Beddall's bungling gives hope for the forests
By Dailan Pugh
Little did federal resource minister David Beddall realise, when he gave the woodchippers a Christmas present of 6 million tonnes of woodchips, that he would set in train a series of events which for the first time provides the hope that the bitter struggle to save NSW's old-growth forests and wildernesses will soon be won.
The voracity of the public outcry over Beddall's failure to protect any of the 1300 high conservation value forests identified by the federal environment minister, Senator Faulkner, caught everyone by surprise. With a NSW election only three months away, Bob Carr realised that he had to rapidly distance himself from his federal colleagues by promising to protect old-growth forests and developing a new forest policy.
Prime Minister Keating thought that if he protected 509 of Faulkner's forests, that would be seen as a reasonable compromise. But the industry blockade of Parliament House soon convinced him otherwise. Thus began the farcical reassessment process which progressively whittled down the compartments at industry's insistence, until now only 264 remain — a compromised compromise. In NSW the 672 high conservation value areas identified by Faulkner were first cut to 249, then 214, then 206 and finally to 151.
As the federal ALP attempted damage control, Premier Fahey succumbed to National Party demands to allow some of the most valuable of these forests to be logged while refusing to allow the National Parks and Wildlife Service to take part in the reassessment. The timber industry backed Fahey with a million dollar campaign.
Meanwhile the state ALP developed a forest policy in consultation with both the unions and the conservation movement. The unions realised that it would not be long before all the loggable old-growth forest would be gone and that therefore it would be in the best interests of their members to get government assistance for restructuring rather than being displaced as the old growth was cut out and mills closed.
By developing a policy that promises to implement the National Forest Policy Statement, protect wilderness, rapidly phase out old-growth logging, establish an adequate forest reserve system and provide assistance to displaced workers, the state ALP were able to get support from both unionists and conservationists.
The state election saw the conservation movement and the Greens backing the ALP, finally resulting in Carr forming government. At the same time the Canberra by-election resulted in a massive swing against the federal ALP, sending shock waves through the federal government.
Fearing a humiliating defeat at the next election and a repeat of this year's fiasco, the federal government is following Carr's example by making the release of the latest high conservation value forests conditional upon the other states taking measures to protect some wilderness and old-growth forests. It is also now offering restructuring assistance to workers displaced as a result of some areas being protected.
It remains to be seen how Carr's forest policy will be translated into reality, and Keating still has a lot of catching up to do, though the long struggle to save some of our rapidly diminishing old growth appears to have finally turned the comer. We must thank Faulkner and Carr for their leading roles in facilitating this change, but none of it would have been possible without Beddall's bungling.
We must not forget that every day thousands of ancient trees are still being felled as old growth continues to be destroyed. We have already lost too much old growth and are in the midst of an ecological disaster of unprecedented proportions. The full ramifications of the massive damage already perpetrated upon our forests will take many decades to become apparent. There is now the chance to arrest the decline and begin environmental restoration.
[Dailan Pugh is a spokesperson for the North East Forest Alliance.]