By Nick Fredman
LISMORE — Tree felling in the Beury State Forest, 100 kilometres north-west of here, has been disrupted by blockades set up on November 16 by the North East Forest Alliance (NEFA). This is in response to the NSW Labor government's forestry bill, currently before state parliament, which conservationists have slammed as threatening both areas of old-growth forest and wilderness and a number of endangered species.
The blockade follows occupations by NEFA of State Forests' Casino office on October 20 and National Party MP (and gung-ho pro-logger) Bob Page's Ballina office on November 2.
These actions, and a vigil outside NSW Parliament House, occurred before the release of the forestry bill, which conservationists feared would fall far short of the 1 million hectares of new protected forests in northern NSW they hoped for.
The bill protects only 375,000 hectares of public forest.
The resumption of direct action by NEFA follows three years of relative calm over forest conservation issues as conservationists underwent negotiations with government, industry, trade union and Aboriginal representatives to formulate a series of regional forest agreements (RFAs).
The negotiations came out of the federal Labor government's 1992 National Forest Policy, the stated aim of which was to obligate state governments to assess areas of forest and formulate RFAs with all interested parties that would supposedly create a "comprehensive reserve system" incorporating both biodiversity and sustainability.
These scientific assessments were the most positive aspect of the process, according to NEFA's Sue Higginson.
"The relevant government departments themselves identified 1 million hectares as being required to meet the commonwealth criteria to create an adequate reserve system", Higginson told Green Left Weekly.
The conservation movement was willing to compromise on an immediate protection of this area of forest, and NEFA's "Public Interest Plan" calls for the protection of 800,000 hectares, with another 280,000 added over 10 years. This would allow current levels of logging for the next eight years.
"The plan also calls for moves towards more sustainable uses of forests through use of plantation timber, tourism and food production."
The public release of the bill on November 10 was a blow to the conservationists' hope for a reasonable negotiated solution.
"It was quite shocking, after working so long and moving forward ... Carr has completely succumbed to industry pressure", Higginson said.
Not only will the protection of 375,000 hectares be completely inadequate to protect biodiversity and threatened animal species, but it will also reopen all other areas of forest, including 238,000 hectares of old growth and 56,000 hectares of wilderness, to intensive logging.
Even worse, Higginson said, is the "draconian" measures the bill introduces to protect the timber industry.
All decisions on logging will be at the discretion of three government ministers, with an express ban on any appeal or right of legal action against these decisions. As well, logging operations will be exempt from the Clean Waters Act and the Threatened Species Act.
The NSW Green MLC Ian Cohen has attacked the Carr government for "breaking its accord with the Greens", and threatened an electoral backlash. Higginson commented, "We're going to have to go back to blockading ... and all forms of raising public awareness, including mega-rallies in the cities".
The Democratic Socialists' Kath O'Driscoll told Green Left Weekly, "The Carr government's new forestry bill, and its support for the Timbarra gold mine, which will poison the Clarence River, are major threats to the environment of northern NSW.
"The environment movement has to organise as much public support as possible at blockades and actions in the towns and cities, and publicise an alternative that puts sustainable jobs and biodiversity before corporate profits."