New South Wales’ Agriculture Minister Dugald Saunders has introduced a bill to amend environmental planning and assessment laws to parliament with the goal of taking local councils out of the process and extending private logging approvals to 30 years. Source: Timberbiz
The current 15-year maximum “creates the perverse outcome of landholders harvesting before forests reach ecological and commercial maturity,” Mr Saunders said.
Under environmental planning laws, councils have the power to require landowners to obtain a development approval if they wish to undertake logging on their properties.
However Local Government NSW has condemned the move likening it to a repeat of the infamous “Koala Wars” of 2020.
Koala habitat is a sensitive issue that almost blew up the NSW coalition in 2020 when then deputy premier John Barilaro threatened to move the Nationals to the crossbench.
Mr Saunders says koalas will have strengthened protections under the bill, with a requirement to retain 20 koala feed trees per hectare, he said.
“Visual assessments for the presence of koalas prior to harvest operations” will also help protect the iconic native marsupial.
The government has “dual objectives of robust protections for koalas in high-value koala habitat and certainty and consistency for primary producers” and the bill meets those, Mr Saunders said.
The bill also seeks to remove duplicate approval processes between state and local governments, as recommended by a recent forestry inquiry.
State premier Dominic Perrottet said the legislation “strikes the right balance” and had been supported “unanimously” in the cabinet room.
“This was the agreement reached last year. It was obviously difficult debate at that point in time, but ultimately we landed together,” the premier said.
“It shows a government working together in coalition that balances the needs to provide farmers with support for renewable faming efforts, at the same time protecting koalas’ natural habitat.”
LGNSW president Darriea Turley says the Bill has been rushed into parliament without any consultation with local government.
“This Bill undermines the crucial role councils play in the regulation of private forestry operations,” she said.
“It will have devastating impacts on important native habitats, particularly for koalas and many of the state’s other threatened species.
“In addition, it removes the ability of councils to consider the broader impacts of forestry operations on their communities, such as noise, traffic, amenity and infrastructure impacts.
“This also includes the impact private logging has on a road network that is on the verge of collapse after devastating floods this year.”
She said councils need to know where forestry is being approved in relation to other planning approvals to ensure impacts on the community are minimised.
LGNSW has written to Mr Perrottet and Opposition Leader Chris Minns to call on both leaders to stop the Bill’s passage through Parliament.
“Has this government not learnt anything from the disastrous Koala Wars that almost ripped the Coalition apart?” Ms Turley said.
“This Bill shows a blatant disregard for the essential voice of democratically elected councils and the communities they represent, all to appease a small handful of vested interest groups.
“I call on all State MPs to oppose this Bill and ensure councils continue to have appropriate oversight over forestry activities to not only safeguard their communities but also native habitats,” she said.
