Future of Australian forests is vital to our own

Dr John Van Der Kallen, rheumatologist and member of Doctors for the Environment Australia.

Forests add value to our lives in so many ways.

They clean our air and water, promote rain formation and protect soils from salinity and erosion.

Evidence Mounts that Native Vegetation Focus for Climate Mitigation is a Rort

Yesterday’s revelations in the Sydney Morning Herald[1] (SMH) that the Baird government has dipped into the Climate Change Fund to find the $240 million for private land conservation is the latest piece of worrying Coalition climate policy says the National Parks Association of NSW (NPA).

The $240 million has been repeatedly touted by the government as being a safety net against a return to broad scale land clearing resulting from the repeal of the Native Vegetation Act, but has been labelled by the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists as ‘a taxpayer subsidy to farmers to clear land’[2].

Scrapping the Native Vegetation Act would be a black day for nature in NSW 

Conservation groups are appalled by the Coalition’s announcement today that it will seek to repeal the Native Vegetation Act if returned to government this Saturday.

“This is a black day for the state’s threatened wildlife and fragile soils,” Nature Conservation Council CEO Kate Smolski said. “The Native Vegetation Act is among the most important nature conservation laws in NSW because it protects so much of the state’s wildlife like koalas and gliders from indiscriminate destruction. If new laws weaken protections for land and wildlife, Mike Baird will be remembered as the Premier who took us back to the dark days of broad scale land clearing.”

The Coalition announces its vision for agriculture in NSW – native vegetation gets the chop!  (Park Protection News)

The National Parks Association of NSW is disappointed with the Coalition partners’ decision to repeal the Native Vegetation Act.

“The Liberal/Nationals government has missed the point entirely about looking after the interests of our farming community and wildlife,” NPA CEO Kevin Evans said.