Greens Upper House candidate for Northern Victoria, Jennifer Alden said, “Unlike the Government and forest industries, the Greens have never sought to lock anyone out of our forests. We believe everyone should be able enjoy the forests as they are. However that which destroys the bush such as chainsaws should be restricted from many forests.”

“The State Government has sectioned off 12,000 hectares of the Barmah State Forest, declared as ‘public safety zones’, in which they have the power to evict members of the public,” said Jennifer Alden.

The Greens are calling for the creation of a new Barmah-Millewa national park as part of their commitment to new national parks and River Red Gum Forest Wetlands and also for the areas under conservation management to be increased.

“This part of the state could be established as the largest Red Gum National Park in the world, and be managed jointly with the Yorta Yorta people for all Victorians” said Jennifer Alden.

“The Greens are committed to handing back a Barmah-Millewa National Park to the Yorta Yorta Nation and to pursuing joint management of this and other new River Murray National Parks, along with close involvement of indigenous people in the management of other public lands in the region. This should involve measures to significantly scale back logging and grazing of the Barmah and Gunbower forests, “said Jennifer Alden.

“Our Red Gum Forests are a threatened vegetation type and require sensitive management. Current management is a disgrace with cattle grazing causing the loss of understorey plants and the destruction of old trees with hollows.”

“While we want to guarantee such a rich resource and unique community asset is properly protected, the government does the opposite; ensuring their illegal logging can remain undisturbed,” said Jennifer Alden.

Ms Alden said the issue of biodiversity was left as an afterthought in the DSE’s recently released strategic direction for the region for 2006-07.

“It’s clear the government has no concept of the importance of Victoria’s environment in ecological, social and economic terms,” Jennifer Alden said.

“This move will not only affect those in the Shepparton and Echuca region, but tourists coming in from other areas as well.”

For more information, please contact:
Jennifer Alden on (mob) 0427 430 233
Or
email: jenniferalden@vic.greens.org.au

-ends-

Background

- The Department of Sustainability and Environment has been found in breach of its forest code on three recent occasions.
- Old growth river red gums have been illegally felled, and four hectares of forest removed from outside of specified zones in Barmah by the department.