Unsustainable logging referred to NSW Auditor General - 27 January 2010

Greens MP Ian Cohen is referring Forestry Minister Ian Macdonald and Forests NSW to the Auditor General for their unsustainable management of the Riverina Red Gums.

“The Natural Resources Commission (NRC) report on the River Red Gums has provided the necessary research for the NSW Auditor General to seriously question the assertions of Minister Macdonald and Forests NSW,” says Mr Cohen.

“Minister Macdonald has previously claimed Forests NSW management of River Red Gums is consistent with world class environmental practice. I would question whether logging 70% beyond sustainable levels in an internationally significant wetland meets such a standard.”

“The report is a resounding indictment on Forests NSW’s management. The report clearly states, ‘forest growth rates have been in long-term decline but quotas have not been revised down’. In other words Forests NSW, with the blessing of Minister Macdonald, has continued to log at a ‘business as usual’ rate in the face of an increasingly stressed system.”

“Despite the thoroughly documented decline little has been done in the last two decades to reduce logging in the Murray and Mildura regions. The NRC predicts that logging will have to be reduced by up to 70% to achieve sustainable levels.”

“The NRC has blown the whistle on Minister Macdonald’s misleading spin on Red Gum logging. Instead of independently assessing and restricting timber supply to sustainable levels, Forests NSW has severely damaged Red Gum systems to falsely inflate their bottom line and meet unsustainable demands.”

“The failure of Forests NSW to develop sustainable logging levels over the last 20 years has led to the NSW people incurring a significant environmental debt. We need the Auditor General to put a price tag on Forests NSW’s 20 years of unsustainable logging. Industry restructuring packages should take account of the need for Forests NSW and the Minister to make environmental reparations for their actions.”