Native forest logging in New South Wales (NSW) will continue to receive support, the Australian Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union and the NSW Nationals party said, despite a report by the previous coalition government that found that the industry could be ended without hurting the budget.
However, environmental groups have welcomed the revelation that the department assessed an industry closure for then-NSW minister for environment and heritage James Griffin, saying it is proof that it could be done “if the political will is there.”
The NSW Labor Party’s incoming minister for climate change and energy Penny Sharpe was not briefed on the work that found carbon and biodiversity credit income from halting logging could pay for compensation to loggers and others affected by an end, Guardian Australia found.
Photo: Reuters
New South Wales Treasurer Daniel Mookhey, who has responsibility for state-owned Forestry Corp NSW, has been approached for comment.
Union national secretary Michael O’Connor warned against the cessation of the industry, saying it employs “thousands of workers” and is vital for the social fabric of many communities.
O’Connor said the NSW Labor government “won’t treat our members with the disrespect we’ve received from the [Daniel] Andrews government,” referring to the premier of Victoria.
On Tuesday, Victoria announced it would bring forward the end of native logging to next year, a decision some workers learned about on the radio as they headed to work, he said.
“We’re confident NSW will be a lot more inclusive about how they make decisions,” he said.
Native forest logging has been loss-making for years, prompting Victoria to follow Western Australia’s looming ban.
Unions have said there are not enough plantations to supply the market with sufficient hardwood, so demand would divert to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and other nations with looser rules.
However, analysis supporting the industry’s closure showed “it can be done if the political will is there,” NSW Nature Conservation Council chief executive officer Jacqui Mumford said.
“At a time when our forests are in peril, species are spiraling towards extinction, and NSW is struggling to meet its climate goals, ending native forest logging is a no-brainer to work towards solving these linked crises,” Mumford said. “Pressure is mounting on the [NSW Premier Chris] Minns’ government to take action to protect NSW’s precious forests from logging.”
National Party of Australia leader Dugald Saunders did not deny his party had stymied the plan to phase out native forestry.
“We always supported regional communities to ensure native forest harvesting in NSW is carefully managed under a robust regulatory framework to ensure the right balance is struck between environmental protection and forestry operations,” he said.
BUYING TIME: Russia is estimated to have suffered over 100,000 casualties in its push to capture the strategically insignificant town, giving Ukraine time to ready its troops Whether Bakhmut has fallen or not, Moscow is being pulled deeper into an ever more costly fight for the frontline city as Kyiv readies a major offensive, experts said. Russia’s claim to have conquered the destroyed city, which Ukraine rejected on Sunday, does not mean significant new terrain from which to launch attacks nor harden defenses. However, Moscow has made the eastern city’s capture a key aim and has fought the war’s longest battle, as well as one of its deadliest, to try to win what it would like to bill as a significant success. US President Joe Biden, speaking from the G7
DEEPFAKE: Using AI to change their face and voice, a fraudster convinced a businessman that they were his friend and needed 4.3 million yuan for a public tender A scammer in China used artificial intelligence (AI) to pose as a businessman’s trusted friend and convince him to hand over millions of yuan, authorities have said. The victim, surnamed Guo, received a video call last month from a person who looked and sounded like a close friend. However, the caller was actually a con artist “using smart AI technology to change their face” and voice, said an article published on Monday by a media portal associated with the government in Fuzhou City. The scammer was “masquerading as [Guo’s] good friend and perpetrating fraud,” the article said. Guo was persuaded to transfer 4.3
A Malaysian comedian better known for mocking attempts by Western chefs at Asian cooking has had his Chinese social media account suspended after making jokes about China. Nigel Ng (黃瑾瑜), who uses the name Uncle Roger, is the latest comedian to feel the consequences of jokes that could be perceived as reflecting negatively on China under increasingly intense censorship and rising nationalism. Last week, a Chinese comedian came under police investigation for a joke about stray dogs. Ng on Thursday posted a video clip from an upcoming comedy special in which he pokes fun at Chinese surveillance and Beijing’s claims of sovereignty over
Gunmen in Ecuador opened fire in a restaurant in a beach town popular with tourists, killing at least six people and wounding six more, prosecutors said on Sunday. The attack happened on Saturday night in a busy nightlife area of the town of Montanita on the Pacific coast, the prosecutors’ office said on Twitter. It gave no information on the age or identity of the people who were shot. Located between Colombia and Peru, the world’s top producers of cocaine, Ecuador is weathering the biggest surge in crime in its recent history. Crime linked to drug trafficking caused the murder rate to almost double
RSS