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State's forests deal comes with a catchThe expansion of East Gippsland’s national parks has thrown up an unexpected twist that Eastern Victoria MP Philip Davis says will make it near impossible for the Government to meet its commitments to provide offsets to the region’s timber industry. By Kevin Balshaw - 10th December 2009 - Back to News The expansion of East Gippsland’s national parks has thrown up an unexpected twist that Eastern Victoria MP Philip Davis says will make it near impossible for the Government to meet its commitments to provide offsets to the region’s timber industry.
Mr Davis said the Government had been forced into an admission that while areas to be added to national parks had been defined as part of the legislative process, no steps had been taken to rezone alternative areas for timber harvesting.
Instead, the harvesting areas would be finalised as part of a review next year of the Regional Forest Agreement (RFA), which would have to be conducted in association with the Commonwealth.
While the Government had claimed the new harvesting areas would be available "early next year", Mr Davis said the RFA review would involve a consultative process that could drag on indefinitely.
"This poses a real risk of a renewed fight with conservation activists over the rezoning of areas for harvesting and may well jeopardise the prospect of the Government meeting its obligation to make available at least 130,000 cubic metres of saw logs required for the industry to maintain a sustainable yield," he said.
"The Government promised the trade-off at the 2006 election with a commitment that more than 40,000 hectares of old growth forests would be added to national parks in East Gippsland without any loss of resource or jobs to the timber industry.
"This was to have been achieved with the rezoning of areas currently listed as special protection zones as detailed in a report prepared by the Industry Transition Task Force.
"But the work to prepare the reallocation of the special protection zones for harvesting has not been done in parallel with the definition of the new national park areas.
"I perceive a disconnect between the Government’s enthusiasm to implement a new national park system and its enthusiasm to deliver on the deal for the timber industry."
Mr Davis said in advance of the legislation being introduced to Parliament the Government promised the industry it would rezone the special protection zones to return them to timber production.
The industry had taken the Government at its word on the basis that the Industry Transition Task Force had identified and assessed the zones.
"All the legislation has done in effect is set up the next contest, which will be over whether the Government has the political will to do what it promises," Mr Davis said.
"The test of the integrity of the Government is for us to see that happen."
Mr Davis said as a consequence of these concerns, he was one who felt burdened in supporting the passage of the bill, but he did so in light of the fact that the industry had accepted the Government’s commitment and it was now a matter that had to be taken on trust.
The legislation was passed in the Upper House December 8.
Source: http://gippsland.com/ Published by: kevin.balshaw@parliament.vic.gov.au
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