South Sister: tell the truth

The South Sister is still hanging on but we fear it will only be days or weeks before the chainsaws arrive.

Despite having evidence that Forestry Tasmania’s (FT) experts presented misleading and false information about key features within the coupe in September, 2005, the ‘independent’ watchdog, Forest Practices Authority (FPA) have ignored this information and continue to support FT’s decision to log the area where a previous landslide has occurred.

The Chair of the FPA, Isobel Stanley recently wrote and addressed a letter to both David Clement and myself (both SOS members) despite numerous yet separate letters from us both regarding South Sister! Stanley’s letter was received on January 13, 2005 more than three months after the first letter regarding South Sister (October 7, 2005) was sent to her.

David’s letters to her had focused on groundwater issues and my letters focused on landslip and subsidence. Despite this, we received a joint letter!

The ongoing contempt FPA has for the concerns of SOS are startling.

Requests for a meeting between experts have been denied and FPA (Stanley) has stated that: “I do not support any further review by the Forest Practice Authority”.

Requests for Mineral Resources Tasmania or an independent enquiry have been ignored. The general public, despite legitimate concerns have no effective channel where they have the opportunity to voice their opinions.

The Minister, Bryan Green continues to ignore the issues and passes letters received over to FT! There appears to be no intention to thoroughly investigate the misleading evidence as recommended by Engineer, Ralph Rallings when he outlined his concerns to the Minister in a letter in December (and again on January 9, 2006). He is still awaiting a reply to both letters.

Additional letters from David and myself to Minister Green are yet to be answered (see www.southsister.org for copies of these letters).

Save our Sisters’ legal representative, Environmental Defender’s Office still awaits replies from letters to FPA’s Chair, Isobel Stanley (letter sent in November with a follow up early January) asking for revocation or variation of the forest practices plan after the submission of new evidence by FT.

Numerous other letters to Chief Forest Practices Officer and politicians are also yet to be answered.

The only good news is that a small part of the coupe will be excluded from harvesting due to significant subsidence. After alerting FPA to the presence of subsidence within the harvestable boundaries, FT has finally admitted that the total area of subsidence over Cardiff Mine should be excluded from the coupe. A variation to the plan is expected. BUT this variation only comes about after more than 2 years of ‘careful and thorough planning’ by FT!!

Despite FT and FPA’s constant reminders to SOS that they have ‘carefully and thoroughly planned’ the harvesting plan for this coupe, they failed on numerous occasions to identify subsidence (some holes measuring up to 10 m long) over the Cardiff mine.

FT also failed to identify an old large landslide in the north eastern zone, more than 20 water seepage points on the coupe, the 300 acre Jubilee mine below the coupe.

If this is ‘careful and thorough’ planning then we are now certainly sure of the incompetent and substandard procedures of forest practices in Tasmania. We are also sure that members of the public presenting evidence contrary to FT’s experts is ignored.

What hope is there when:

• FT’s watchdog fails to monitor and act upon evidence presented to them?

• When politicians fail to listen and act upon the concerns of those who voted them in to office?

Frances Daily

Picture: www.southsister.org