PHILIP HOPKINS
By PHILIP HOPKINS
THE federal Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek, has backed the Regional Forest Agreements (RFA), but they will be reformed to reflect the government’s new national environment standards. Ms Plibersek, in a speech to the Queensland Conservation Council, said the RFAs were designed to have regard to environmental values, such as old growth forest and wilderness, endangered species and World Heritage matters. “But they are currently exempt from the EPBC (Environment, Protection, Bioidiversity and Conservation) Act – which makes them unique,” she said. “As part of these reforms, our government will begin a process of applying our new National Environmental Standards to Regional Forest Agreements.” Ms Plibersek said the government would consult with stakeholders on how this would be done. “Australia needs timber products, and we want forestry jobs, but forests are becoming increasingly valuable for their carbon sequestration and the habitat they provide. “We will work with the industry to support sustainable forestry and the jobs that go with it, and to ensure a healthy balance with the environment.” Ms Plibersek said the new environmental standards would write ‘nature positive outcomes’ into the law. “These standards will be legally enforceable, creating positive requirements for decision-making. they will describe the outcomes we want – and our new Environment Protection Agency will make sure those outcomes are being delivered on the ground,” she said. The chief executive of the Australian Forest Products Association, Ross Hampton, said the government’s commitment to retain the RFAs was an endorsement of Australia’s sustainable forest practices, and would be welcomed by forest industry workers. Mr Hampton said industry would work with the federal government to ensure that RFAs – and the robust state government environment laws accredited under the RFAs – continued to meet the objectives of the EPBC Act. “Forestry operations in Australia are regulated to the highest environmental standards in the world, regenerating every harvested area to ensure no net loss of forested area whilst providing robust protections for threatened species,” he said. “Since their inception, RFAs have ensured that the objectives of the EPBC Act are met by the robust state government environmental laws accredited under them. As the EPBC Act evolves to include national environmental standards, we welcome Minister Plibersek’s commitment to work with industry to ensure RFAs continue to meet the Act’s objectives.” Mr Hampton said forest industries welcomed the federal government’s rejection of the bulk of the Samuel recommendations around RFAs, which would have significantly undermined the continued operation of the hardwood timber industry and the national supply of many essential products.
