Following the Tantawangalo forest protests and the submission of several breach reports by South East Forest Rescue (SEFR) to the regulator, a meeting was held on Wednesday afternoon between SEFR the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and Forestry Corporation at one of the rocky outcrop breaches. SEFR also met with the EPA on Tuesday afternoon and inspected two rocky outcrop breaches. The EPA was in agreement with SEFR at the size and composition of the outcrops inspected. They also informed SEFR they had found an outcrop themselves.

At Wednesdays meeting Forestry Corporation was in complete denial that they were in breach even when confronted with undeniable visual proof right in front of them. They failed to justify their reasoning for the wrong marking of the exclusion zone and following this told the EPA and SEFR that the meeting was over and left.

“It was a complete farce,” said Mr Scott Daines spokesperson for SEFR. “Forestry Corporation realised they did not have a leg to stand on and so rather than admit they are in breach they stormed off without looking at the other 4 areas. It was also sad to see the change in attitude of the EPA with Forestry present. They went from all but confirming the breach to we need to go and ‘crunch the data back in the office.’ “

“Investigations by the EPA invariably take at least 6 months and some take 2 years, and then all they seem to do is give Forestry Corporation a warning letter or an official caution,” said Mr Daines, “Because it’s a government department investigating a government corporation there seems to be a lack of urgency and enforcement in their actions. Unfortunately the Government has also taken away the public’s right to take legal action against Forestry Corporation over breaches of the law. It’s a lose lose situation for the forests.”

“The Government needs to reinstate third party rights for the public and immediately make sure the EPA responds faster and with more enforcement action to the environmental damage being caused by forestry. The native forest industry is a complete basket case of an industry, highly subsidised, loss making, legally shielded, unregulated and environmentally destructive,” said Mr Daines.

SEFR calls on the Minister for the Environment Mark Speakman to stop the logging of the remaining area in Tantawangalo as compensatory habitat for the damage already caused by Forestry Corporation and their contractors and for them to be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible. “After years of breaches and lack of enforcement, it’s the only credible option the Minister has,” said Mr Daines.
Scott Daines