Council calls for logging review

By Melissa Meehan
LOGGING in the Central Highlands region may not resume in 2008, that is, if the Shire of Yarra Ranges has anything to do with it.
At last week’s council meeting, councillor Samantha Dunn called on fellow councillors to support her in seeking a federal review.
She raised a motion that the council write to the Federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Tony Burke to seek an urgent review of the Central Highlands Regional Forest Agreement 1998 and that logging within the Central Highlands should not resume until such a review has taken place.
Cr Dunn said the current agreement committed those within the industry to the objective of ecologically sustainable forest management and a five yearly review process that allows members of the public to comment on the performance of the agreement.
“The Regional Forest Agreement has been compromised as no review has taken place, it was due five years ago,” Cr Dunn said.
“The review would normally allow for the community to provide important input to address any areas of concern in relation to the agreement and is an opportunity for them to voice their aspirations in relation to management of Victoria’s forests.”
She said current logging practices in water catchments needed to be subject to a detailed review.
“To date 12 Victorian local government authorities, with a constituency representing more than 1.4 million people in the city of Melbourne, have resolved to advocate that logging should cease immediately in Melbourne’s water catchments in the Central Highlands,” Cr Dunn said.
“The lack of a comprehensive review has lead to a failure to measure the impacts of logging on nationally listed threatened species, which is a clear indication that the legislation and management measures meant to protect these species is currently failing.”
Cr Dunn’s motion was supported by the majority of councillors, with the exception of councillors Ken Smith and Graeme Warren.
Councillor Smith said he could not see the relevance of the motion, questioning whether it was a policy of the Greens political party rather than being part of the Yarra Ranges agenda.
Cr Dunn argued that it was part of the council’s jurisdiction.
“Our community is concerned about these issues, it is not a policy of the Greens Party, and the people who have approached me with their concerns are not part of the Greens Party,” Cr Dunn said.
Logging in water catchments in the Central Highlands is due to resume in November.