Brown ponders FT contempt

FORESTRY Tasmania may be charged with contempt of the Federal Court in its long-running Wielangta Forest case.

The action is under consideration by Tasmanian Senator Bob Brown.

In December last year Senator Brown launched Federal Court action in a bid to stop logging in the Wielangta Forest, arguing it threatens endangered species including the Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle.

This morning in the Federal Court in Hobart Senator Brown’s SC Debbie Mortimer is expected to seek a further injunction to stop all forestry activity in Wielangta until the case is concluded.

Ms Mortimer is expected to argue that an earlier undertaking has been breached because Forestry this month allowed regeneration burns in the forest. This could amount to contempt of the court.

When the case was first launched in early December last year, Ms Mortimer argued there was no evidence Forestry Tasmania’s management system protected three endangered species in a south-east forest.

Senator Brown’s self-funded action against Forestry Tasmania seeks to stop logging in two coupes, about 50km south-east of Hobart.

Threaten habitat

He believes the court action could affect forest agreements across Australia.

Senator Brown, who faces up to $250,000 in court costs, has said the case attacked the presumption that logging operations were exempt from the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

This could have implications for the nation’s 10 Regional Forest Agreements.

The Commonwealth and state governments have intervened in the action to defend the RFAs.

Ms Mortimer has said logging the two coupes would threaten the habitat of three endangered species — the Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle, swift parrot and Wielangta stag beetle.

She has told the Federal Court evidence would show Forestry did not act in accordance with Tasmania’s RFA and the company was not exempt through the RFA from the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

“Forestry operations must protect threatened species or they will not be in accordance with the Regional Forest Agreement,” she said.

“There is absolutely no evidence (Forestry Tasmania’s) management system in fact delivers protection by way of results to these threatened species.”

Ms Mortimer said under the legislation it was not enough to try to protect threatened species.

She said the wedge-tailed eagle, swift parrot and Wielangta stag beetle were all listed as priority species under Tasmania’s RFA.

Forestry Tasmania would argue it had best-practice systems in place and an auditing process for logging operations.

And,

Sue Neales, The Mercury:

A POLITICAL furore has erupted over the surprise $60million road funding package included in this week’s Federal Budget to upgrade the East Tamar Highway between Bell Bay and Launceston. The route has already been branded a rort and Prime Minister John Howard’s $60million “gift” to Gunns Ltd chief John Gay, who plans to build a pulp mill at Bell Bay. “This is an outrageous rort,” Greens Senator Bob Brown said yesterday. “Tasmania’s community interest has been sidelined by the cosy relationship between the Government and Gunns. “It’s a case of `Gunns rule’ and will leave many Tasmanians shaking their heads at this political patronage based on featherbedding Tasmania’s richest company.”

Read the rest here: Greens cry foul over $60m pulp mill route