From FriendsNET (15/12/24)…
Forests in Victoria under threat – have your say by 12 January
The Victorian Government has failed to meet its promise to create national parks at Wombat-Lerderderg and Mount Buangor/Mount Cole. The community has been waiting for 3 years for the government to follow through on its commitments. And in the meantime, logging continues to take place under the guise of managing fire risk. And, as if that failure is not enough, we now have the creation of a Great Outdoors Taskforce to consider multiple use of over 2 million hectares of state forests. The stated role of this taskforce is, of course, shrouded in the ambiguous language of protecting biodiversity, conservation management and sustainability. But it’s clear that recreation and tourism feature large in the taskforce’s considerations.
The government’s objectives for the taskforce give a clear indication of what is to come – “the Taskforce will not be making any recommendation for large-scale changes to land tenure, including not creating any new National Parks”.
Have your say on the future of our state forests here https://engage.vic.gov.au/the-future-of-state-forests.The survey closes on 12 January so it is clear that the government is not really interested in true community consultation.
