including this writer (TWS NSW Campaign Coordinator 1993-1994) having long campaigned against the scourge of logging and woodchipping of our eucaplypt natural forests here in the very exact zone of the so called conservation migration route along Eastern Australia’s fringe: The hypocrisy is breathtaking really. Debus presents as a priestly sort of policy gentleman but the truth is far more compromised.

The NSW Government including Debus directly cooperates with the foreign (Japanese) multinational SouthEast FibreExports Pty Ltd to destroy our natural heritage here, specifically in the new so called conservation migration zone:

In the words of TWS here NSW Forests

“Southern Forests - Iemma's test!

At the last state election, the Carr-Iemma government put the last great forest icons on the south coast under temporary protection. The intention was clear - the community wanted these places protected and the government recognised this. But they went back on their intention. A fraction of the icons were protected. And then the logging started again. After a community outcry the logging stopped but protection remains only temporary. Premier Iemma must act NOW, before March 2007. The quolls, koalas and gliders need you to act on their behalf to get Iemma to deliver!”

We also received this recently:

From: Harriet Swift

To: ChipStop Network

Sent: Wednesday, February 14, 2007 3:28 PM

Subject: [chipstop] Badja report

We went to Badja last weekend because we had heard reports of horrible logging there. It is true.
Anyone familiar with the area as it was in the time of the blockade will be shocked.
The right hand side of Badja Forest Road has been logged, all the way from the cattle grid where we held our last dragon action, almost to the corner where State Forests and police had their camp. Another section begins just as you turn right at that corner. A third section on the road to the Cascades, on the right hand side behind the spot where there was phone reception.
Fortunately, no more logging has been done around the old fort site or at Balook.
Some of the logged areas along the cascades road have been burned, even though there is E. fraxinoides (fire sensitive) in the vicinity.
We didn't see the quoll, but saw some scats. The platypus are still there, even though the river level was lower than usual.
Very depressing, but makes me think a Wielangta type challenge based on the quoll habitat in the escarpment forests is a good idea.
HS

Same ole, same ole, as per this campaign poster of photographs by this writer back in

Indeed the loggers are so happy with the governments they have paid for with extensive political donations over the years that WOODCHIPPERS BREAK TRUCK RECORD going into the Eden industrial facility, and even bragged late in 2006 in these terms resplendent with spin and deception:

[media release, December 2006, on National Association of Forest Industries website]

South Coast NSW timber communities celebrate million tonne milestone

NAFI member South East Fibre Exports (SEFE) achieves a record export figure of one million tonnes of woodchips from sustainably managed forests in 2006

Catherine Murphy, CEO of NAFI, congratulates NAFI member South East Fibre Exports (SEFE) for achieving a record export figure of one million tonnes of woodchips from sustainably managed forests in 2006.

Catherine attended celebrations to mark this outstanding achievement with over 600 south coast timber representatives in Eden today. SEFE’s woodchips exports are primarily bound for Japan where they are turned into high quality paper for Australian and international consumers.

“This milestone is a great achievement for the south coast NSW based export facility which employs over 300 people,” said Mrs Murphy.

“SEFE sources its timber from sustainably managed forests from NSW and Victoria which are as sustainably harvested to world class standards from Forests NSW and VicForests operations,” she said.

“The SEFE mill provides support for a number of local sawmills which are dealing with the recent downturn in the NSW housing market. These local sawmills are also major employers in the south coast area.

“Wood waste from SEFE’s chip mill also provides renewable energy for other local businesses. For example, Bega cheese uses wood residues from SEFE’s mill operations to power its cheese manufacturing facilities in Bega. This eliminates the need to rely on power from electricity generated by coal-fired power plants, which are major contributors to Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.

“This milestone is also significant considering the to disruption forestry and mill operations caused by environmental groups. These groups often employ illegal tactics to disrupt these operations.

“Reaching this outstanding export target of one million tonnes shows how ineffective these outrageous tactics have been.

“We congratulate SEFE and the south coast timber community on their outstanding success,” Mrs Murphy said.

………………………………

Picture: Truck exits "closed" public forest at Wandella NSW South Coast in 2005, past conservationist protest camp (on council road reserve land tenure) to the Eden chipmill.

This from the same Catherine Murphy who pre emptively accused green groups of supporting “eco terrorism” yet conservationists are the only ones bleeding in the industry’s cynical game of money politics, as shown here:

6th Dec 2006 - New paper: Logger terrorism under the Howard federal government

It all makes perfect sense, killing forest animals and plants for a living every working day of the week, terrorising greenies short of killing them too, but who doubts they would feed 'em into the chipper if they could at Eden:

This woodchipping obscenity is well understood by organised regional conservationists including Party political groups who might once have supported the ALP with preferences:

Braidwood Greens » Blog Archive » Greens announce preferences forEden Monaro

And clearly the NSW Government are embarrassed by their corrupt forest policy to cover up the details as here:

[Media release]

Greens in court to expose SE forests woodchip cover-up

22/02/2007

Greens campaigners are today appealing a decision by the NSW government to refuse to release the price at which native South East NSW forest timber is being sold to a highly profitiable Japanese company.
 

South East Fibre Exports chipmill, Eden NSW - The Eden chipmill is effectively a monopoly buyer and Forests NSW is a monopoly seller of pulp logs in NSW, so there is no commercial reason for this secrecy

Greens MP Lee Rhiannon said, “The government is selling off our native forests for a pittance to a Japanese owned chipmill and is intent on hiding this fact.”

