake-up call to the Government.
The Greens have also launched a petition calling on the Government to immediately end logging in Victoria, which has garnered more than 1,100 signatures in less than a day.
Quotes attributable to Victorian Greens spokesperson for environment, Ellen Sandell MP:
“The summer bushfire season has pushed many animals and plants to the brink of extinction.
“While we applaud the Andrews Governments’ efforts at feeding animals and helping injured wildlife, we urgently need a long-term plan to restore our forests and habitat so animals have somewhere to live.
“It's criminal that logging in our native forests continues while fires still burn. I urge Premier Andrews to immediately cease logging, and not to give in to the logging industry who want to increase logging in the wake of these fires, further destroying our precious native forests.”