Biodiversity Council back crossbench call to end unfair legal exemptions for forestry industry

The Biodiversity Council strongly support the position of the crossbench in calling for an end to the carve-out of native forest logging from national environmental law.

For 25 years Regional Forestry Agreements (RFAs) have allowed one small industry to operate outside the rules of national environmental law while it undertakes an environmentally harmful activity.

Regional Forestry Agreements have greatly increased the extinction risk of many forest-dependent native species, such as Leadbeater’s possum, greater gliders and swift parrots.

The independent expert group founded by 11 Australian universities say that to be fair as well as effective, environmental regulations need to apply equally to all industries.

For example, few people in the community would think it acceptable if rules to minimise pollution discharged into rivers were allowed to be ignored by one big polluting industry while they applied to everyone else.

The expert group say that from scientific evidence and legal viewpoints there are no reasonable arguments as to why Regional Forestry Agreements should continue.

Co-Chief Biodiversity Councillor Professor Hugh Possingham from The University of Queensland, the former Queensland Government Chief Scientist said:

“For about 25 years Regional Forest Agreements have meant that native timber forestry is exempt from our premier nature laws.

“This hasn’t worked for threatened species such as greater gliders and swift parrots which have been in precipitous decline.

“It is time to make native timber forestry as accountable as everyone else for protecting nature.”

Biodiversity Councillor Professor of environmental law Jan McDonald from The University of Tasmania said:

“The Samuel Review of our national environmental law — the EPBC Act — expressed ‘low confidence’ that the environmental protections for forests under RFAs are the same as under the EPBC Act.

“These weaknesses are compounded by the fact that state forestry agencies are responsible for monitoring, compliance and enforcement of species-protection provisions.

“With little Commonwealth oversight of state compliance, it’s like leaving the fox in charge of the hen house.”

The Biodiversity Council is an independent group founded by 11 Australian universities and draws together experts from environmental science, Indigenous knowledge, economics, law, and social science to promote evidence-based solutions to Australia’s nature loss crisis.