Greens announce plan to end native forest logging in NSW
9 February 2023 - The Greens NSW have today announced their plan to end native forest logging and transition to a 100% sustainable plantation timber industry.
Greens MP and spokesperson for the environment and agriculture, Sue Higginson, said “Logging of public native forests is coming to an end in NSW, the only question left is whether it will be a planned transition or if it will catastrophically crash and leave forests and communities devastated and abandoned,
“The recovery of forests for habitat and climate mitigation needs to begin immediately, that’s why our plan calls for an immediate end to public native forest logging. NSW forests cannot afford a long phase out period because the cumulative damage from decades of exploitation has pushed them to the brink,
“Our plan will support the workers and communities that are currently reliant on native forest logging with a $300 million transition package. This plan includes worker retraining and redundancies, a buy back of wood supply agreements for timber mills and a regional economic diversification program,
“We want public native forests to be regenerated and managed using a dedicated workforce to ensure that they stay free from invasive species and resistant to fire. We want our many iconic animals that are threatened with extinction to recover and thrive in our forests. Healthy and managed forests create more jobs through maintenance works and tourism potential as well as ensuring biodiversity and natural values are maintained,
“Native forest logging in NSW emits around 3.6 million tonnes of carbon every year, equivalent to 840,000 cars. If we stopped this logging, native forests could contribute $2.7 billion worth of climate mitigation by 2050,
“Forests once again have become a battleground where members of communities across the state are at war with the Government’s exploitative forest policy. People are putting their lives on the line, to protect our forests, workers are frustrated and the police are getting roped into conflict. The time has come to resolve this protracted conflict once and for all, the peace deal is to follow the evidence and protect our precious public native forests,
“The Government and Opposition are hanging the community out to dry by ignoring the impending end of native forest logging. Only the Greens have a plan to support this necessary transition,” Ms Higginson said.