A sweeping new assessment of NSW logging rules is underway, deciding how the industry will be regulated once a decades-old exemption from national environmental law disappears, with environment groups and government at odds over whether it goes far enough.
The NSW Government has tasked the Natural Resources Commission with developing a Strategic Assessment for forestry operations across the state, covering public native forestry, plantation and private native forestry within the boundaries of the Regional Forest Agreements. Timber harvesting inland of Coffs Harbour, Grafton and Kempsey has been under a temporary moratorium since the NSW Government began working towards the proposed 476,000-hectare Great Koala National Park, with legislation to formally reserve the park expected to go before State Parliament later this year.
The move follows new Commonwealth environment laws that will end the long-standing exemption for Regional Forest Agreement forestry from national environmental rules on 1 July 2027. From that date, forestry operations in those agreement areas will need to meet the same Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act standards as other industries. Draft terms of reference for the assessment are open for public consultation from Thursday, 18 September to Friday, 16 October.
Federal Minister for the Environment and Water, Murray Watt, said the milestone would deliver better protections and more certainty for industry.
“The Albanese Government congratulates the Minns Government on reaching this important milestone, which will deliver better protections for the environment and more certainty for industry,” Minister Watt said.
“As part of our landmark national environmental law reforms passed by the Australian Parliament at the end of last year, RFA forestry will need to meet the same Federal environmental requirements as other industries.
“We’re providing up to $8.5 million to NSW to ensure it’s meeting national benchmarks, through the development of landscape-scale approval pathways like the strategic assessment.”
NSW Minister for the Environment, Penny Sharpe, said the assessment was about bringing the state’s forestry sector into line with national standards.
“This is an important step towards strengthening environmental protections in NSW,” Minister Sharpe said.
NSW Minister for Agriculture and Regional NSW, Tara Moriarty, said the government wanted a process that worked for both industry and regional communities.
“The Minns Government is committed to working constructively with the Commonwealth to secure a pathway that supports sustainable forestry, strong environmental standards and certainty for industry and regional communities,” Minister Moriarty said.
But environment groups say the review needs to go further. Adele Chasson, Nature Policy Lead at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said the assessment was a chance to fix a system that had let logging run largely unchecked for decades.
“This is the Federal Government’s chance to fix a broken system that has enabled the destruction of NSW’s precious forests for far too long,” Ms Chasson said.
“Native forest logging continues to smash threatened species habitat. In NSW, it is pushing unique wildlife like koalas, greater gliders and glossy black cockatoos towards extinction.”
Ms Chasson said the Regional Forest Agreement system had allowed industrial logging of significant forests for decades with no oversight, and welcomed the Federal Government’s move to close the loophole.
“It’s time for the Federal Government to deliver the protection that forests urgently need, and that Australians overwhelmingly want,” she said.
“These forests have been cared for by First Nations people for tens of thousands of years.
“They are some of the most biodiverse on the planet, store carbon, clean our air and water. It’s critical we protect them.”
Locals can have their say on the draft terms of reference at nsw.gov.au/have-your-say/strategic-assessment-of-forestry-rfas before submissions close on 16 October.
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