MEDIA RELEASE 
7th September 2025 

Jacqui Mumford, CEO of the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, has today applauded the Minns Labor government's announcement that the full 176 000 Ha of the Great Koala National Park will be protected from logging.  

“Today’s announcement of the Great Koala National Park is one of the most significant conservation victories in NSW in decades.  

“We are thrilled that from tomorrow, 176,000 hectares of precious native forest, accounting for 20% of NSW’s koala population, will be protected from logging.  

“This is a win for nature and the local community. It is the result of more than a decade of work by communities, scientists and environmental groups. 

“This park will be a defining legacy of the Minns Government, helping to secure a future for the iconic koala and building on the proud history of Labor governments creating world-class National Parks. 

“This park will connect World Heritage-listed areas, creating wildlife corridors across the mid north coast.  

“While it is disappointing that unsustainable logging was allowed to continue since the election, today marks a turning point. The government should be applauded for delivering on their promise in full. 
 
“With over 90% of timber products already sourced from plantations, there is no justification for logging our public native forests. 

“The transition package announced today provides the opportunity to build a sustainable, long-term future for regional NSW, with secure jobs in bushfire preparedness, ecological management and restoration, ecotourism and plantation forestry. Together, we can protect koalas and support communities with sustainable, long-term employment”   

ENDS 

Media contact: Anna Greer  
E: [email protected] M: 0493 733 529 PH: (02) 7208 9482   

Note: Spokespeople are available for comment on request 

29th August, 2025

The Forest Alliance NSW has welcomed the NSW Environment Protection Authority's (EPA’s) decision today to prosecute Forestry Corporation of NSW (FCNSW) for 29 charges. The charges related to illegally logging of critical Greater Glider habitat in Tallaganda State Forest on the NSW South Coast.  

The EPA alleges these actions contravened conditions of the Coastal Integrated Forestry Operations Approval (CIFOA), the Forestry Act 2012, and the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. Further information available here

The EPA will be appearing before a Budget Estimates hearing tomorrow.

Former independent member of NSW Parliament and spokesperson for the Forest Alliance Justin Field said: “the Alliance and the community welcomes the decision to prosecute.” 

“Forestry Corporation’s actions showed no regard for environmental rules in place to protect some of the last remaining unburned, high-conservation value glider habitat on the South Coast, further impacting this already endangered and iconic species.

“This continues a record of egregious breaches of the law by the state-owned logging company. Last year the Land and Environment Court fined Forestry Corporation $360,000 for illegally logging other protected areas on the South Coast with the judge concluding that FCNSW "has a significant history of unlawfully carrying out forestry operations".

“Ultimately NSW taxpayers are left to foot the bill for Forestry Corporation's ongoing breaches of environmental laws and the ongoing financial losses of their native forest logging operations. This latest prosecution should be a prompt to the Minns Government to accelerate timber industry reforms and chart a course away from native forest logging in NSW and towards a sustainable plantation-based industry. 

Nature Conservation Council of NSW CEO Jacqui Mumford highlighted:

“Logging without proper habitat surveys is illegal, yet Forestry Corporation continues to do so as a matter of course. They have repeatedly shown they do not respect the law and have no problem sending the bill to taxpayers when they get caught.

“The only way to stop this rogue actor from such wilful destruction is to end native forest logging.

“This is a government-owned agency and taxpayers pay the price when they are found to be breaking the law. 

“Premier Chris Minns cannot wash his hands of it. Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty is directly responsible under the Forestry Act. Treasurer Daniel Mookhey and Finance Minister Courtney Houssos are its shareholder ministers.

“Environment Minister Penny Sharpe also has the power to direct the EPA to conduct a full audit of current logging operations and identify where endangered glider habitat is being illegally destroyed.

“These Ministers must step up and bring Forestry Corporation into line. Until they do, this rogue agency will continue to break the law."

Community action and legal avenues
Dailan Pugh from the North East Forest Alliance pointed to similar cases.  

“Recent community surveys in Styx State Forest in northern NSW found the area had already been logged despite the absence of a valid Broad Area Habitat Search within the required six months prior to operations. 

“Justice delayed is justice denied. Back in 2020 the Forestry Corporation illegally logged giant and hollow-bearing trees in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest, as in this case it took two years for the EPA to commence their prosecution, and we are still waiting for the court’s judgement. This is five years too long. The EPA need to hold the Forestry Corporation to account in a timely manner to stop their serial offending."

