DPI calls Dept of Environment staff ‘pseudo-scientists’ - 21 October 2009

A Freedom of Information request has found that the Department of Primary Industries urged Minister Ian Macdonald to stop Department of Environment Climate Change and Water staff from assessing River Red Gum forests, asserting that their findings would be “subjective” and “pseudo scientific”.

DECCW is the agency that provides environmental licensing for the numerous forestry operations in the River Red Gum yet I believe there is a deliberate strategy by the DPI and Forests NSW to keep the State’s lead environmental agency away. They do not want DECCW to report on the damage that has been done on Forests NSW’s watch or to return a finding that is unfavourable to continued logging of the area,” says Mr Cohen.

“DECCW is the logical agency to carry out this assessment but staff in the new ‘super-agency’ Industry & Investment NSW (that now covers DPI and Forests NSW) claim that DECCW is biased. The author of the Ministerial Brief states ‘DECCW has for some time dictated the need to protect red gum forests in National Parks’ based upon non-existent information.”

“In the documents I have obtained, an Industry & Investment NSW adviser reveals the agency to be opposed to the protection of red gum forests. Forests NSW will do whatever it can to stop the expanding of National Parks in the belief that they will be put out of business. According to the damning report into Forests NSW by the Auditor General earlier this year, they are already doing a good job of this. If profitability is a key factor, then the creation of a national park in the area should be properly canvassed for potential tourism revenue and jobs created by national park management.

“DECCW is the lead State government environmental agency and is best able to properly assess the state of the forests. DPI will do whatever it can to stop this happening – including attacking the messenger as ‘pseudo scientific’.”

“As submissions on the NRC’s preliminary assessment close this week, I am concerned that in the long run the antagonism between DPI and DECCW means that the protection of the Red Gum Forests will be held up by inter-departmental fighting.”

“Long term profitability, damage to the forests and biodiversity of the area, or damage to the Murray River caused by the death of the River Red Gums seems a secondary concern to making money fast in this state.”

“If it weren’t for Federal pressure Forests NSW would have just kept logging away in the habitat of Federally-listed endangered species. Industry and Investment NSW, Forests NSW and the DPI are not concerned with the legality of logging wetlands listed under the international Ramsar Convention.”