Swift Parrot Public Authority Management Agreement

Media release – Roger Jaensch, Minister for Environment and Parks & Guy Barnett, Minister for Resources, 14 August 2020

Taking positive action to protect Tasmania’s Swift Parrot

The critically endangered Swift Parrot will be better protected with almost 10,000 hectares of potential nesting habitat to be excluded from wood production.

It follows extensive research and consultation between Sustainable Timber Tasmania and the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and the Environment, with a Swift Parrot Public Authority Management Agreement (PAMA) to be implemented for the Southern Forests.

Minister for Environment Roger Jaensch said this is a positive step to help protect the habitat of the critically endangered Swift Parrot in Tasmania.

“This is an important step for the critically endangered Swift Parrot and will help us to ensure its survival for the future,” Minister Jaensch said.

“The landmark agreement outlines various measures to protect the Swift Parrot, including the exclusion of almost 10,000 hectares of potential nesting habitat from harvesting within land managed by STT.

“STT will also continue its policy of not harvesting on Bruny Island, recognising that this area is free from sugar gliders and is therefore critical breeding habitat.”

Minister for Resources Guy Barnett also welcomed the agreement saying the PAMA provides certainty for the timber industry and for the conservation of the Swift Parrot.

“Tasmanians can be proud of the Government and STT’s commitment to protecting our threatened species, like the Swift Parrot, and our world class forest management practices.”

The PAMA sets out the roles and obligations of DPIPWE and STT with regards to forestry operations on Permanent Timber Production Zone land in the Southern Forests, which consists of 58,000 hectares of mature, regrowth and regeneration forests.

STT is also developing a Swift Parrot Management Plan for public production forests as part of a broader strategy of conservation for the Swift Parrot.

The protection of Swift Parrot habitat was identified as part of Sustainable Timber Tasmania’s Audit Report for Forest Stewardship Council certification, which is publicly available on STT’s website.

The Audit Report noted that STT:

• Demonstrate[d] an ethos of responsible management for and stewardship of a robust array of values and resources
• Demonstrated a culture of innovation and adaptive management through dedication to continuous improvement. Significant changes and improvements are recognised from 2014 to 2019
• Met 93 per cent of the indicators required to achieve certification

The Tasmanian Liberal Government is committed to a responsible and sustainable forestry industry that protects our threatened species, recognising the sector injects billions into the Tasmanian economy and provides thousands of jobs in regional communities.

Media release – Rosalie Woodruff MP | Greens Environment spokesperson, 14 August 2020

Liberals Pulling a Swiftie on Threatened Species

The swift parrot is no better protected today than it was yesterday under the Liberals in Government. The same destructive logging practices that have seen this critically endangered gem of a bird become more threatened are continuing in Tasmania.

Minister Jaensch and Barnett’s spinners went into overdrive on a Friday afternoon, with the announcement they will exclude some swift parrot habitat from logging. Yet no real information was provided by the government, and the only named area mentioned by the Ministers is already under a logging moratorium.

In Budget Estimates last year, we asked the Government to release the maps that designate which forests were to be excluded from harvesting under the proposed Public Authority Management Agreement. The Liberals refused to provide the maps then, and today are still hiding the location of the 10,000 hectares they are claiming will be excluded from logging.

All that was made publicly available today was greenwash and spin.

The swift parrot doesn’t return to the same forest areas each year, and flies to different feeding and breeding habitat depending on annual conditions. The proposal to exclude only 10,000 hectares of habitat in the southern forests, far less then half the estimated habitat across the south-east, does not do what’s needed to protect this critically endangered bird.

Like the proposal for the Great Koala National Park on the mainland, Tasmania should be protecting the entire south and eastern forest estate for the swift parrot.

The masked owl appears to have dropped off the Liberals’ radar. It is cynical of the government to just hone in on the swift parrot, when Tasmania’s forests are home a multitude of species – many of which are threatened and endangered.

STT and the Liberals are asking Tasmanians to trust them, when all they’ve done is put the swift parrot, masked owl and Tasmanian devil at greater risk of extinction. Choosing to exclude a small proportion of the forests that are essential habitat for these animals means they’re doubling down on logging the rest of it.

In the midst of a global biodiversity crisis, we must conserve all the habitat threatened animals need to continue to survive.

Editor: excerpts from the STT 2019 Audit Report by FSC that relate to the government’s claims above.
nb. CAR = corrective action request

and:

TASMANIAN TIMES: STT Releases 2019 FSC Audit.