Scott Daines, spokesperson for South East Forest Rescue said:

“The forest blockade by South East Forest Rescue of one of the logging operations in Tallaganda in August 2023 sparked a massive chain of events. 

“This included multiple Stop Work Orders for Tallaganda and Flat Rock forestry operations, as well as Forestry Corporation admitting they have been looking for nocturnal animals during the day. 

“This prosecution by the EPA is the latest ripple to crash upon Forestry Corporation following our blockade. While we are pleased the EPA is prosecuting, we are sure there are many other breaches that Forestry Corporation will get away with. Endangered Greater Gliders are still being killed by logging across the state."

Further information:

Forest Alliance NSW is a coalition of Environmental NGOs, forest advocates and local campaign groups working to end native forest logging in NSW and to shift to a sustainable plantation based timber industry in NSW. 

The Forest Alliance reaffirmed its commitment to holding Forestry Corporation accountable for illegal activity, and pushing for NSW to follow Victoria and Western Australia in ending native forest logging.

“The High Court recently affirmed the right of community and environmental groups to take legal action to enforce logging laws in NSW. We will continue to work with concerned citizens and groups across NSW to showcase this reckless, illegal behaviour.

The future of our forests is at a crossroads. Right now, the NSW Government is considering the future of the logging industry. It is critical that we do not allow this destructive industry to keep driving species towards extinction 

We have just had a huge breakthrough with the Government announcing an end to logging within the 176,000 ha footprint of the Great Koala National Park. This shows that people power works. But we cannot stop here. 

For decades, Forestry Corporation NSW has been spending taxpayer money to log our native forests. They are destroying critical habitat for endangered wildlife like the koala and greater glider, mostly for woodchips, cardboard and toilet paper.  

Now is our chance to end native forest logging for good and transition to a 100% plantation-based industry that creates sustainable jobs and protects the wildlife and forests we love. 

By signing this petition, you can help show the NSW Government that the community wants a clear, urgent plan to end this wasteful, destructive industry once and for all. 

The Nature Conservation Council of NSW (NCC), and the South East Forest Rescue (SEFR) and North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) have today exposed the Forestry Corporation of NSW (FCNSW) for again cutting corners and apparently breaching species protection laws by failing to conduct legally required habitat surveys before logging operations. 
 
Recent on-ground community checks in the Styx State Forest in Northern NSW reveal that the area has already been logged, despite the absence of a valid Broad Area Habitat Search (BAHS) within the required six-month window prior to operations.  
 
Under Coastal Integrated Forestry Operations Approval (CIFOA), FCNSW is obligated to conduct BAHS to identify and protect critical habitat features, including those of threatened species such as the Greater Glider. 
 
Maps from 2024 and 2025 show a significant reduction in survey effort in 2025 compared to the previous year. This decline raises serious concerns about the adequacy of habitat assessments and the potential destruction of unrecorded habitat trees. The available 2025 BAHS data indicates incomplete or insufficient coverage, directly contravening CIFOA’s precautionary requirements. 
 
“Logging without proper habitat surveys is not just irresponsible - it’s illegal,” said Jacqui Mumford, CEO of Nature Conservation Council NSW. “Forestry Corporation is entrusted with managing our public forests sustainably. Instead, they are putting vulnerable species and ecosystems at risk by cutting corners.” 
 
Community members also flagged two nearby areas as areas of concern, where 2025 BAHS efforts appear similarly inadequate. While these areas are yet to be logged, the lack of updated survey data suggests a pattern of non-compliance that could extend across multiple compartments. 
 
This incident comes on the heels of a landmark High Court ruling in Forestry Corporation of NSW v South East Forest Rescue, which affirmed the right of community and environmental groups to take legal action to enforce logging laws in NSW. 
 
The case arose after SEFR exposed Forestry Corporation NSW’s (FCNSW) practice of conducting pre-logging surveys for nocturnal species like the Greater Glider during daylight hours, rendering them ineffective. The High Court upheld that groups with a “special interest” in environmental protection can bring proceedings to ensure compliance with the Forestry Act and CIFOA conditions. 
 
“This ruling is a game-changer,” said Scott Daines from South East Forest Rescue. “It confirms that communities have the legal standing to hold Forestry Corporation accountable when the government fails to act. The situation in the Styx State Forest is exactly the kind of breach this ruling was meant to highlight.” 
 
