NSW Labor ignores environmental threats with another useless panel

NSW Premier Chris Minns’ latest effort to ensure the ongoing destruction of koala habitat is the establishment of an “Independent Forestry Panel”.

The panel has been created to ‘engage with... stakeholders to inform the development of the Forest Industry Action Plan’.

Yet another delaying tactic to ensure industrial logging is not constrained.

The Minns Government’s continued support of forestry operations destroying koala habitat in Labor’s promised Great Koala National Park, the abject failure to prevent the ongoing killing of koalas, the conversion of native forests into plantations, and ignoring scientific alarm and public protest demonstrates the establishment of this panel is just another attempt to allow ongoing catastrophic destruction of the state’s native forests, ecosystems and biodiversity.

Politicians turning Australia into wildlife graveyard

Neither major party nor the Federal Greens have ensured environmental issues are the nation’s top priority policies.

The panel will be chaired by Peter Duncan, ‘who has more than 40 years’ experience in primary industries, infrastructure and regional NSW’, together with Mick Veitch, former ALP Shadow Forestry Minister. Former NSW chief scientist Professor Mary O’Kane is also a panel member.

According to one media article, the panel’s action plan will focus on the environmental and cultural values of forests, including threatened species as well as the opportunities to support carbon and biodiversity markets will be probed.

NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said:

“Whether it’s hardwood, softwood or private native forest, our forests and native species... have faced challenges including bushfires, floods and the ongoing risks due to climate change.”

Through public consultation, the panel will ‘examine the future of softwood plantations and private native forests’.

Exactly what the panel will do or achieve is unclear other than further consultations. There’s no mention of any potential ban on logging native forests, no proposed changes in legislation or forestry approvals. No discussion was proposed on climate change impacts, drought or wildfires. No inclusion of genuinely independent scientific experts with no ties to governments who are specialists in forest ecology and no NGOs. Just the usual tight group of the Government’s chosen few.

Professor O’Kane chaired the 2016 Report of the Independent Review into the Decline of Koala Populations in Key Areas of NSW. In line with all “independent reviews” set up by both Coalition and Labor governments, membership of the 2016 report was again confined to the chosen few with no non-government scientific experts, no NGOs, and no focus on the forest habitats.

Koalas continue to suffer under Chris Minns' NSW Government

The NSW Government's koala habitat protection policy – or lack thereof – appears to be motivated by public outcry more than protecting an endangered species, Sue Arnold writes.

In any event, as with all such reports, recommendations went nowhere. As they were designed to do.

The newly announced panel ensures rounds of never-ending consults, recommendations, new appointments, strategies, workshops, summits, submissions and meetings, all resulting in the top government forest/koala/biodiversity priority policy option number one.

Do nothing of substance. Make it sound good.

The O’Kane report was heavily criticised by conservation groups. The report cited a state-wide koala population estimate of 36,000 with no evidence to substantiate the claim; the report’s population estimates differed significantly from federal government estimates; no information was available on where the 36,000 koalas were located; no details of any methodology used to assess the estimates; and no on the ground surveys, no recommendations to urgently pass legislation to protect habitat.

A primary recommendation involved committing the Government to ensure relevant agencies work together with a common focus. Getting departments to work together allows for endless buck-passing.

But let’s be fair, the reaction from some self-styled major conservation groups over the new panel could hardly be described as one of concern.

According to a press release in response to the panel’s establishment, Forest Alliance NSW (no website) described the panel as:

‘...the NSW Government’s appointment of an expert panel to lead the consultation process required to inform the development of the Forestry Industry Action Plan (FIAP). The FIAP will determine the future of the forestry industry across NSW.’

Labor continues double-speak on forestry issues

Amid talk of managing forestry and environmental conservation, Labor governments continue the destruction of forests across Australia.

The alliance is calling for the panel’s advice to ‘put ending native forest logging front and centre of their investigation’. Attached to the press release is a letter from the Alliance to Minns, with the expectation the panel would undertake ‘an examination of an end to native forest logging and a transition of industry to plantations as a key focus’.

Given the tsunami of scientific evidence available, demonstrating serious biodiversity losses combined with a complete lack of legislative recognition of climate change impacts, drought, bushfires and the loss of over 3 million animals in the Black Summer fires, supporting “an examination” fails to deal with the urgency of the crises facing the state’s native forests.

In a stunning display of optimism, Andrew Wong from Wilderness Australia said:

This process is likely to result in the most significant changes to native forest logging in NSW in more than 20 years. It means the Minns Government accepts that business as usual isn’t working. We’re supportive of the Government’s desire to do better in our forests.

A critical early recommendation for the panel must be that logging is halted immediately in areas containing high numbers of koalas, greater gliders and other endangered species. We can’t discuss how to protect something while it is being destroyed in front of our eyes.

Koala experts would ask, why halt logging only in areas containing high numbers of koalas? What’s a high number? All forests with koala habitat need to be protected from logging.

Two policies seem to be the common thread of self-described major NSW conservation groups. One is that if nothing is done, koalas will be extinct by 2050, which is a ridiculous projection given the existential mammal loss and climate impacts. The second is the focus on individual species such as the koala and greater glider.

In failing to emphasise that koalas are an umbrella species for coastal forest ecosystems, the depth and critical importance of the losses are not conveyed to the public or politicians.

The continuation of industrial logging whilst Rome burns with the creation of useless panels to advise on advice is patently ridiculous.

Labor, at the state and federal level, continues to flip the bird on native forest logging, climate change impacts and the crises facing forest biodiversity.