MEDIA RELEASE: 7/10/2011 Conservation group South East Forest Rescue have today called for the complete end to native forest logging following the finding of not guilty in Moruya Local court. In this case defendants were prosecuted for a Sunday walk in Mumbulla State Forest, north of Bega on the south coast.
This was the last in a series of cases that had stretched from May 2010 when protestors were charged. Eleven people had faced 31 charges for protests over the logging of Mumbulla Mountain, north east of Bega which began in March last year. Crown solicitors were again flown in from Sydney to prosecute. These hearings have resulted in all charges being dismissed.
“Forests NSW went ahead and logged Mumbulla Mountain knowing it was a significant Aboriginal area,” said Ms Stone, spokesperson for South East Forest Rescue and one of the defendants. “Then they went ahead and pressed charges knowing that the area was gazetted as an Aboriginal Place in 1984.”
Mumbulla Mountain is significant by virtue of the mountain having been the locale of Aboriginal initiations which utilised a complex of sacred sites.
South East Forest Rescue state Forest NSW was cognisant of the situation and regulations and still wilfully ignored the community’s call for the halt to logging. Forests NSW enacted prohibited areas, alleging it was for safety reasons, however conservationists state Forests NSW knew there would be large scale protest over the logging of the mountain, and that’s why Forests NSW enacted the prohibited areas to arrest protestors.
“It is now clearly evident that the operations in Mumbulla compartment 2135 and 2133 were in breach of the law,” said Ms Stone. “How basic checks and balances were not undertaken for an area with such a high profile is outrageous and how Forests NSW were allowed to begin prosecution of people is nothing short of corrupt.”
On the south coast of New South Wales, the area south of Bermagui known as the Murrah/Mumbulla area had also been confirmed as critical habitat for one of the very last known koala populations on the Far South Coast.
It was not until a month later when SEFR discovered the actual gazettal map and sent yet another breach report to the Office of Environment and Heritage, and the community went into the compartment on 28 April and stopped the logging, forcing the machines out of the compartment, that logging ceased.
“The public cannot take Forests NSW to court for a breach of their Act or any other Act,” said Ms Stone. “Forests NSW have wasted court resources and time when in fact they were logging illegally, then to continue to pursue people because they protested the illegal logging, there is some irony in that.”
“It is scandalous that Forests NSW gave the green light to these then continued to defend them, knowing the facts,” said Ms Stone. “With this sort of corrupt and fraudulent behaviour it’s no wonder Forests NSW are on the nose.”
“On a number of occasions documented evidence has quite clearly shown that SEFR are better versed in the law and licence conditions than Forests NSW.”
