Forest ruling to be appealed

ABC Radio National's 'The Law Report' will feature a story about the Wielangta forest federal court ruling tomorrow. The show will air tomorrow morning, Tuesday, 20 Feb 2007 at 8.30am and it will be repeated at 8pm Tuesday night.

On December 19 2006, Justice Shane Marshall ruled that Forestry Tasmania's logging operations in the Wielangta forest were illegal.

Justice Marshall ruled that logging at Wielangta - and wherever else in Australia it has destoyed the habitat of rare and endangered species - has been and will be outside the law. The judgement flayed Forestry Tasmania and those of its expert witnesses, who claimed logging, burning and chemical applications at Wielangta did not harm Tasmania's Wedge- tailed eagle, the Swift parrot or the Wielangta stag beetle. The Judge pointed out that the EPBC Act requires more than avoiding harm - it requires that logging plans help the rare species populations to recover.

Forestry Tasmania lodged its appeal on the 9th of February 2007. Late on Friday afternoon, Environment Minister Turnbull issued a short statement confirming that the Commonwealth would be joining the Forestry Tasmania in their appeal to the full bench of the Federal Court. Senator Brown will again do the job of the Environment Minister and fight the appeal to protect both the Wielangta forest and the endangered Tasmanian Wedge-tailed eagle, Swift parrot and the Wielangta broad-toothed stag beetle.