Forest conservationists to challenge government on logging agreement in landmark action

In a shock development, North Coast activists will head to court, claiming that logging legislation has not assessed the “impact of climate change on the forests”.

NEFA launches court action over north-east Regional Forest Agreement rollover.Credit: MtHyland

A volunteer forest conservation group will take the federal and state governments to court to challenge the reissued Regional Forest Agreement for northeast NSW in a stunning development.

The North East Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) was signed in 1999 and renewed in 2018 for another 20 years.

The agreement allows for logging of native timber on public land after certain conditions are met, such as protecting biodiversity and endangered species.

However on Wednesday, August 4, Environmental Defenders Office solicitors acting for the North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) served papers challenging the move.

NEFA President Dailan Pugh said the alliance will allege when Prime Minister Scott Morrison executed the varied RFA, he did not assess key environmental matters as required by law.

NEFA spokeswoman Susie Russell claimed there was no assessment of the impact of climate change on the forests.

“This despite the Commonwealth having access to and publishing its own materials about the current science – science that warns about the effects climate change has already had on the Australian natural environment and what climate change might mean for our forest ecosystems in the future,” she said.

“Extreme weather events can have catastrophic impacts on forests.

“We saw this the in the drought that preceded the 2019/20 bushfires, the bushfires themselves, and the floods that have followed.

“Untold number of animals, including some that the Commonwealth Government has listed as threatened with extinction have died.”

Ms Russell said NEFA will also allege the Commonwealth undertook no assessment of endangered species or old-growth forests before it greenlit the ongoing agreement.

“We contend this is a breach of federal law,” Ms Russell said.

“We say these are matters that should have been assessed and that failure to do so means the Regional Forest Agreement for Northeast NSW does not exempt forestry operations in north east NSW from Commonwealth assessment and approval.

“We are asking the Federal Court to make a declaration to that effect for northeast NSW.”

The Australian Forest Products Association NSW (AFPA NSW) CEO Sue Grau labelled the court action as “time wasting and inappropriate”.

“During the current Covid crisis and building boom across NSW, many families are struggling to get enough timber to meet market demand for construction,” she said.

“If we don’t use sustainably sourced hardwood from northern NSW – loved for flooring, staircases, doors and fine furniture – inevitably this shortfall will have to come from places with often far less sustainable forestry practices.”