The NCC, SEFR and NEFA call upon the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to launch an immediate investigation and enforce compliance with CIFOA conditions, including the requirement under Condition 57 to conduct timely and comprehensive habitat searches. 

ENDS 

Media contact: Madeline Hayman-Reber 
E: [email protected] M: 0404 935 157 

Note: Spokespeople are available for comment on request 
 
Background: 
 
Letter outlining breaches 

Landmark court case between SEFR and Forestry Corporation on NSW 

Greater Glider protections under the CFIOA

MEDIA RELEASE 
15th MAY 2025 

Forestry Corporation squandered $14.9m of taxpayer funds in just six months logging the state’s natural forests, according to its half-year report tabled in parliament last week.  

"It's not environmentally sustainable and it's not economically sustainable,” Nature Conservation Council NSW (NCC) Policy and Advocacy Director, Dr Brad Smith said.

"With this money, Premier Minns could hire 100 nurses and teachers who actually deliver for regional NSW. Instead, it's used to trash our precious forests and wildlife.” 

NCC is calling on Premier Minns to end native forest logging in NSW and move to a plantation-based timber industry.  

"Plantations already supply 90% of the state's timber production, including close to 100% of timber used in construction, which is plantation pine, not native hardwoods,” Dr Smith said. 

“Forests are the lungs of the earth. They are essential to clean air, a sustainable climate and the survival of critically endangered species like the powerful owl, gang-gang cockatoo, greater glider and koala. 

“We’ve already destroyed far too much of the NSW bush. The remaining habitats should be protected, not pulped.” 

According to previous annual reports and Blueprint Institute analysis, NSW Forestry Corporation's losses peaked at $29m last financial year, by far the biggest loss since it was established as a state-owned corporation in 2013.

This year, FCNSW has already reached $14.9m in losses in just the first six months of the year. If this level of losses is repeated in the second half, it would record its largest loss in history of $29.8m. 

The half-year report suggests no improvement is expected in the second half, citing "rising roading and land management costs, and ongoing harvesting disruptions and increased monitoring and compliance costs in hardwood forests.

References: 

FCNSW half year results 2024-2025 
Blueprint Institute, Exploring alternate land use options for the native forests of NSW, 2023, p5 

ENDS 

Media contact: Madeline Hayman-Reber  
E: [email protected] M: 0404 935 157 

Note: Spokespeople are available for comment on request 

MEDIA RELEASE
April 17th, 2025

The Forest Alliance of NSW calls on the Minns’ Government to act on findings of a newly released NSW Government report and promptly declare the full 176,000 hectare Great Koala National Park.

The report shows the proposed park is key habitat for two additional threatened species, the endangered Greater Glider and vulnerable Yellow-bellied Glider.

Greater Gliders on Australia’s east coast have suffered a 50 - 80 per cent decline in the last 20 years, and a third of their habitat was destroyed in the 2019-2020 bushfires. The report highlights the proposed Great Koala National Park as a critical refuge for the species, with an estimated 36,000 Greater Gliders remaining.

The gliders were recorded during extensive nighttime drone surveys for Koalas in the proposed park areas and surrounding National Parks. This report highlights that a fully protected Great Koala National Park will help ensure the benefits of a large healthy forest estate are realised for our precious endangered species.

The report confirms this and states:  

“southern greater glider and yellow-bellied glider populations need large areas of inter-connected, and preferably high-quality, habitat to persist in the wild into the future.”

Gary Dunnet of the National Parks Association of NSW

“Once common in many of our native forests, Greater Gliders are on a trajectory towards disappearance. Securing refuges where populations are still relatively healthy, such the ones identified in this report, will be vital for securing a future for species dependent on healthy native forests.”

Jacqui Mumford, CEO of Nature Conservation Council NSW

“These gliders do not tolerate logging and this report should motivate the Minns’ Government to immediately end logging in the proposed Great Koala National Park. In fact, logging should cease in all State Forest areas identified as containing Greater Gliders.

The Minister for Agriculture, Tara Moriarty, has failed to ensure Gliders are adequately protected and Forestry Corporation must repeatedly be dragged through the courts before they take even the minimum action to protect the species.”

