Dominic King's recent call for a moratorium on logging due to the widespread devastation caused by bush fires hit the wider media last week with Sydney Morning Herald columnist Peter FitzSimons citing the Bellingen Shire mayor as his Quote of the Week.
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"At a time when so much of the landscape has burnt, it's a very damaging act to be logging some of the last unburnt refuges of koalas in particular and many other species. It's like they've (the NSW Government) got the foot on the accelerator to have the last go at these forests."
Cr King said the Berejiklian government should halt logging of native forests until the bushfire crisis was over and the extent of the damage to koala populations and their habitat was understood.
Originally a spontaneous plea, Bellingen Shire councillors only got their chance to have a say on the matter at their extraordinary meeting held yesterday (Wednesday).
And while it was resolved to call on the NSW Government to place a moratorium on logging in Bellingen Shire and regions suffering extreme bushfire threat, it was not at all unanimous with Councillors Gary Carter, Desmae Harrison and Steve Jenkins voting against it.
The resolution that was passed requests the moratorium remain in place until:
- 1. The immediate threat of bushfires subsides within the region
- 2. Rainfall of 160-200mm in the immediate term across the region is received to support the effort to stop the current fires. It is Council's understanding that this is the estimated required rainfall to manage the fire risk as provided by the Rural Fire Service (RFS).
- 3. An assessment of the impact the fires have had on koala habitat and endangered plant communities is conducted by qualified professionals
- 4. The number of koalas and endangered plant communities lost to fires are quantified.
- 5. That the State Government provides appropriate financial and other support to the affected industries within the impacted region.
The councillors also resolved, unanimously, to proceed with procuring a portable reverse osmosis plant as a short term solution to the shire's water crisis.
Also making the news:
Ute Schulenberg
Journalism was always my plan but plans being what they are, I did not get to realise it until my early 40s ... and have loved every minute since. For me community journalism is the most intimate and honest place to be in this field - telling the stories of people I live with, side-by-side, every day. It is an honour.
Journalism was always my plan but plans being what they are, I did not get to realise it until my early 40s ... and have loved every minute since. For me community journalism is the most intimate and honest place to be in this field - telling the stories of people I live with, side-by-side, every day. It is an honour.
