Candowie Blue Gum Plantation
31 Mar 2008
It seems that the company ultimately behind the blue gum plantation alongside Candowie Reservoir which has been approved by Bass Coast Shire is Malaysian based Rimbunan Hijau.
Well the Shire and Westerport Water can expect more than a few complaints from people who drink the water once the planatation is in full swing. Have a look at http://www.masalai-i-tokaut.com/ to check out the prior performance of this logging group. The site mainly deals with old growth forest logging - but it demonstrates the cavalier attitude to the environment and people's rights.
Tags:
bass coast shire, blue gum plantations, candowie, westernport water
Posted at: 05:59 PM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink
Government hides FOI documents on the Strzeleckis
30 Mar 2008
The attempt by Friends of the Earth to obtain relevant documents relating to actions (or inaction) by the Department of Sustainability and Environment on the Strzeleckis has met with only partial success. It's just one more example why the name of the Freedom of Information legislation should be changed to Freedom from Information. The Department has hidden over 300 pages of relevant documentation and handed over less than half of the many documents which track the way department officers tried to thwart Government policy and kill off any deal between Hancocks the community and the Government.
No doubt there will be another go through VCAT. Eventually the material will come to light.
Tags:
department of sustainability and environment, freedom of information, strzeleckis
Posted at: 09:40 AM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink
Caring for our Country - the new NHT
28 Mar 2008
The Federal Government changes to NHT funding, as a result of slack processes revealed by audits of many of the delivery networks, may help to produce better environmental outcomes.
By reducing amounts distributed automatically through Catchment Management Authorities and other service delivery bodies throughout Australia we may see a greater percentage of the funds actually resulting in on-ground works.
Much will depend on how the CMA's react to the cuts in their funding allocations. If they simply maintain the status quo within their own organisations and chop the funding they handover to other groups, the situation will be even worse than before (if the Fed's tolerate that).
Apparently the Board of the West Gippsland CMA has already decided on cuts to the various bodies who deliver programs and projects which are designed to meet their Catchment Strategy. That approach clearly wasn't the idea behind the changes - the cuts in funding were supposed to cut some of the fat out of the administrative process.
Tags:
caring for our country, nht, west gippsland cma
Posted at: 08:06 AM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink
Blue Gum plantation next to Candowie Reservoir
23 Mar 2008
The establishment of a Blue Gum plantation next to Candowie Reservoir demonstrates just how gullible some people are. The site is within an area designated as a 'Special Water Supply Catchment' but Bass Coast Shire approved the permit, and Westernport Water didn't even object!
Sure there are permit conditions which try to impose some sort of control over how the plantation is managed - but down here conditions are seldom enforced and the operators know that. The proponents will have to prepare an Environmental Management Plan, a Risk Management Plan and a Timber Harvesting Plan - it will be interesting to see how these plans are assessed.
One of the main reasons for allowing it was apparently that forestry was regarded as less of a problem than the inappropriate farming practices currently conducted. It probably didn't occur to any of the planners that maybe it would have been better to protect the water source for the regional community by stopping those inappropriate practices! Cropping and grazing right up to the edge of the water and in watercourses had and still has a major impact on water quality.
Buffers on creek lines as little as 10 metres have been approved which will mean that water flowing into...
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Tags:
bass coast shire, candowie, forestry, westernport water
Posted at: 07:58 AM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink
Revelations soon on the Strzeleckis
13 Mar 2008
It will soon become clear who has done what to whom on the Strzelecki's fiasco!
Requests for details of actions, under Freedom of Information were lodged by Friends of the Earth, and copies of letters and emails should be available in the next day or so.
It's hard to wait, because much of the duplicity is already known. Government employees have actively worked against the implementation of Government policy - but the details need to be made public before demands are made for the right heads to roll.
Roll on!
Tags:
hancocks, logging, strzeleckis, trust for nature
Posted at: 06:58 PM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink
Groups Angry over Delays in Finalising Strzelecki Reserve
4 Mar 2008
Community groups, Friends of Gippsland Bush and Friends of the Earth today expressed concern that negotiations over the buy-back of key rainforest and wet forests of the Strzelecki Ranges continue to stall. The Reserve was announced by Environment Minister John Thwaites in October 2006 (the new Environment Minister is Gavin Jennings) and is still official Labor Party Policy.
Groups are upset that Hancock Victorian Plantations continue to log contentious rainforest areas in the cores and links, without community input, which is in breach of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in October 2006. The groups have documented many breaches to the HoA committed by Hancock over the past 17 months.
"The way the community has been treated by the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) and Hancock has been absolutely disgraceful" said Friends of the Earth spokesman Anthony Amis. "Almost every effort to negotiate an outstanding win for the biodiversity of the region, has been thwarted and undermined by the DSE who are opposing any moves that Trust for Nature manage the area as Reserve. DSE want to take control in order to log the reserve themselves" Mr Amis said. "We've had to put up with 17 months of...
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Tags:
hancocks, logging, rainforest, wood chips
Posted at: 04:15 PM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink
