2015-09-15
QUESTION:
Ms DUNN (Eastern Metropolitan) — My question is for the Minister for Agriculture and relates to what she said in this place on 2 September. In the same week VicForests listed an additional 316 logging coupes for industrial clear-fell logging. The timing was surreal. It was the same week the federal Minister for the Environment launched his lacklustre plan to save the Leadbeater’s possum from extinction. The minister said:
‘What I would dearly love to make clear to the house, because there is a bit of mischief and misinformation getting around about this, is that there is no change at all in the total coupe area … This is getting plenty of airplay, but what is not getting so much airplay is the removal of 284 coupes.’
The minister went on to say that the additional area of the 316 new coupes was identical to the area being removed by the 284 coupes. The minister failed to say that the 224 coupes identified within that have already been logged. Will the minister correct the directly misleading information that she provided to the house on 2 September?
RESPONSE:
Ms PULFORD (Minister for Agriculture) — I always thank the member for the opportunity to talk about this industry and this issue. As I indicated in the house earlier this month, the timber release plan is a business as usual activity for VicForests. It indicates planned activities for up to five years, an annual review and an extensive consultation process that has run its usual course.
It is important to note that not all coupes listed in the timber release plan will be harvested. Areas are added to provide VicForests with the flexibility that it needs to allow for the continued detection, monitoring and protection of Leadbeater’s possum colonies. As I indicated to the house on that day, the most recent amendment to the timber release plan was approved by the VicForests board and gazetted at the end of August. It added 316 coupes, removed 284, and the total coupe area of 10 300 hectares is unchanged before and after. I stand by the information I provided to the house on the earlier occasion.
SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTION:
Ms DUNN (Eastern Metropolitan) — I thank the minister for her answer. In relation to the removal of 284 coupes, which include 87 coupes in the Central Highlands, home to the Leadbeater’s possum, and 148 coupes in East Gippsland, which is a loss-making area for the VicForests operation, will the minister confirm that 224 of those 284 coupes she said are being removed have already been logged?
SUPPLEMENTARY RESPONSE:
Ms PULFORD (Minister for Agriculture) — I thank the member for her further question and continued interest in this matter. The information I provided to the house is accurate. The details of the timber release plan are publicly available. The consultation was, in the usual course of events, something that invited submissions from interested parties. There were 21 submissions received. I understand that is fewer than in previous years and each has received an individual response. I would be happy to offer Ms Dunn an opportunity to meet with the leadership of VicForests if she wanted to ask more questions.
PRESIDENT REQUEST FOR WRITTEN RESPONSE:
The PRESIDENT - In respect of Ms Dunn’s questions to Ms Pulford — and I cite the supplementary question — I accept, having listened to the question and the responses, that there is a valid issue that Ms Dunn is pursuing in her supplementary question as to whether or not of the — and I understand the figure is 224 coupes. Of those coupes that have been transferred, Ms Dunn’s query is: how many have already been logged? I accept that that question is a valid question in terms of establishing whether or not the ins or outs actually do match up, as the minister has provided in information to the house. So I ask that that supplementary question be addressed by the minister tomorrow.
WRITTEN RESPONSE:
VicForests’ Timber Release Plan lists planned activities for ta period of up to five years, and is ordinarily updated annually. Amendments to the TRP do not change the areas of forest available under the forest zoning scheme, or VicForests’ legal responsibilities to protect forest values and sustainable manage forests for the long-term.
It is important to note that not all coupes listed in the TRP will be harvested. Additional areas are added to the TRP by the Board to provide flexibility in the VicForests’s operations, such as to allow for the continued detection and protection of Leadbeater’s Possum colonies.
The most recent amendments to the TRP was approved by the VicForests Board and gazetted on 31 August 2015. It added 316 new coupes and removed another 284 coupes from the TRP. The boundaries of 29 coupes already on the TRP were also modified.
In terms of gross coupe area, there has been no change to the total coupe area listed on the TRP compared to the previous iteration, with the addition of 10,300 ha *10,100 ha f new copes plus 200 ha of boundary changes to existing coupes) and the removal of 10,300 ha.
Of the 284 coupes removed from the TRP through VicForests’ recent amendment, 224 were successfully regenerated and 60 were unharvested.
Details of the Timber Release Plan are available at: www.vicforests.com.au