Sustainable Timber Tasmania has confirmed swift parrots are in a contested logging coupe

The government wanting to “unlock” more native forest, a heated exchange over timber terminology and a reprieve for the swift parrot: What happened during Sustainable Timber Tasmania’s committee hearing >>

Greens leader Cassy O'Connor at Hobart. Picture: Chris Kidd

SUSTAINABLE Timber Tasmania has halted logging in a patch of northeast forest that was the site of an environmental protest over the swift parrot.

Environmentalist Bob Brown was arrested last month during the protest at Snow Hill in the Eastern Tiers.

Protesters said the logging was illegal because the coupe contained not only swift parrot habitat, but birds foraging and nesting.

At the time STT said there had been no verified sightings of the critically endangered parrots in the logging area.

However a parliamentary committee was told on Thursday the presence of parrots had been confirmed.

Bob Brown arrested by Tasmania Police at logging coupe in Eastern Tiers. Picture: Bob Brown Foundation

“Within the time the harvesting was going on there were sightings of swift parrots broadly in the Easter Tiers. Now there’s specific evidence that we shouldn’t continue harvesting and we have stopped,” said STT CEO Steve Whiteley.

General manager land management Suzette Weeding later clarified logging would be halted “until such time as we choose to go back”.

Greens leader Cassy O’Connor said the cessation of logging at Snow Hill vindicated the environmental action.

“It took the work of conservationists to halt logging in the Eastern Tiers swift parrot forests. The Rockliff Government, through its forestry GBE, would have continued trashing the critical habitat, unchecked unless forest defenders and citizen scientists had been there to defend the remaining habitat of the fastest bird on earth,” Ms O’Connor said.

Minister for Emergency Services Felix Ellis. Picture: Simon Sturzaker

Also during the hearing Resources Minister Felix Ellis flagged a renewed push into contested areas of native forest to “unlock” more timber.

As legislation will need to pass the parliament for the Future Potential Production Forest (FPPF) to be accessed, Mr Ellis turned the questions on Labor via committee member Shane Broad.

“You could indicate whether there would be bipartisan support for that Dr Broad?” Mr Ellis said.

Dr Broad said it was up to Mr Ellis to answer questions during the hearing.

The FPPF land had been set aside for reserves under the former Tasmanian Forest Agreement.

Any effort to open the forests to logging will be met with strong resistance from environmentalists.

Mr Ellis and Ms O’Connor had a heated exchange over his use of the term “wood bank” to describe the FPPF land.

“It’s a carbon bank you troglodyte,” Ms O’Connor said.

She then withdrew the word “troglodyte” after Mr Ellis took offence.