THE battle to protect the country's largest river red gum forest, home to the threatened superb parrot, will escalate today when the NSW Government's forestry department outlines logging plans that environmentalists claim are illegal.
Forests NSW will release a long-awaited environmental impact statement on its plans to continue logging in the red gum forests of south-west NSW that spread out along the Murray River.
But the Wilderness Society and the National Parks Association say it will be meaningless because it is not expected to answer allegations that NSW is breaching federal laws designed to protect threatened birds in areas recognised as internationally significant wetlands.
Forests NSW is being investigated by the federal environment department for the breaches. Environmentalists are targeting the NSW Minister for Primary Industries, Ian Macdonald, who they say is putting pressure on the federal Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, by warning that hundreds of jobs are at stake around Deniliquin.
"We have been shocked and appalled by the attitude of minister Macdonald and his department that have been logging illegally under state and federal environment laws," said a spokeswoman for the National Parks Association, Carmel Flint. "Instead of doing their utmost to change that situation they have gone and, it would seem, tried to force their way to continue the illegal operations".
Mr Macdonald told the Herald that Forests NSW had complied with relevant state laws. Both he and Mr Garrett said Forests NSW and federal officials are "working co-operatively" over the alleged breaches of federal laws.
Last week Mr Garrett extended the deadline for Forests NSW to negotiate over the alleged breaches after two weeks of heated debate during which the main NSW forestry lobby called him a galah. The Wilderness Society disputed the figure of 1000 jobs at risk; it says the number is fewer than 200 and that much of the timber logged ends up as firewood for Victorians.
Mr Garrett said there were important issues at stake over the potential impact on wetlands. But he believed there would be a resolution soon "which achieves the twin objectives of a sustainable forest industry and proper protection of the environment".
The parks association estimates about 20,000 hectares of internationally listed wetlands may have been logged in breach of federal laws since 2003.
But Mr Macdonald told the Herald: "Forests NSW operates on the basis of its understanding of the requirements of relevant state and commonwealth legislation". He said the state environment department, which is under his colleague, Carmel Tebbutt, ensures Forests NSW complies with state laws.
Ms Flint said the association had briefed Ms Tebbutt about the illegal logging. Ms Tebbutt told the Herald the Government understood the importance of protecting the forests and said she would be "looking closely" at the environmental impact statement from Forests NSW.
She said if it did not "adequately assess the environment impact of the forestry operation", then her department may have to hold a new inquiry to get "a balanced outcome between protecting the environment and protecting jobs".
In March the Victorian Government decided to preserve much of its red gum forest on the other side of the Murray as national park and reserve lands.
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