Bob Brown Foundation has slammed the revelation that the Federal Environment Minister will gazette a bilateral agreement with Tasmania next week that will allow ongoing logging destruction.
Today in Tasmania’s Budget Estimates, Murray Watt informed the Tasmanian Government that he intends to gazette the bilateral agreement for logging assessments on 9 June.
“Albanese and Rockliff are teaming up to continue native forest destruction and licence the ongoing logging of habitat for endangered and critically endangered species in Tasmania’s forests. Ongoing, disastrous native forest logging will be regulated by the same group that has ticked off the decades-long destruction of forests that the community want ended. This is the Regional Forest Agreements 2.0 and will allow business as usual in precious native forests. We are calling for the Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) to be extinguished and an immediate end to native forest logging,” said Jenny Weber, Campaigns Director at Bob Brown Foundation
“Minister Watt is not even pretending to deliver strong national environment laws to protect nationally significant forest ecosystems and their wildlife. This gazettal comes before the national environment laws have agreed environment standards, and the standards currently on public display are appalling.”
“Murray Watt’s plan will gazette the Forest Practices Authority to continue their decades-long failed oversight of large-scale forest destruction and drive Swift Parrots closer to extinction. Allowing the Tasmanian Forest Practices Authority to conduct federal assessments on behalf of the Commonwealth is putting the same body that has failed to deliver the federal environment provisions under the RFA in charge.”
“This is not what the community wants. This is not what the majority of Labor voters want. Australians want native forests protected and endangered species saved. Murray Watt is serving the native forest logging industry and is licensing ongoing climate, community and wildlife destruction,” Jenny Weber said.