Justin Field, spokesperson for the Forest Alliance of NSW

“The current logging rules are failing to protect threatened glider species. Surveys conducted by the Forest Alliance show Forestry Corporation finds only around 1 per cent of the endangered Greater Glider den trees in their pre-logging surveys. Putting critical glider habitat into national parks is critical for their survival. The Minns’ Government can make a significant difference for these species by implementing the Great Koala National Park in full now.

The report also tells a worrying story for the Yellow Bellied Glider, with not enough found to even estimate a population number. Further work needs to be done to understand the status of this species. The effects of logging are all posing a danger to both these glider species. Loss and fragmentation of habitat and loss of hollow-bearing trees are all threats produced, or worsened, by native forest logging. 

The report also states that recent large bushfires have had a devastating effect on both gliders and koalas, making these remaining higher density habitat areas even more vital for their ongoing survival.”

Spokespeople available for comment on request.

Media contact: Anna Greer 
E: [email protected] M: 0493 733 529 PH: (02) 7208 9482   

The report is available from: Glider observations in the Mid North Coast assessment area | Environment and Heritage

Extracts from the report

Southern greater glider populations in New South Wales face increasing and cumulative threats from habitat loss, disturbance and modification; loss of hollow-bearing trees; intense or too-frequent fires that degrade southern greater glider habitat by changing the composition, structure and nutrient profile of forests; and climate change (Cth DCCEEW 2022). In 2022 the species was listed by the NSW Government as endangered as it was found to have undergone a large reduction in population size, area of occupancy and extent of habitat (NSW TSSC 2022).

The assessment area estimate of southern greater glider density aligns with data from other government reports, which suggest that southern greater glider densities can be as low as 0.1 individuals per hectare in more fragmented or disturbed landscapes...

Yellow-bellied Glider

Yellow-bellied gliders are a vulnerable species in New South Wales and they are also affected by the threats listed above for the southern greater glider.

…

In contrast, lower densities, like the assessment area estimate, have been reported in disturbed or fragmented habitats such as areas affected by logging or fire. In such environments, densities of 0.01 to 0.03 individuals per hectare have been observed, particularly in forests where hollow-bearing trees are scarce and canopy connectivity is disrupted (Goldingay 2012). Further survey effort is recommended to better understand the factors contributing to the very low yellow-bellied glider densities observed in the assessment area.

MEDIA RELEASE
9th April 2025

The Forest Alliance of NSW has welcomed today’s landmark ruling by the High Court of Australia confirming the right of community and Indigenous groups to bring legal action against the Forestry Corporation of NSW (FCNSW) to enforce NSW logging laws.

South Coast based conservation group, South East Forest Rescue (SEFR), commenced legal proceedings in the NSW Land and Environment Court in 2024 seeking a court decision to require FCNSW to undertake legally required pre-logging surveys to identify and protect the dens of threatened species like the Greater Glider.

The action was brought in response to revelations FCNSW was conducting their pre-logging surveys for nocturnal animals during the day and failing to identify the homes of threatened species like the Greater Glider. The Forest Alliance NSW estimates FCNSW identifies just 1% of Greater Glider den trees through its pre-logging surveys. This is despite logging rules requiring Greater Glider den trees to be protected from logging.

In another judgement handed down in 2024, The Land and Environment Court found FCNSW "has a significant history of unlawfully carrying out forestry operations"

Scott Daines, spokesperson for South East Forest Rescue said:
“Today’s judgment confirms organisations with a genuine and ongoing commitment to environmental protection can hold government-owned entities accountable to the law.

“Rather than engaging with the substance of our claims, Forestry Corporation has fought for years to deny our right to bring them to court.

“It is disappointing that public money and resources were used trying to avoid scrutiny rather than addressing the environmental harm itself.”

Justin Field, spokesperson for the Forest Alliance NSW said:

“Communities have been forced to step in where the NSW Government has failed to protect threatened species and uphold the law. Today's decision affirms their right to do so. 

“This decision highlights the need to quickly progress the NSW Forestry Industry review currently underway and adds weight to the argument to end native forest logging and shift to a plantation-based timber industry in NSW.

We caution the NSW Labor Government against considering legislation or changes to logging rules to try to overturn the effect of today’s court decision. A responsible Government would act to uphold NSW laws and protect the environment, not sideline communities.

Jacqui Mumford from the Nature Conservation Council NSW said:

“Forestry Corporation is a serial law breaker that is costing taxpayers millions. Since 2020 FCNSW has been fined over $1.75m for breaches of logging and environment laws in NSW and there are 21 investigations underway for other potential breaches.

