Nothing climate friendly about Garrett jumping on the redgum national park bandwagon
Environment Minister Peter Garrett has endorsed ex NSW Premier Nathan Rees’ disastrous decision to turn well-managed sustainable forests in the NSW Murray into a National Park.
"I welcome the NSW Government's announcement of a magnificent new red gum national park," Mr Garrett said.
''These forests and wetlands are a refuge for threatened species and deserve proper protection.”
“Mr Garrett could not even come up with the right reason to support the wrong decision!” Sussan Ley said.
“It has now been acknowledged by everyone, including the Minister’s own Department (in Senate Estimates), that the supposedly threatened Superb Parrot was just an excuse for Federal Government interference and the redgum forests are not even the parrot’s main habitat.”
“Mr Garrett says he is concerned about deforestation in our Asia Pacific region which is “at the frontline on climate change,” Ms Ley said.
Two years ago Peter Garrett said there should be an ending of the “illegal” importation of timber into Australia. With less locally harvested timber and more national parks, this is hardly going to happen. The demand for imported timber from old growth rainforests in South East Asia is only going to increase when our own industries are forced to close.
“If we all start using plastic furniture and fenceposts; how much more energy intensive will that be?” Ms Ley said.
“The Minister expects Australia at Copenhagen, to sign up to an agreement with developing countries to assist them reduce their deforestation. Australia’s policy, on the Minister’s own website, is for any policy to be designed to maximise the benefits that can flow to local… communities. Australia believes these communities need to be involved in the development of policies, for social as well as environmental integrity.
“What a pity the Minister is prepared to regard the interests of the rest of the world’s forest communities, but not those in his own State of NSW.”
Forests store carbon and a mature forest is highly likely to store LESS carbon than one that is actively managed. Mr Garrett should crunch the numbers on his own Department’s “carbon calculator” and find out the truth about how much carbon is sequestered in a properly managed forest.
Bio-energy can reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. Finland supplies 20% of its electricity from wood waste but there will be nothing environmentally friendly about the fires that will burn in these forests.
Minister Garrett says that the announcement “should make it easier to resolve the problem of Forest NSW's compliance with Commonwealth environment law”. The Minister seems unaware that the announcement effectively removes Forest NSW from the process altogether!
“I ask Mr Garrett to stand by the statements he made in support of an assessment process that he promised us would provide a balanced approach to the management of our forests and would support jobs and rural industries.” Ms Ley said
“The timber communities whose futures are at stake deserve no less.”
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Media contact: Debbie Brown (02) 60213264 0428 297 699