Mood:
sharpTopic: ecology
Barry Chipman, Tasmanian state manager, Timber Communities Australia, writes: It looks like John Hayward (yesterday, comments) who recently claimed to be representing Tasmanians Against Pulp Mills, has exposed the greens' real agenda and that is to lock up all forest on private land in Tasmania. Clearly he is not satisfied with the 47% of native forest already in reserve. A reserve system that covers 2.9 million hectares of Tasmania's total land mass which includes 1.4 million hectares of native forest. These figures are not TCA's but can be downloaded from the Australian Government's website. For those wanting to know how the company proposing the pulp mill for Bell Bay manages its forest estate on its own freehold land, this information is available in a completely open and transparent way here and shows that 19% is already managed as conservation reserves. These two publicly accessible documents show that Tasmania's forest industry and its dependent communities have no hidden agendas and are proud of the balance achieved between conservation and timber values.
This is what the best scientists in Australia had to say in 2004, direct quote:
Statement of support for change on Tasmania's forests
9 September 2004
The Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) is widely perceived in the scientific community to have failed to deliver the intended protection for environmental, wilderness and heritage values that state and federal governments committed to when they signed the National Forest Policy in 1992.
The scientific processes in the Tasmanian RFA were overwhelmed by political compromises. Established criteria for forest conservation were not fully applied. There are large areas of high conservation value forest that would have been reserved if the RFA criteria for forest conservation had been fully applied.
Logging practices and the conversion of native forests to plantations have intensified in the seven years since the signing of the RFA, resulting in record volumes of export wood chip production. This intensification, combined with the well-documented inadequacies of the conservation reserve system (exemplified by the large areas of unlogged Eucalyptus regnans tall open-forest that remain unprotected) has produced highly modified forested landscapes with diminished landscape values.
There is an urgent need for Commonwealth government intervention to significantly improve the forest reserve system and to adequately protect landscape values. We believe that the conversion of native forests to plantations is highly undesirable, and is contrary to the spirit of the RFA, the National Plantations Policy, the Forest Stewardship Council and the Australian Forestry Standard.
In light of the extensive changes that have occurred in many of the most productive forest ecosystems in Tasmania, we believe that the reserve system should be significantly extended to include all high conservation value forests.
Signed,
Professor Tim Bonyhady FAAH FSSA, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT
Professor Ralf Buckley, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD
Professor Mark Burgman, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC
Professor David Gillieson, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD
Professor Richard Hobbs FAAS, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA
Professor Peter Kershaw, Monash University, Clayton, VIC
Professor Jamie Kirkpatrick AM, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS
Professor Charles J Krebs, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Canberra, ACT
Professor Tony Norton, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC
Professor Harry Recher AM, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA
Professor Jann Williams, LaTrobe University, Bendigo, VIC
Associate Professor Jeremy Bruhl, The University of New England, Armidale, NSW
Associate Professor Brendan Mackey, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT
Associate Professor Nick Reid, University of New England, Armidale, NSW
Dr Deborah Rose FASSA (Senior Fellow), The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT
Dr Matthew Appleby, Tea Tree, TAS
Dr Colin Arrowsmith, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC
Dr Geoff Bedford, Cremorne, NSW
Dr Sarah Bekessy, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC
Dr Kirsten Benkendorff, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA
Dr Joe Benshemesh, Alice Springs, NT
Dr Sandra Berry, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT
Dr Mark Breitfuss, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Herston, QLD
Dr Karl E C Brennan, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA
Dr Don Driscoll, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA
Dr Alaric Fisher, Jingili, NT
Dr David Fraser, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC
Dr David Green, Rosny Park, TAS
Dr Ron Grenfell, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC
Dr Graeme Hastwell, CRC for Australian Weed Management, Brisbane, QLD
Dr Robert Henzell, Uraidla, SA
Dr Andrew B Hingston, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS
Dr Amy Jansen, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW
Dr Simon Jones, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC
Dr David Keith, Wildlife Research Institute, Sydney, NSW
Dr Dylan Korczynskyj, University of Notre Dame, Fremantle, WA
Dr Michelle Leishman, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW
Dr Gary Luck, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW
Dr Gang-Jun Liu, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC
Dr Michael McCarthy, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC0
Dr Tein McDonald, Woodburn, NSW
Dr Peter McQuillan, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS
Dr Silke Nebel, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW
Dr Kirsten Parris, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC
Dr S. "Topa" Petit, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA
Dr Emma Pharo, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS
Dr Pieter Poot, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA
Dr Lynda Prior, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT
Dr Libby Robin, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT
Dr Jonathan Stark, Fern Tree, TAS
Dr Alan Stewart, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW
Dr Barbara Stewart, Mullumbimby, NSW
Dr Elizabeth Tasker, NSW Department of Environment and Conservation, Hurstville, NSW
Dr Fleur Tiver, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA
Dr Arn Tolsma, Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, Heidelberg, VIC
Dr Rodney van der Ree, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC
Dr Steven Ward, Mortdale, NSW
Dr Brendan Wintle, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC
Mr Keith Breheny, Midway Point, TAS
Mr Christopher M Carr, Armidale, NSW
Mr Oberon Carter, Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, Heidelberg, VIC
Mr Yung En Chee, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC
Mr Paul Finn, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD
Mr Garry Germon, Gloucester, NSW
Mr Tim Heard, CSIRO Entomology, Indooroopilly, QLD
Mr John Hibberd, Kestel Reserch Pty Ltd, Wapengo via Bega, NSW
Mr Daniel Hunter, Dhurringile, VIC
Mr Boris Lomov, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW
Mr Michael McBain, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC
Mr Wieslawa Misiak, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS
Mr Julian Reid, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Canberra, ACT
Mr Paul Rymer, Woolloomooloo, NSW
Mr Matthew Sheehan, University of Tasmania, Launceston, TAS
Mr Phil Spark, Tamworth, NSW
Mr Garon Staines, Terrigal, NSW
Mr Paul Thomas, Lawson, NSW
Mr Christopher van Buggenum, Thirroul, NSW
Ms Rose Andrew, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT
Ms Janet Cohn, NSW Department of Environment & Conservation, Hurstville, NSW
Ms Nicole Cranston, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT
Ms Naomi Davis, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC
Ms Kate Hammill, NSW Department of Environment & Conservation, Hurstville, NSW
Ms Jane Jelbart, University of Western Sydney, Avoca Beach, NSW
Ms Melinda Laidlaw, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD
Ms Deborah Landenberger, University of Newcastle, Elermore Vale, NSW
Ms Samantha Lloyd, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW
Ms Nicky Meeson, Midway Point, TAS
Ms Maggie Nightingale, Alice Springs, NT
Ms Shirley Pipitone, Flynn, ACT
Ms Catherine Pohlman, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD
Ms Frances Quinn, The University of New England, Armidale, NSW
Ms Sally Radford, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW
Ms Elizabeth Rickwood, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT
Ms Karen Ross, NSW Department of Environment and Conservation, Hurstville, NSW
Ms Monica Ruibal, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT
Ms Libby Rumpff, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC
Ms Justine Shaw, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS
Ms Andrea White, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC
Ms Joanna Willmott, Kurrajong, NSW
Ms Jesse McCoullough, Albion Park, NSW
Miss Amanda Nascimento, Port Kembla, NSW
Contact: Professor Tony Norton ph.(03) 9925-3279; fax.(03) 9663-2517
Email: tony.norton@rmit.edu.au
