Legal bid to end native logging

Political Editor

ENVIRONMENTALIST Bob Brown has launched legal action aimed at ending all native forest logging in Tasmania.

Dr Brown, the former leader of the Australian Greens, has started action in the Federal Court claiming most of the state’s forestry operations are illegal.

The lawsuit claims the Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement between the state and commonwealth does not accord with the federal Regional Forest Agreements Act 2002.

“The RFA Act requires there to be enforceable environmental arrangements between Canberra and Hobart for forestry operations to ensure protection of endangered species,” Bob Brown Foundation lawyer Roland Browne said on Friday.

“The … Foundation’s case is that the RFA is not legally enforceable, especially for the system of reserves and the requirement for ecologically sustainable forest management.”

Dr Brown said he hoped the legal challenge would put an end to native forest logging in Tasmania for good.

“This is a huge undertaking for us but everyone knows that the flattening and burning of native forests and wildlife is not ecologically sustainable. It is ecological death. The industry is based on a monumental lie and this challenge puts that lie to the test,” he said.

Australian Forest Products Association CEO Ross Hampton said the news was unwelcome. “Vexatious litigation is just one of the tactics used by the BBF and other activist groups to disrupt lawful, sustainably managed timber harvesting operations around Australia, alongside illegal protests, site invasions and intimidation of workers,” he said.

A state government spokesman said the government had full confidence in the Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement.