Should we bring back native forest logging? The answer is a clear no |
Native forest logging is economically costly, environmentally damaging and socially divisive, and should not be revived in Victoria or Western Australia or maintained in Tasmania, New South Wales and Queensland.
Recent commentary from pro-forestry advocates suggests that we should bring back native forest logging in Victoria and Western Australia and maintain it in Tasmania, New South Wales, and Queensland. They assert that the industry is, and could be, sustainable and believe that industrial logging operations are environmentally benign. Maintaining native forest logging is anything but sustainable, whether that be socially, economically, or environmentally. Similarly, logging operations are anything but benign – environmentally or economically. Native forest logging should not be maintained or brought back.
Native forest logging has been socially divisive in Australia for more than five decades. This is reflected by the fact that there has been an average of almost one major inquiry into the industry every year since the end of World War II.
In almost every one of these inquiries, findings suggest significant over-cutting of timber resources, a need for value-adding and using wood for things other than woodchips and paper pulp, and the non-trivial, often significant, environmental impacts of logging.
At the same time, the industry has campaigned vociferously for yet more investment in their unsustainable endeavours. These calls have succeeded and governments have poured money into the industry. Yet despite seemingly endless handouts totalling hundreds of millions of dollars from........