Fiona McCrossin and Noel Plumb
South East Forest Protection Bill
In early September the South East Forests Protection Bill will be debated in the Upper House of the NSW Parliament. It was passed by the Lower House in May. The support of the Reverend Fred Nile and Elaine Nile is crucial. The future of 90,000 hectares of the region's forests will be at stake.
The forests of the south-east NSW are among the most diverse temperate forests in the world. They have nearly twice the number of Eucalyptus species as the Kosciousko region; as many plant species as Kakadu; and more species of "higher" plants than the Wet tropics. Large areas of the south east are listed on the register of the National Estate and are recognised as having world heritage values. Remnants of what was once a great old growth forest system ranging from the coast to the Monaro Tableland, the forests are renowned for their beauty.
For the last 20 years the south-east forests have been woodchipped and plagued by serious community conflict. Old growth forests have been systematically logged for woodchips to be exported to Japan to make paper products. The two main causes of concern are: the lack of a viable reserve system to protect the wilderness and old growth forests of the region and the inadequacy of the management practices of the Forestry Commission to ameliorate the impacts of their logging.
The Coolangubra wilderness was the centre of a huge public debate during the late 1980s as the Forestry Commission openly planned its destruction. It and other old growth forests of the region contain critical habitat for many species of arboreal marsupials, owls, cockatoos and a number of species of reptiles and bats. Forty six of the region's fauna are listed by the National Parks and wildlife Service as threatened, vulnerable or rare, including the Koala, the Long-footed Potoroo, the Yellow-Bellied Glider and the Powerful and Sooty Owls. Extinctions are predicted as the old growth is logged and converted to entirely different regrowth forest.
Deep community concern about irretrievable loss of wilderness and old growth values through forestry activities led the NSW and Commonwealth governments to agree in 1992 to a National Forest Policy. This schedules the creation of a system of conservation reserves throughout the wilderness and old growth forests by the end of 1995. The policy also calls for a moratorium on logging of high conservation value areas while the reserves are being assessed. The federal Minister for the Environment, Ros Kelly, has produced a list forests warranting such protection and requested NSW action. However, the NSW government has not instigated such a moratorium in the south east. The present reserves in the south east are grossly inadequate to protect the diversity if life in the region.
Contrary to overwhelming scientific advice the reserves have been placed in areas of low timber value or areas too steep to log. ratively low habitat value to wildlife and equate to areas that the timber industry and the Forestry Commission do not want. There is extreme reticence to incorporate the latest ecological research into management practices.
The South East Forests Protection Bill will place 90,000 hectares of high conservation value under moratorium to be assessed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service who will then recommend a national park by the end of 1995.
Further, the bill addresses the economic consequences of forest preservation. The impact on workers within the timber industry has been a concern for the conservation movement who have commissioned a number of independent studies. The studies found that developments in existing softwood plantations, ecotourism and other local projects will easily absorb the 120 workers who may be affected when the reserves are created. The Bill will set up a Regional Employment and Industry Adjustment Committee which will develop further strategies for alternative employment in the region.
The federal government has offered funds for affected workers and are willing to negotiate an appropriate funding package with the NSW government when the Bill is passed. Tourism is already a much larger industry in the south east region than timber-cutting and will greatly benefit from magnificent old growth forest national parks. While the local tourism industry has been growing the native forest timber industry has been losing jobs and a new direction is needed to promote employment.
The South East Forest Alliance is asking people to write to the Reverend Fred Nile at Parliament House, Macquarie St, Sydney, 200 urging him to support the South East Forests Protection Bill.
[The authors are both are members of the South East Forest Alliance.]