Home Politics Australian Politics Forestry Corp NSW forms a special police branch

Forestry Corp NSW forms a special police branch

April 30, 2024

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Forestry Corporation of NSW is forming a dedicated protester compliance squad, comprising four individuals, tasked with managing and strategising responses to potential native forest logging protests, including liaison and potential collaboration with law enforcement agencies and initiation of legal proceedings against local citizens.

The primary responsibilities of this team will encompass evidence collection, issuance of penalty notices in cases of forest encroachment or disruption of harvesting activities. The team will be tasked with formulating an enforcement framework to address violations of the Forestry Act. Protesters are wondering if one side of the argument has just granted themselves prosecution rights. We’ll look at the rights of FC staff and sub-contractors later.

Government-owned corporation gets own prosecution investigation and prosecution team

In the latest move some see as the encroaching surveillance state, some see as one side of a political debate grabbing power to investigate and prosecute dissenting voices, others see asForestry Corp opting out of responsibly managing the transition to sustainable native timber plantations and farm forestry thus saving koalas, others see as an invasion of privacy by a Forestry Corporation desperate to take the media focus off their own legal fines.

Granting themselves permission to initiate legal proceedings has raised a few eyebrows in the legal profession with most recent cases brought to the courts by Forestry Corp NSW resulting in charges dismissed. One wonders if the existence of such a government-owned corporate investigative unit should exist when police are have responsibility for crowd control, not the foresters.

The decision to establish this team in Coffs Harbour, north coast of NSW, has sparked controversy, particularly among conservation groups who point to the region’s decades long history of enduring logging protests. Needless to say this new squad has caused further angst amongst the decades old protesters fighting for the koalas, greater gliders and the forests they live in.

Forestry Corporation has amassed hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and breach notices since the NSW Black Summer bushfires of 2019-2020. They are lucky they’re government owned and underwritten by the taxpayer. Recent community grievances in various parts of NSW have resulted in stop-work orders against Forestry Corporation in two state forests so it is questionable whether they have moral authority to initiate court proceedings against protesters who are acting on the evidence provided by the citizen scientists living in the local area.

These complaints have prompted an investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), focusing on suspected damage to den trees vital for the survival of endangered greater gliders, as well as raising concerns regarding the adequacy of surveys conducted for threatened species habitats.

The Australian forests were decimated in Black Summer and there is plenty of evidence that we should not be decimating important remaining habitat and flora reserves when the NSW Government has reneged on their promised Great Koala National Park and other environment law reforms. Thousands of people are protesting for good reasons and are concerned about how the list of people of concern to this new quasi-police squad will be used in other contexts without active government oversight. The only thing worse than being on the list is not being on their list.

Forestry Corp Special Branch

Here is the April 2024 advert from Forestry Corp recruiting 4 people for the new protester compliance unit:

EOI – Senior Forestry Compliance Officer and Forestry Compliance Officer

EOI – Secondment Opportunity – Senior Forestry Compliance Officer (1 role) and Forestry Compliance Officer (3 roles)

Duration – ASAP to 31 December 2024

Location – Coffs Harbour – Park St Office

Expenses – Reasonable expenses will be negotiated with preferred candidate

Senior Forestry Compliance Officer (Salary $134,953)

The role’s activities include:

Lead a small team to coordinate on-site protest management activities including protest management planning, potentially including liaison with police

Collecting evidence, issuing penalty infringement notices (PINS) relating to entry into closed forests and interfering with harvest operations and the like

Initiating prosecution if warranted

Design and provision of support to staff involved in protests

Development of enforcement strategy, policies and procedures for offences under the Forestry Act and others (firewood theft, dumping rubbish, unlicensed driving,

°°°°

Forestry Corp NSW recruiting advertisement ends. It doesn’t say responsibilities include investigation of protesters and proactively targeting individuals and it doesn’t exclude it either. Forestry’s “enforcement strategy” already includes collecting files on individuals who have effectively used evidence leading to legal fines for Forestry Corp. See FriendlyJordies exposé

The police are in charge of crowd control, not this newly formed Forestry Protester Compliance Unit. Forestry are granting themselves the right to initiate prosecutions against associates of the citizen scientists providing the evidence in their own multitude of legal fines. The similarities with conflict zones and forest protests is well documented in this decades-long standoff.

The Secondment Opportunity presumably allows law enforcement officers and other government employees with a reason and the skills to take on the forestry issue first hand.

What about police and government oversight?

NSW police have confirmed their lead role in managing protest activities, pledging collaboration with other relevant government agencies. The establishment of a dedicated enforcement unit within Forestry Corporation raises questions about the balance between environmental protection and corporate interests.

NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty, responsible for forestry affairs, said that staffing decisions within Forestry Corporation are independent, while Environment Minister Penny Sharpe has consistently remained silent on the matter, leaving many to ponder the implications of this new enforcement initiative.

With government surveillance and censorship under scrutiny, it’s no surprise this story broke on the same day as the same NSW politicians turned their backs on local residents at Kirrawak State Forest forming a flora reserve to protect the few koalas that come close to houses in nearby Tinonee, NSW.

Who polices Forestry Corp?

Forestry Corporation’s formation of a new protester compliance team has sparked considerable debate, particularly in light of its potential impact on peaceful protesters advocating for the preservation of vital den trees, crucial for the survival of endangered species like the koala and greater glider.

Oh the irony of a serial offender forming a special policing branch to investigate and prosecute protesters trying to protect the endangered Australian koalas, greater gliders habitat trees so soon after the Black Summer bushfires when they are so close to extinction. Protesters standing up for the trees and animals are locals who have identified the older growths and say these will be protected.

Forestry Corp’s Recruitment Stirs Controversy Amidst Environmental Concerns

Located in Coffs Harbour on the north coast, where logging protests have a storied history, the placement of this team has further fueled apprehension among conservation groups and concerned citizens.

Recent community complaints prompting stop-work orders against Forestry Corporation have intensified scrutiny of the corporation’s practices. An ensuing investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) focuses on allegations of damage to den trees critical for the survival of endangered species. Concerns have also been raised about the adequacy of habitat surveys for threatened fauna.

As mentioned in the advert, Forestry Corp staff have the right to check if you’re a licensed driver but forestry contractors have limited rights which is why they pretend to be staff. If confronted in the forest by someone claiming to be staff or protester or media, don’t say or do anything to incriminate yourself.