08 April, 2008

LETTER: Logs and hypocrisy

Ellen Sandell, Flemington
The Age, letter, April 8, 2007

The article "State of stress" (The Age, 7/4) highlights some glaring hypocrisies in the Victorian Government. It states that mountain ash forests in Victoria, and their inhabitants, including the Leadbeater's possum, are at high risk from climate change.

Yet the State Government continues to allow logging in these forests in the central highlands and East Gippsland. Not only does this damage the habitat of many endangered and at-risk species, but it releases large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, further contributing to the climate change that threatens these ecosystems. Research from the Australian National University has shown that logging reduces carbon stores in these forests by 40% to 60%.

How can the Government propose to be acting on climate change when it still allows logging of these forests?

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