By Jim McIlroy
BRISBANE — The Wilderness Society and other conservation groups have called a rally in King George Square on June 14, at noon, to demand an end to the destruction of native forests in south-east Queensland.
A leaflet issued by the Wilderness Society states: "South-east Queensland's beautiful, but threatened, forests are now facing their moment of truth in the form of the looming regional forest agreement (RFA). In late June, the signed RFA will remain in effect for a further 20 years."
The call for a protest follows the release on May 14 of a joint federal-state government "directions report". After this report, a timber industry plan was launched by the Queensland Timber Board, the Australian Workers Union and the pro-logging Forest Protection Society, which is likely to provoke forest confrontations if accepted as part of a RFA.
Aila Keto, president of the Australian Rainforest Conservation Society, pointed out that scientific research published in the directions report found that "an addition to the conservation reserve system of 620,000 hectares would still fall short of the minimum standards needed to protect the plants and animals of south-east Queensland's forests — standards that were agreed to by all states and the commonwealth.
"Why then does the industry plan propose an addition to the forest reserve system of only 160,000 hectares? Why does the industry's proposed reserve system exclude almost every area identified as being important for conserving forest fauna?", Keto asked.
A statement by the Queensland conservation movement stresses that "the only secure future for the timber industry lies in plantations ... Queensland should withdraw from the RFA process and develop a sound, fully documented and factually supported proposal that will set the timber industry on a secure and sustainable footing, provide increased employment in regional centres, protect biodiversity and be publicly supported.
"The conservation movement will continue to work with land councils to try to establish an indigenous land use agreement over the forests of south-east Queensland."
For more information, phone (07) 3368 1318, or the Wilderness Society on (07) 3846 1420.