Stop the destruction

of NSW native forests

Last week the people had a huge win for forests in Victoria. The Victorian Labor Government brought forward the planned end of public native forest logging by 6 years, scheduling the end of the destructive industry by January 2024. This means both WA and Victoria will end the logging of their public native forests within 12 months!

31 May 2023

DECISIONS like ending the logging of native forests tare made because people work hard together putting forward the case to protect our precious environment, and they don’t give up.

Now it is time for the minority Labor Government in NSW to follow Victoria and do the right thing by our forests.

A week ago Greens MLC, Sue Higginson learnt from the former Liberal government’s environment minister that last year the Liberals had developed a plan to end the destructive and unprofitable logging of our public native forest estate but that their NSW Coalition partner, the National Party, blocked the move!

The pressure on the NSW minority Labor Government to commit to ending the logging of our public native forest estate is mounting, but more needs to be done.

While there has been an escalated powerful and positive campaigning to end public native forest logging in NSW, native forests are continuing to be destroyed and our precious forest dependent animals plundered and pushed closer to extinction by an industry that is worsening the climate crisis. Only a political decision will end the destruction, but the NSW Government is yet to commit to end logging the public forest estate.

Last week Sue Higginson went to Braemar State Forest in north-east NS, which is one of the forests on the Forestry Corporations list for logging. Roading into the forest has begun. Before the 2019 fires this forest was found to have an exceptional density of Koalas, one of the most important Koala habitats on the Richmond River lowlands. This forest was severely burnt overnight on 8 October 2019, killing 50 - 75% of Koalas. Now the plan is to log 75% of Koala feed trees. This is on top of the fire impacts, and will devastate recovering populations.

The urgency to stop logging our public native forest estate is critical. The decision in Victoria and knowing there is support across the Parliament takes people power closer to getting a decision to end public native forest logging in NSW. The decision in Victoria is an opportunity to leverage the minority Labor Government to follow the progress of their colleagues in other States and end native forest logging in NSW for good.

Sue Higginson is working across the NSW Parliament to build an alliance of political support for the end of public native forest logging. Hery work in the NSW Parliament is only as strong as the work people do together across the State.

An email from you now calling for a commitment from the NSW Government to make the decision to end native forest logging in NSW will help bring an end to this destructive practice.

We need to finally end native forest logging in NSW. The case has been made, all that is needed is the political will.