The Federal Court of Australia has rejected a key challenge that environmental defenders believed would stop native forest logging in northern New South Wales (NSW).
The North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) brought the case against the Commonwealth of Australia and NSW in the first-ever legal challenge to a Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) in the state.
NEFA challenged the 2018 extension of the North East RFA, arguing the Commonwealth and state neglected to assess the impacts of large-scale logging on climate change, endangered species such as koalas, and old-growth forests.
The Environmental Defenders Office (EDO), representing NEFA, argued that renewing the North East RFA was not right without following the assessment and approval requirements of federal environmental laws.
But Federal Court Justice Melissa Perry dismissed those arguments on Jan. 10.
She determined that such an assessment was unnecessary.
Further, she explained that an RFA was another way to reach the federal government’s environmental goals by working with different government levels.
“A regional forest agreement provides an alternative mechanism by which the objects of the [federal] Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act can be achieved by way of an intergovernmental agreement,” she said.
She noted the RFA allocated responsibility for matters of national environmental significance to the state of NSW within an agreed frame.
“As such, the question of whether or not to enter into or vary an intergovernmental agreement of this nature is essentially a political one, the most of which are matters for the government parties and not the courts to determine.”
Additionally, no conclusions were drawn regarding the environmental sustainability of logging.
NEFA President Dailan Pugh expressed deep disappointment with the verdict.
“This judgement means that it is valid to roll over Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs) forever-more based on data collated in 1997 and politicised outcomes that ignore the science, including the rapidly increasing extinction risk faced by many forest fauna and the accelerating impact of climate heating upon them and forests,” he said.
NEFA Vice-President Susie Russell also weighed in.
“We are in the midst of extinction and climate crises, aggravated by the 2019-20 wildfires, rising temperatures and logging, so it is reprehensible that these species are still not receiving the immediate increase in protection Professor Samuel’s review of the RFAs identified as needed back in 2020,” she said.
Yet EDO Managing Lawyer Andrew Kwan suggested the fight was unfinished.
The Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales (NCC) is determined to continue the fight, urging the state’s Climate Change Minister Penny Sharpe to take action, develop a transition plan, and permanently stop the native forest logging industry.
NCC CEO Jacqui Mumford suggested that Ms. Sharpe should, at the very least, plan to align RFAs with the “current reality” that critical habitat for endangered species, such as koalas and greater gliders, were being destroyed.
“We call on Minister Penny Sharpe to step up, throw out these outdated RFAs, make a transition plan, and end the native forest logging industry for good,” she explained.
She said it shouldn’t be the responsibility of hard-working grassroots groups to protect forests.
Yet, Ms. Sharpe and NSW Premier Chris Minns are actively working to create the Great Koala National Park on the Mid-North Coast, backed by a state fund of $80 million (US$53.6 million). The park aims to safeguard about 20 percent of the state’s remaining koala population from a significant threat to their survival—habitat destruction.
She and Mr. Minns announced the formation of three advisory panels to gather ideas and insights from various stakeholders’ perspectives for the park.
Ruling Upholds Robust Native Forestry Governance, Association Says
The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) has supported the Federal Court decision, arguing it confirms the federal-state regulatory framework effectively oversees sustainable native forestry operations in NSW.He added the decision is a major victory for climate, easing living costs and enhancing self-sufficiency, thanks to the NSW native forestry sector producing various renewable, sustainable, and essential products.
“Without the sector, we face a future of more timber and wood fibre imports from countries without Australia’s high regulatory standards, fewer quality job opportunities in our regions, increased cost of living and a stalled progression on emissions reduction,” he added.
“The industry will now continue to get on with the job it’s there to do. Providing sustainably sourced products that are essential for our way of living while making sure our regions continue to be vibrant places to live.”
Before the ruling, AFPA cautioned that a logging shutdown in a large area could endanger thousands of jobs.
NSW’s native hardwood forestry industry is valued at $1.8 billion and employs 9,000 people, with over half located in the state’s northeastern communities.
