Media release the TCT issued to New Zealand media last Friday 4 May 2012 re VDL’s proposal to clear native forest
New Zealand council-owned company set to clear large area of native forest in NW Tasmania, including destroying Tasmanian devil habitat
The Tasmanian Conservation Trust (a non-government conservation group based in Tasmania, Australia) is outraged that the Van Diemens Land Company (VDL) – which is owned by the New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) – intends to clear a large area of native forest, including the habitat of the Tasmania devil and other endangered species, on its Woolnorth dairy farm in north-west Tasmania.
The VDL’s web site states that VDL is 98.42% owned by Tasman Farms Ltd, which in turn is 87.94% owned by the NPDC.
“The TCT’s primary concern is that as a part if its planned dairy expansion, VDL intends to clear a large area of native forest – perhaps all 7000ha remaining on its Woolnorth property – and convert it to dairy pasture and this will be disastrous for Tasmania’s fauna icon the Tasmanian devil and other endangered species.”
The TCT is also concerned that the VDL may have lobbied the Tasmanian Government to revise the state native forest clearing policy (amended in September 2011) to assist it in facilitating its clearing ambitions and that, if VDL is successful in clearing a large area of native forest, it may trigger an escalation of clearing across Tasmania.
“If the VDL goes ahead with clearing its native forest it could trigger an escalation in forest clearing which may threaten the government’s commitment to ending broad-scale clearing on private land by 2015.”
The native vegetation on the VDL property contains habitat for the nationally listed threatened species including the Tasmanian devil, tiger quoll, Tasmanian giant freshwater crayfish and dwarf galaxies as well as several threatened forest communities.
The Tasmanian devil population on VDL’s land has an exceptionally high significance as it is a high-density population which is still free from the deadly facial tumour disease which is wiping out the species throughout much of Tasmania. The VDL’s web site confirms that this population is under investigation by the Tasmanian Government’s Save the Tasmanian Devil Program for addition to the insurance population for this endangered species. The Tasmanian Government has proposed construction of a ‘protective’ fence around the VDL property to keep these healthy Tasmanian devils safe from the deadly facial tumour disease. For these reasons, the population of Tasmanian devils on VDL’s property is arguably the most important in existence.
“The population of Tasmanian devils on VDL’s property is arguably the most important in existence and the survival of the species may depend on its protection. To destroy the habitat after going to great effort to protect the devils from infection from the deadly facial tumour disease would be a perverse and outrageous outcome – not to mention a waste of Australian tax-payer’s money.”
“Over the last six months the TCT has made considerable efforts to raise its concerns directly with VDL and the Mayor of the NPDC and the responses from both has been totally unsatisfactory.”
“The evasive and uncooperative approach from VDL and the Mayor of the NPDC reinforces our fear that VDL intends to clear the maximum possible area of native forest, irrespective of the environmental impacts, and VDL is determined not to compromise at all.”
“Clearing of native forest is no longer permitted in New Zealand therefore we believe that most New Zealanders would not want one of their companies destroying Tasmania’s native forests and threatening the habitat of endangered species such as the Tasmanian devil.
“The TCT also hopes that the rate-payers of New Plymouth, who are the ultimate owners of VDL, will help us to stop this large scale destruction of Tasmania’s native forest and prevent the Tasmanian devil from being pushed closer to extinction.”
“The TCT still holds out the hope that VDL and NPDC will cooperate with us so that the proposed dairy expansion is able to go ahead whilst maximizing the protection of natural values on the VDL property.”
Download, ‘Open Letter To all Councillors, New Plymouth District Council’, 4 May 2012. As well as requesting the support of NPDC Councillors, this letter provides further details regarding the TCT’s concerns and recommendations plus a record of our interaction with VDL and NPDC:
(unable to upload)
Some of the coverage received in New Zealand::
http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/6870115/Dairy-plans-may-threaten-devil
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/new-plymouth-council-in-tasmanian-devil-row-4865643
• WOOLNORTH LAND CLEARING WOULD DEVASTATE DEVILS
Lucrative Clean/Green Brand Under Threat
Cassy O’Connor MP
Greens Environment Spokesperson
The Tasmanian Greens today called on the owners of the Woolnorth property in far north-west Tasmania to rule out any moves to clear native forests, which provide essential habitat for the endangered tasmanian devil.
Greens Environment spokesperson Cassy O’Connor MP said that devil habitat was under pressure all over Tasmania, and the north-west was last stronghold for disease-free devils living in the wild.
