Environmentalists have called for the abolition of the Forestry Corporation of New South Wales after the state-owned agency was charged with 29 offences alleging it repeatedly failed to protect a threatened species.
The state Environment Protection Authority laid the charges on Thursday after a two-year investigation into accusations the corporation breached forestry and biodiversity laws while operating in the Tallaganda state forest, east of Canberra.
An EPA spokesperson said it was alleged that between August 2021 and January 2024 the corporation conducted forestry operations in seven areas without properly identifying and protecting habitat for the endangered southern greater glider.
Sign up: AU Breaking News email
The alleged offences were laid under coastal integrated logging rules, the Forestry Act and the Biodiversity Conservation Act. They include failing to properly search for and identify glider den trees before harvesting, failing to replace hollow-bearing trees that were damaged or felled and damaging the habitat of a threatened species.
Three environment organisations – WWF Australia, Wilderness Australia, and South East Forest Rescue – have campaigned to close the corporation and revealed images of destruction in the forest in 2023. They said the new charges against the agency should be the “final straw”.
Scott Daines, from South East Forest Rescue, said NSW should follow Western Australia and Victoria in stopping native forest logging.
“Eastern Australia remains a global deforestation front and much of that is driven by logging in NSW,” he said. “How much longer can the NSW government persist with destroying our irreplaceable forests?”
Andrew Wong, operations manager for Wilderness Australia, accused the Forestry Corporation of being a “rogue agency”.
“This agency is built on a business model of pushing boundaries to survive and yet it still racks up millions in losses,” he said. “Shutting down native forest logging and transitioning to plantations will be hugely beneficial.”
Dr Kita Ashman, a conservation scientist with WWF Australia, said forests were “far more valuable standing – for wildlife, carbon storage and future generations”.
A Forestry Corporation spokesperson said it had been informed of the legal proceedings “in relation to operations in Tallaganda state forest in 2023”. They declined to comment further while the matter was before the state’s land and environment court.
The agency was ordered to immediately stop logging in parts of the forest in August 2023 after a dead greater glider nearby. At the time, conservationists warned the area was one of the last known strongholds of the southern greater glider.
The corporation has been convicted for environmental offences more than a dozen times. Earlier this year, a former magistrate, Prof David Heilpern, and one of Australia’s most experienced scientists, the Australian National University’s David Lindenmayer, accused the corporation of being effectively a “criminal organisation” after a string of prior court convictions.
The agency described the criticism – which included Heilpern comparing the agency to a bikie gang – as “ridiculous”.
The NSW Greens environment spokesperson, Sue Higginson, said the agency was a “serial offender”.
“The Forestry Corporation is costing the public millions of dollars every year in losses and yet blame community scrutiny and legal action for their failed business model,” she said. “The Minns Labor government cannot claim to be serious about biodiversity or climate while allowing this industry to continue.”
The NSW government declined to comment while the issue was before the courts. The case is listed for an initial hearing on 10 October.
