Environment East Gippsland claimed a historic victory after winning an injunction over logging of two zones of old-growth forest at Brown Mountain on September 14th. The appropriately named Supreme Court Judge, Justice Forrest, imposed the injunction until a trial can be held to assess the lawfulness of the logging and in particular whether they threaten the . Crucial evidence in the case was photos of nearby logging coupes which the Justice said showed "total obliteration" and looked like the Somme in World War One.
http://www.eastgippsland.net.au/
The group launched the action to stop VicForests logging parts of Brown Mountain in East Gippsland in a bid to protect endangered wildlife. "This is the first time a court order has been made to prevent the destruction of old growth forests in Victoria until a trial about the lawfulness of the logging is completed," Environment East Gippsland coordinator Jill Redwood said in a statement. The group says endangered species in the area include the sooty owl, long-footed potoroo and Orbost spiny crayfish as well as the greater glider and yellow-bellied gliders.
Justice Forest also stated "To put it bluntly, once the logging is carried out and the native habitat destroyed, then it cannot be reinstated or repaired in anything but the very, very long term,".
After the hearing the owner of a timber mill at Cann River, in eastern Victoria, Bob Humphries stated he is confident that a temporary ban on logging will be overturned. Bob Humphries says the industry may lose up to $5 million if the two coupes in question can't be harvested. "We are very fortunate at this stage by it being a legal rather than a political process," he says. "We've got full confidence in the legal process, whereas we haven't got a lot of confidence in past political processes."
http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/200909/s2686254.htm
http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/court-halts-logging-in-...
Comments
Update on Campaign
The latest news on the case for protecting Brown Mountain's threatened wildlife happened on Tuesday 29th September.
In summary - the Judge decided that EEG didn't have to put up a $163,000 'bond' as security incase we lost the case. VicForests were claiming that is the amount they could lose if they didn't get to clearfell these forests this Spring. It seems Judge Forrest wasn't convinced. Read his comments below. This is great news for us and Brown Mountain. Though, this hurdle out of the way, we now have to have the rest of the case heard for a permanent stop to logging. We also need to find about $150,000 for the legal case! Any help most appreciated!
The judgement link is here -
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/vic/VSC/2009/421.html
The case will be heard in either December or March 2010. No date has yet been set.
http://www.eastgippsland.net.au/