North Coast Environment Council Inc.
secretary@ncec.org.au
MEDIA RELEASE April 7, 2009
NEW LAWS SET TO UNDERMINE VEGETATION REFORMS
New laws being developed by the NSW Government will dismantle the native vegetation
reforms implemented with much fanfare by the then Premier, Bob Carr, in 2003, according to
the North Coast Environment Council.
NCEC Vice-President Susie Russell claims that the new laws will remove control of native forest
logging from the Native Vegetation Act and at the same time weaken still further the Code of
Practice regulating such logging.
“These new laws will create a gaping new loophole in native vegetation regulation, that you will
literally be able to drive a bulldozer through, and thus undermine the intent of the Native
Vegetation Act to end broadscale landclearing in NSW”, Ms Russell said.
“Whilst the details of the new laws are still being finalized, we understand that the major push by
the logging industry has been to use it to obtain perpetual logging licences.
“This would pave the way for million dollar buy-outs of the logging industry as the biodiversity
crisis worsens. It is reminiscent of the Government's mishandling of the water reforms, where
providing perpetual water licences created a liability of billions of dollars for the taxpayer, while
still not returning water to our stressed river systems.
“Such laws would lock regulatory failures in time – so that we would be stuck with the incredible
situation that there is no requirement to conduct any threatened species assessments prior to
logging. Should a future government want to do differently the cries for compensation would
scare them off.
“In addition, the new laws are likely to be handed over to Minister Macdonald and the
Department of Primary Industries to administer – which is like putting the fox in charge of the
henhouse.
“The current laws are administered by the Department of Environment and Climate Change –
and rightly so. An industry department has neither the expertise nor the inclination to place
strict controls on logging. Attempts to have them do so in the past have failed dramatically. It's
hard enough getting DECC to take it's responsibility seriously, with DPI there would be no hope.
“Any new Act that fails to offer landholders a genuine financial choice of managing native
forests for the long-term benefit of the catchment, the climate and biodiversity belongs in the
last century.
“We need to be looking to rectify past mistakes, not cementing them into the economy and the
environment as future liabilities” Ms Russell said.
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