“Greens forest campaigners are today appealing the decision by Forests NSW to refuse to release this information under NSW freedom of information laws.

“Polls show 80 per cent of the public oppose wood chipping our native forests.

“The NSW government is failing the public by covering up how cheaply our native forests are being sold off. Forests NSW claims this information is ‘commercial in confidence’ to the company concerned.

“The Eden chipmill is effectively a monopoly buyer and Forests NSW is a monopoly seller of pulp logs in NSW, so there is no commercial reason for this secrecy.

 “The Ombudsman has shown how bureaucracies are increasingly using NSW’s weak FOI laws to shield themselves from their obligation to release information that is clearly in the public interest.

“This is clearly the case with Forests NSW.

“Last year the Iemma government voted against a Greens private members bill for an overhaul of NSW’s eighteen year old freedom of information laws.

“The Iemma government must believe it is in its best interests to hide its inadequacies.

“Our archaic FOI laws are capable of sheltering the government from criticism. This is one example of the shonky use of FOI exemptions.

“It is a continuing scandal that the NSW government is felling our native forests to have them shipped off-shore as woodchips, while trying to paint itself as an environmentally friendly party,” Ms Rhiannon said.

The hearing is at 10am this morning before the Administrative Decisions Tribunal, Level 15, St James Centre, 111 Elizabeth Street. The Environmental Defenders Office is representing Mr Gerry Watt.

Contact:  Greens MP Lee Rhiannon 9230 3551, 0427 861 568, Mr Gerry Watt 0439 737 530

…………………..

Indeed NSW forest destruction is symptomatic of corrupt politics in Australia with roughly 8 million tonnes of forest chipped nationally per year. In the last ten years 70 million tonnes of forest has been chipped under the current NSW and Federal governments elected in 1995 and 1996 respectively (as well as Victorian, and Tasmanian governments but less so the WA government today), all supporting destruction of our forests in an age of climate change. In short environmental criminals as per this map of Tasmania from TWS adapted from Google Earth apparently:

And notice this report of the determined support for the vandalism:

[Media release] 24 February 2007

Regional Forest Agreement Change is Alice in Wonderland Nonsense - Brown

“Humpty Dumpty: When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less.

Alice: The question is, whether you can make words mean so many different things. Humpty Dumpty: The question is: which is to be master - that's all.”

"The agreement by Prime Minister Howard and Tasmanian Premier Lennon to drop the pivotal clause which protects rare and endangered species is Alice in Wonderland-style nonsense, Greens Leader Bob Brown said today.

"Justice Marshall ruled that the reserve system and management prescriptions used in the Wielangta forest do not protect the Tasmanian Wedge-tailed Eagle, Swift Parrot and Wielangta Stag Beetle.

"Mr Howard and Mr Lennon say that, without change to logging impacts, they can stare down this ruling by simply writing their contrary opinion into the Regional Forest Agreement.  This will not prevail," said Senator Brown.

Senator Brown said that regardless of the RFA change, logging in the 10,000ha Wielangta forest remains illegal.  Neither will this hollow manoeuvre by Howard and Lennon change Australian or international laws which require the habitat of rare and endangered species to be protected.

"My lawyers will study the RFA changes in the coming weeks.  I have no intention of backing away from challenging the Tasmanian woodchip industry's threat to endangered species," Senator Brown said.

Further information: Emma Belfield 0400 181 748

……………..

We met Minister Bob Debus (side kick of Bob No.2, ex Premier Bob Carr) a few times in our activist career back to 1992, including at a presser for the oil spill at Shell's Gore Cove oil terminal in Sydney Harbour way back in 1998, our parliamentary submission here:

3/8/99...Sydney Harbour oil spill by Shell ship transport contractor, indicative of rogue multinational, Submission to NSW Parliamentary Inquiry

(and more generally on that multinational here Shell Hell ). To be fair that mini Exxon Valdez vandalism to our beautiful harbour that Vice President Dick Cheney has just been touring for the tv cameras yesterday 24^th February, as reported here:

Cheney says Hicks will be among first detainees tried

United States Vice-President Dick Cheney says David Hicks is likely to be among the first Guantanamo Bay detainees brought to trial.

….was all Shell’s incompetent fault some 8 years ago. Not the NSW government.

Purely by coincidence yesterday we butted up to the borders of new micro state Chenistan there in The Rocks next to the CBD where his hotel, the exclusive and bizarrely named Shangrila, is located to deliver the latest Sydney City News suburban freebie newspapers. 3 locations King George V Recreation Centre and two pubs full of tourists are on my list on the same street.

Perhaps Big Dick was going to his lunch date with the PM - as we walked to the first of our deliveries chatting with the street cops enforcing “the lockdown” a big black van with Men In Black suits went by, then a stretch limo emerged: Noticing their windows down I hurled some democratic advice “Arrest the war criminal, lock him up and throw away the key” The jolly front passenger cruising into the empty street hurriedly wound up the window, but I do have a loud voice so I know it went in. Then on leaving I suggested to the local officer ‘what we need is a Sydney bus driver to make a citizen's arrest and lock the bastard up’ referring to this local celebrity: Arresting bus driver up for award | NEWS.com.au

If only. Cheney's ideology is “scary” to borrow a term off the Sunday political talkies this morning, both in Iraq and in the Arctic Wildlife Reserve. Blood for oil. Just as the hypocrisy and anti environmentalism of the Australian Labor Party is scary for what it does to the souls of good people. Or is that just power politics everywhere and in every Party?