NSW Forestry Corporation’s repeated illegal logging activity shows that NSW Premier Chris Minns and Forestry Minister Tara Moriarty have failed to ensure FCNSW acts within the rules. 

Where the NSW Government has failed to uphold NSW laws and protect threatened species, community groups are stepping in and the court has today upheld our right to do so”.

Stuart Blanch from World Wide Fund for Nature - Australia said:

“WWF welcomes the decision. Community groups must be able to enforce the law to protect forests through the courts.

“Today’s ruling also shines a light on the failure of Commonwealth environmental laws to protect threatened species. Native forest logging is exempt from the national environment laws on the proviso that state rules provide these protections. NSW rules are clearly failing to protect threatened species, forcing community groups to have to step in. The federal exemption should be removed.”

Dailan Pugh from the ForestNorth East  Alliance said:

“We welcome this reaffirmation that community groups with a demonstrated interest can enforce NSWs’ logging rules. The Government and Forestry Corporation should welcome this scrutiny. As we found in our unsuccessful case in 2023 there remains a high bar to clear to prove that the Forestry Corporation has not complied with its limited legal obligations.”

Bob Debus, former Attorney General NSW, from Wilderness Australia said:

“In my observation, the native forestry industry constantly breaches the harvesting rules contained within the Integrated Forestry Operations Approval (lFOA). The Environment Protection Authority apprehends them far less often. The adequate protection of our forests needs the involvement of the community, but that will only be disruptive if the industry continues to ignore the environmental protections required by the harvesting rules.”

--

Background

In January 2024 conservation group South East Forest Rescue (SEFR) commenced legal action in the NSW Land and Environment Court against the Forestry Corporation of NSW (FCNSW) in an effort to force them to comply with NSW logging rules (Coastal Integrated Forestry Operations Approval - CFIOA) requiring them to undertake pre-logging surveys to identify the dens of threatened species like the Greater Glider

The judge in that case recognised the common law right to bring the case but found SEFR had not established they had a special interest in the issue that gave them standing to bring a case.

In a landmark judgement in May the NSW court of appeal found that SEFR did indeed have a special interest, and re-affirmed that community groups do have common law rights to enforce the FCNSW legal obligations to comply with the CIFOA.

FCNSW appealed to the High Court arguing that only the EPA can enforce the logging rules and sought to overturn community group's rights to hold FCNSW to account.

Today’s decision found against FCNSW, re-affirming the common law right for community groups with special interest to bring future actions to enforce the law.

--

Summary of Judgement

The High Court of Australia recently ruled on a case between the Forestry Corporation of New South Wales (the appellant) and South East Forest Rescue Incorporated (the respondent). The main issue was whether environmental groups like South East Forest Rescue have the legal right (standing) to initiate court proceedings to enforce environmental duties and obligations set out in the Forestry Act 2012 (NSW) and related approvals.​

Background:

• The Forestry Corporation conducts forestry operations under an Integrated Forestry Operations Approval (IFOA) granted under Part 5B of the Forestry Act.​
• South East Forest Rescue sought legal action to ensure that the Forestry Corporation adhered to the environmental obligations specified in the IFOA and the Act.​

Legal Question:

The central question was whether organisations with a "special interest" in environmental protection, like South East Forest Rescue, have the standing to bring enforcement proceedings under the Forestry Act, or if such actions are exclusively reserved for specific government entities.​

Court's Decision:

The High Court upheld the decision of the New South Wales Court of Appeal, concluding that entities with a demonstrable special interest in the subject matter do have the standing to initiate such proceedings. This means that environmental groups are legally permitted to seek enforcement of environmental duties and obligations imposed by the IFOA and the Forestry Act.​

Implications:

This ruling affirms that environmental organisations can play an active role in ensuring compliance with environmental laws and approvals, reinforcing the accountability of entities like the Forestry Corporation to adhere to their legal environmental responsibilities.

Full judgement: https://eresources.hcourt.gov.au/showCase/2025/HCA/15

MEDIA RELEASE 
17^th December 2024  

The Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales (NCC), the state’s leading environmental advocacy organisation, welcomes the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal’s (IPART) recommendation that the Biodiversity Conservation Fund needs to be reined in.  