“We hope that the Van Diemen’s Land Company take their environmental stewardship responsibilities seriously, because the native forest on Woolnorth is critical to the survival to the devil,” Ms O’Connor said
“Far north-west Tasmania is home to some of the last healthy populations of Tasmanian devils, and clear felling large areas to make way for grazing land would be catastrophic for this species on the brink.”
“Unfortunately, companies like Woolnorth have been given the green light to clear fell native forests, after the Forestry Minister Bryan Green gave himself the authority to ignore the previous land clearing restrictions.”
“The changes to the Permanent Native Forest Estate Policy last year permit the Minister, rather than the Forest practices Authority, to decide on applications to clear areas larger than the 40 hectares per property per annum.”
“The Van Diemen’s Land Company now need to be up front about how much land they want to clear, as well as what studies have been carried out into the impact on devils and other threatened species in the area.”
“Tasmanian brands like Cape Grim Beef do extremely well in export markets, because of their close association with the clean and green image of north-western Tasmania.”
“If Woolnorth goes ahead with any mass land clearing of native forests, they will be putting at risk the hard-won gains of all primary producers in the north-west region.”
• ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION ORGANISATIONS OF NZ INC.
Level 2, 126 Vivian St, Wellington, New Zealand
PO Box 11-057, Wellington
Email: [email protected] Website: www.eco.org.nz
Phone/Fax 64-4-385-7545
Media release – 7 May 2012
New Plymouth District Council company implicated in forest logging: Tasmanian Devils at risk
Plans to destroy Tasmanian native forest and threatened species’ habitat by the New Plymouth District Council’s were condemned by the Environment and Conservation Organisations of NZ (ECO) today.
ECO Spokesperson Cath Wallace said the area is habitat for a range of Australian nationally threatened species, including freshwater fish and crayfish, the tiger quoll, threatened forest communities.
“The proposal, condemned in an open letter this week from the Tasmanian Conservation Trust, is apparently to convert native forest areas to dairy land in a 7,000ha block.“
“Of major international concern, a population of Tasmanian devils, which is rare anyway, but rarer still for being free of the devastating face cancer virus that is killing other populations, is in the area and depends on the native forest for habitat.”
The proposals by New Plymouth owned company Van Diemen’s Land are terrible news for the Tasmanian environment and for New Zealand’s international reputation, says Cath Wallace, the ECO co chairperson.
“We call on Harry Duynhoven, Mayor of New Plymouth, and councillors and staff of the company and the New Plymouth District Council, to immediately and fully disclose both the Van Diemans Land Company’s plans for clearing Tasmanian native forest, and the correspondence or other contact between it and the Tasmanian and Federal government. “
Cath Wallace said we need to know just what this company plans,.
Van Diemans Land Company is 98.42% owned by Tasman Farms Ltd which is 87.94% by the New Plymouth District Council.
“It is irresponsible of the Council to invest rate payer funds into such environmentally harmful activities” Why can’t they invest in something in New Zealand which is constructive, generate jobs, and puts us onto a green economic path, such as energy efficiency or renewable energy programmes? said Cath Wallace.
Mayor Duyhoven’s response that nothing will be allowed without the approval of the Tasmanian government is no comfort: the Tasmanian government has been allowing wholesale logging of its native forests for decades.
Cath Wallace said Ecological studies are not a protection. “We already know these areas are too important to log.”
New Zealand would not allow such native forest logging in our country, so why should the people of New Plymouth be saddled with such irresponsible investments?
ECO calls on the New Plymouth District Council to reveal all now and call an immediate halt to any plans the company may have to log the forests.
Notes:
ECO – the Environment and Conservation Organisations was established in 1972 and represents 55 groups with a concern for the environment.
The Tasmanian Conservation Trust (TCT) was founded in 1968 and it is the longest continuing environment organisation in Tasmania. The Trust involves itself in the full range of conservation issues.
The Van Diemen’s Land Company’s vision is to be Australasia’s largest and best dairy farmer through a combination of: continuing conversion of non-dairy farmland and bush land to dairy farms; [See http://www.vdlfarms.com.au/vision]
Van Diemen’s Land Company announced in August that it planned to clear some of the 7000ha of forested land on its Woolnorth property to accommodate a $180 million expansion, which would triple its milk production over the next three to four years. [See http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2011/09/10/260391_tasmania-news.html]
