Dismay: Howard-Lennon Package Abandons Protection

Dismay As Howard-Lennon Package Abandons Promised Levels Of Forest Protection

The Tasmanian Greens today are upset that although the Howard-Lennon forests package rips off the name of the Greens’ Forest Transition Strategy, “Tasmania’s Forests: the Way Forward”, it fails to deliver promised levels of forest protection in Tasmania’s outstanding forests whilst spending a massive $220 million of taxpayers money which could have been used to achieve a much better outcome.

Greens Opposition Leader and Forests spokesperson Peg Putt MHA pointed out that although 170, 000 hectares of new reserves had been promised only 58, 000 hectares were to go into formal reserves, 38% of what is claimed to be protected, and none of these will have National Park or World Heritage status as they will all remain subject to mining.

The Greens are dismayed that 60% of so-called reserves are not formally protected and in reality constitute a deceptive counting in of the scraps and slivers inside forest production areas which would never have been logged under Forest Practices planning such as streamside reserves and isolated changes of threatened forest types.

Reserves Shortfall

“87% of the Tarkine thankfully gets formal reserve status, but not at the level of National Park or World Heritage which is what it deserves, because the deal allows for all the new reserves to be mined,” Ms Putt said.

“The paltry amount of formal reserve protection is padded out with over 89, 250 hectares of informal reserves which are a con because they represent scraps and slivers inside logging areas like streamside reserves and isolated clumps of threatened forest types which adherence to forest practices laws already meant would not be cut.”

Weld

“The magnificent Weld Valley and the forests of the south have completely missed out on protection.”

Blue Tier

“The area protected is miniscule compared with the community proposal for a 6, 000 hectare nature recreation area and in the context of over 158, 000 hectares available for logging in the district.”

UNALLOCATED CROWN LAND

“The spin on making a virtue of not logging Crown land never allocated to logging in the first place shows the level of deception involved in selling this package.”

No Additional Areas for Specialty Timbers Management/Beekeeping

“There is not a single extra hectare set aside for specialty timbers management.”

Land clearing

“The recommended targets to restrain landclearing from the government expert advisory group CARSAG have not been taken up, but instead an incentive for ramped up forest destruction in the next few years has come into play.”

End to Clearfelling

“Forget romantic notions of old-style selection logging, the plan is to move to clump clearfelling.”

1080 Backdown

“Howard’s promise to end the use of 1080 on private land has vanished.”

Forest Furnaces

“Forest furnaces burning native forest for electricity get the go ahead although all other states on the eastern seaboard have ruled them out as an environmental travesty.”

$2.2 million Snow Job

“Over $2 million of taxpayers money is to be spent on a massive green wash promoting this disappointing outcome for our forests as something desirable.”