Logging flow-on threat

By Kath Gannaway
THE stakes for the future of logging in Central Highlands were made very clear in the Supreme Court last week when VicForests’ counsel Mr I. G. Waller SC told the court that any decision on the three logging coupes under examination would have a flow-on effect.
The case before Justice Robert Osborn, brought by Healesville environment group My Environment, aims to determine whether VicForests is logging legally in the Toolangi State Forest.
Mr Waller said if the three Toolangi coupes in question – South Col, Gun Barrel and Freddo, cannot be logged the same would apply to a further 162 coupes across Victoria.
The court also heard from ANU Professor David Lindenmayer that the stakes are also high for the future of Leadbeater’s Possum – the Victorian faunal emblem around which the MyEnvironment v VicForests case is being fought.
The future of Victoria’s faunal emblem comes as DSE announced yesterday (Monday) that the last three remaining Lake Mountain Leadbeater’s Possums have been brought into captivity following a critical decline in their numbers.
The case began on Monday with MyEnvironment counsel Kristen Walker presenting an opening statement and continued on Tuesday with Mr Waller outlining the case for VicForests.
Justice Osborn was accompanied by both legal teams on Wednesday as the court headed out of Melbourne for an on-site inspection of the Toolangi coupes after two days of map-gazing.
Justice Osborn disclosed at one point that he was familiar with the mountain areas around the Upper Yarra, having a property in the area, but said he was not at all familiar with the Toolangi forests.
“I don’t think that creates any perception of bias, but I was concerned that I should disclose that simply because I do have some direct knowledge of these areas,” he said in relation to the effect of fires and their effect on Leadbeater’s Possum reserves.
“It’s always difficult to know how far to go but I can tell you, I do know what a mountain ash looks like,” he said.
Prof Lindenmayer gave evidence on Thursday addressing issues including the effect of logging on Leadbeater’s Possum. He said the number of trees containing the hollows necessary for the possums to survive was in decline to the point that the present logging prescriptions around preserving hollow-bearing trees was now inadequate. Prof Lindenmayer, a member of the Leadbeater’s Possum Recovery Team, said the view formed by him that there were significant threats to the survival of the animal prompted him to write to State Agriculture Minister Peter Walsh in October.
The case continued yesterday (Monday) with Lachlan Spencer, VicForests’ regional manager for Central Highlands, giving evidence.
Full court transcripts of each day’s proceedings are available at www.myenvironment.net.au as they become available.