Wednesday 3rd January 2001

Trees and jobs living together? Well actually Carr's govt will log half all state forest, say greens as another icon falls.

Today Friends of the Earth spokesperson Tom McLoughlin accused the government of blatant election fraud over forest protection. The accusation relates to reports from the field that the Upper Deua Wilderness is being clear felled by state forest contractors. This follows widely circulated photos of destruction in another south coast icon forest at Peak Alone near Bega two weeks ago.

"Carr's Labor Right faction mis-spent $5 million of tax payers money in the lead up to the 1999 election on glossy adverts saying jobs and trees would live together. Carr said he would save the forests - all the forests - in his 1995 victory speech. He must now order the loggers out of precious forests or be proven the political liar.

"In fact Carr's ministers have released all the icon areas the rednecks were shut out of from 1992 to 1998 by community action - Chaelundi, 1402 in Coolangubra, Deua, Badja and more. Reports are coming in every fortnight now of another icon being trashed. We expect fully 30% of the highest conservation areas in state forests to be hit in the next 12 months and the rest in the next few years. We are talking hundreds of thousands of hectares for woodchips " said Mr McLoughlin.

"We have the government's unreleased maps showing only half of our state forest has been protected since 1995 and the rest is for the bulldozer and the chainsaw.

"The legal section of the NPWS has been stalling on prosecution of ten documented breaches of already weak logging rules. The government is turning a blind eye to logging of fauna habitat generally. It was exactly this kind of thing which spurred the US government to list the koala as endangered on May 9th 2000. They don't trust our government.

"The international community is getting all our environmental news via email. The message is reaching foreign people and governments and its affecting Australia'a trading reputation. People won't choose Australia over a trade competitor when they know our record on logging, clearing, greenhouse, cyanide and uranium mining. We are already suspect on human rights of Aborigines. The success of the Olympics is a figleaf compared with these millenial issues " concluded Mr McLoughlin.

Comment: Tom McLoughlin 0410 558838