In a landmark decision, the NSW Supreme Court of Appeal has ruled in favor of a volunteer conservation group, South East Forest Rescue (SEFR), in their legal battle against the NSW government’s native forest logging operations.
The court’s decision sets a significant precedent that could bolster efforts to protect threatened species, such as the greater gliders, from habitat destruction due to logging. SEFR successfully appealed a previous decision by the Land and Environment Court, which had dismissed their case on the grounds that they did not have a “special interest” in the matter.
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The unanimous ruling by the Supreme Court found that SEFR indeed has a sufficient special interest, citing the group’s approximately 20-year history of active involvement and concrete actions concerning logging and its impact on forest-dependent threatened species, including the Greater Glider.
This decision overturns a previous ruling by the Land and Environment Court (LEC) which stated that SEFR did not have the standing to bring the case forward.
“This decision is an important step forward in removing roadblocks to public interest litigation in NSW by environmental organisations,” said Natalija Nikolic, SEFR’s lawyer. “There is now no doubt that environmental organisations have the right to challenge Forestry Corporation’s breaches of the law. It is a historic and momentous decision.”
Sue Higginson, Greens MP and spokesperson for the environment said, “The anti-democratic limitations to standing were introduced by a previous Labor Government and were designed to prevent the community from accessing the courts to enforce and uphold our environmental protection laws against the NSW Forestry Corporation.”
“The politics and laws around native forest extinction-logging are so broken and toxic that just yesterday in Parliament, the Minister for the Environment claimed that she did not have powers to direct the EPA to prevent breaches of the law, this is simply not true,” Ms Higginson said.
SEFR contends that the Forestry Corporation has failed to conduct adequate surveys for den trees, resulting in the lack of necessary exclusion zones around these trees. They argue that the impacts of logging on glider habitat are even more critical in the wake of the devastating 2019/20 fires.
The Court of Appeal’s decision was based on evidence that SEFR is a suitable entity to litigate offenses committed by the NSW Forestry Corporation. This ruling is a significant victory for environmental activists who have long sought greater accountability from forestry operations.
“This case is so important,” said SEFR spokesperson Mr. Daines. “The Forestry Corporation has caused real harm to the environment and ecosystems, and for too long, they thought they were untouchable. Well, they’re not a law unto themselves.”
Higginson said that the importance of community involvement in environmental enforcement: “If the Government and its agencies are unwilling to pursue the people and corporations that break environmental protection law, then the community must be allowed to fill that gap and take the action that is necessary.”
The case will now return to the Land and Environment Court for further hearings with SEFR is set to return to court to present evidence that the Forestry Corporation has not upheld its obligations to protect the environment.
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