A key issue with the NSW Biodiversity Offsets Scheme (BOS) is that developers can simply make a payment into the Fund in lieu of their offset obligations. Endangered species offsets are obviously difficult to source, and this means the Trust administering the Fund is often left with inadequate funds to deliver a ‘like-for-like' offset.  

IPART has previously recommended that the Fund be phased out entirely. 

IPART has today proposed that whilst the Fund still exists, the Government must adopt a precautionary approach by ensuring that prices are high enough to provide the Trust with confidence that it can purchase sufficient offsets. 

Statements attributable to Jacqui Mumford, Chief Executive Officer of Nature Conservation Council NSW: 

“Allowing developers to avoid genuine offsets and simply ‘pay to destroy’ is driving our previous biodiversity to extinction.   

“Developers are getting away with inadequate payments we know aren't enough to secure genuine like for like offsets.  

“IPART and the environment movement are in clear agreement - these loopholes must be phased out. 

“IPART has confirmed that recent reforms passed by Parliament are ‘useful interim measures’ but that more ambitious reform is needed to properly fix the scheme and protect biodiversity. 

"We urge the NSW government to adopt IPART’s recommendations as part of its nature reforms in 2025.

“The last Biodiversity Outlook Report found that NSW will lose half of the over 1000 threatened species in the next 100 years if we continue business as usual. NSW habitat is so degraded it can only support 29% of the plants and animals it once did. 

“It is clear the system is failing nature and is in urgent need of reform.” 

Statement ends   

Media contact: Anna Greer  
E: [email protected] M: 0493 733 529 PH: (02) 7208 9482   

Note: Spokesperson is available for comment on request.

MEDIA RELEASE
17 December 2024

The Forest Alliance NSW has responded to the release of a three year review by the NSW Independent pricing regulator raising doubts of the economic viability of native forest logging in NSW. The report was released under freedom of information laws to the ABC.

The release of the IPART Report follows the publication of Forestry Corporation’s latest Annual Report showing its native forest logging division posted a $29 million dollar loss in 2023/24 bringing total losses over the last four years to over $70 million.

Justin Field from the Forest Alliance NSW said, “Native forest logging is a bad deal for taxpayers.

“In the last four years the NSW Government owned logging company has lost over $70 million dollars logging NSW native forests, has been prosecuted multiple times, and fined over $1.5 million for breaking environmental laws. This report now shows for the last decade it has not even been recovering the costs of logging and transporting timber under existing contracts.

“The NSW Government is currently considering the future of the timber industry in NSW. This is the opportunity to allow native forest logging to end and shift the industry to a sustainable plantation based future. For every year native forest logging is allowed to continue taxpayers will continue to foot the bill.

Dailan Pugh from the North East Forest Alliance said, “The NSW Government needs to heed the advice of IPART that there are concerns about native forestry in NSW due to impacts on the environment and threatened species, climate change impacts and its economic viability, necessitating that they review the long-term feasibility of native timber harvesting.

“NSW needs to stop paying to degrade public native forests and instead profit from them being managed for wildlife habitat, recreation, tourism, water and their essential service of carbon capture and storage” 

Susie Russel from the North Coast Environment Council said, “This reports confirm what the greater gliders and koalas already know. The logging needs to stop immediately if they are to have any chance of surviving in the wild for another generation.

“This report from IPART is quite astonishing in that not only does it show what an economic basket case native forest logging is but also highlights impacts on the environment and threatened species like Koalas and Greater Gliders along with increasing the severity of bushfires which is of great concern as the effects of climate change increase” said Scott Daines of South East Forest Rescue.

“Clearly, logging doesn't stack up economically and the cost to the species that depend on healthy native forests has been far too high for many years. We're calling on Forestry Minister Tara Moriarty to recognise this reality and decisively move to a sustainable plantation-based timber industry,” said Steve Ryan of the Nature Conservation Council of NSW.

“These reports are the iceberg off the Titanic’s bow. No industry can survive so many years of decline, financial loss, criminal prosecution and broad public disapproval. We’ve already seen that same inevitable conclusion in the collapse of the native logging industry in Western Australia and Victoria last year. For the Minns government, this will be hard to ignore” said Andrew Wong of Wilderness Australia.

For further comment contact:

Susie Russell: 0429 655 044

Dailan Pugh: 0400 711 054

Justin Field: 0439 205 835

Steve Ryan 0488 401 542