Climate change and forest protection must go hand in hand to draw down carbon from atmosphere. Australian Forests and Climate Alliance (of which SLA is a member) scores parties based on climate forest policy. A major concern is that both the National Party and the Liberals agree on their forest policy of ongoing industrial logging of native forests and allowing them to be exported to fuel furnaces that will further damage climate.
ADVANCE AUSTRALIA PARTY support Coalition Forest Policy
INDEPENDENT ALEX GREENWICH
advises AFCA he “absolutely opposes the use of native forestry biomass for energy, considers this environmentally destructive practice has been introduced to provide additional support to the unsustainable state forestry industry, already subsidised by government and putting biodiversity at serious risk through habitat destruction.”
ANIMAL JUSTICE PARTY From AJA website under Wildlife & Sustainability and 2018 communications
To transition to 100 percent plantation forestry and ensure that costs of fencing out wildlife are factored into the cost of timber production. Current licensing practices that allow the wholesale destruction of wildlife must cease.
AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATIVES support Coalition Forest Policy
CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY (Fred Nile Group) – support Coalition Forest Policy
FLUX PARTY
GREENS email response to AFCA NSW Greens 15/3/2019
Introduce legislation to ban all industrial activities which will impact native State forests and other high-conservation-value forests. These industries include, but are not restricted to: mining, gas extraction, quarries, biomass burning for electricity generation, firewood and pumped hydro. Greens Policy opposition to burning native wood for electricity is found here: https://greens.org.au/nsw/policies/forests
INDEPENDENT JEREMY BUCKINGHAM
former Greens MP has advised AFCA he believes the “The next NSW government should gazette the Great Koala National Park and end native vegetation land clearing and native forest logging.”
LABOR (maybe good)
Labor will reinstate the prohibition on burning native forests/vegetation for electricity (15/3/2019) and recommit to a Great Koala National Park in northern NSW.
NSW Labor were asked by NPA NSW if they would end native forest logging in public forests within 3 years and answered — No. Labor policy has been, consistently to renew RFAs that legitimise native forest logging for at least another 20 years.
LIBERAL The Liberal Party agree with the National Party on continuing to log Australian native forests and to call burning them a renewable energy. They will also renew all Regional Forest Agreements that legitimise native forest logging.
LIBERAL DEMOCRATS support Coalition Forest Policy
NATIONAL PARTY The recent statement below sums up National Party on Forests Federally and in NSW. Not only do they insist that native forest logging must continue, they want it to extend into national parks and anywhere else they can get their hands on the wood, especially with ongoing government subsidy. They want to continue logging to grow the forest bioenergy industry domestically and via exports and will target any forested lands to do this, including forest in conservation reserves. Extremely dangerous for forests and climate.
‘The Liberal National Government will hold the line on native forestry.’ Colbeck reassures forestry at ABARES conference 7 March 2019 that native forest logging will not be allowed to end. Source: Timberbiz
PAULINE HANSON’S ONE NATION support Coalition Forest Policy
SHOOTERS, FISHERS AND FARMERS PARTY support Coalition Forest Policy
SMALL BUSINESS PARTY support Liberal Policy in general
SOCIALIST ALLIANCE from website and discussions with policy advisors Nov 2018
End logging in old growth forests. End clearfelling in all other native forests.
Ban the export of wood chips from native forests.
For a publicly owned timber industry based on sustainable plantations with access to specialty timbers ensured for crafts people (subject to ecological considerations).
Replant forests in dry-land and other salt-affected regions.
SUSTAINABLE AUSTRALIA from website and discussion with policy advisors
Minimise the scale and improve the practices of native forest logging. This should include:
Avoiding the habitats of threatened, vulnerable and endangered native species
Increasing the forest reserve system Restoring failed plantations back to native forest
Maximising the economic value-add for timber products Supporting a diverse range of plantation products End old growth forest logging.(1)
Not accredit Australian native forests or its waste to be burnt for biomass power as a ’renewable energy‘ source under the Renewable Energy Target or related schemes.
Subject all state Regional Forest Agreements to the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (Commonwealth) to ensure all forestry is subject to the usual environmental and planning approval requirements.
VOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA PARTY have expressed an interest in AFCA material
Authorised by Frances Pike, Australian Forests and Climate Alliance
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Thanks for posting this info. It seems the denial of scientific evidence has infiltrated the minds of all those parties supporting the Nationals Forest Policy. Its unbelievable that these folk honestly think clearing forests has nothing to do with the extreme drought conditions across the country. And doesn’t ‘renewable’ indicate replanting of forests? We need a miracle to survive these dark ages. Vote these morons out.