Following the dismissal of an environmentalists’ challenge, the Supreme Court decided that contentious logging can proceed close to a well-known mountain bike town in north-east Tasmania.
Judge Robert Pearce dismissed the lawsuit brought by the environmental group Blue Derby Wild against the Forest Practices Authority and the state forest agency Sustainable Timbers Tasmania in Launceston High Court (STT).
In order to stop the logging of native forests in north-east Tasmania, Blue Derby Wild presents itself as a network of “residents, mountain bikers, bushwalkers, and nature-based tourism companies.”
It had claimed that it was illegal for STT staff members to have independent monitoring obligations for forest management plans since this created a conflict of interest.
The decision was reached in less than five minutes, dismissing both the case and an injunction intended to ban two-coupe logging in Kushka Forest, near the town of Derby and popular mountain bike trails.
That injunction was issued in April, followed by a trial in May.
Blue Derby Wild coordinator Louise Morris said the result was disappointing but not surprising.
“What the Court has delivered is the status quo, business as usual, for logging of native forests in Tasmania. The fox remains in charge of the chicken coop,” she said.
“I have to be honest, I’m not shocked … I was prepared for this.
Louise Morris says battle against logging is not over yet. (ABC News: Matthew Growcott)
“It took what was supposed to be a third party and rolled that third party’s role into the same person writing the forest practices plan.”
Suzette Weeding, STT’s general manager of conservation and land management, said in a statement that the organization welcomed the court ruling “as an endorsement of the Tasmanian Forest Practices System and as an affirmation of the legality of forest management in Tasmania’s public production forests.”
“Sustainable Timber Tasmania thanks its legal team and employees for their efforts, dedication and commitment to this successful outcome,” the statement read.
Forest Secretary Felix Ellis said the ruling was “very positive news” and “provides sustainable domestic forestry, both public and private, with the confidence they need to continue day-to-day operations”.
