DEAR News Of The Area,
IN the recent article in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area (p4, 27 June 2025) on community action for the forests at Mt Coramba, yet again we see the claim that Forestry Corporation NSW (FCNSW) operates “in line with strict environmental standards.”
I was at a recent meeting between FCNSW and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) where it was crystal clear that the EPA believe that current standards such as the Coastal Integrated Forestry Operations Approvals (CIFOA) are woefully inadequate, especially to deal with the context post the 2019-20 bushfires, and the increasing threat posed by climate change.
I gained the impression that FCNSW had fought hard and long to make the CIFOA as weak as possible, which is not surprising since their obligation is to maximise production to meet quotas set by the government, rather than prioritise conservation outcomes.
It is not their fault if the government does not revise those quotas downward in response to the fires and climate change, but the resulting environmental standards are not “strict.”
In the context of these and other furphies (see “Forest Furphies: Refuting fake news about forests”), it is no wonder that the community continues to beg the government to declare the long promised Great Koala National Park as a starting point in protecting the rich biodiversity in this region, and doing what they can to halt FCNSW’s operations until this promise is fulfilled, and God bless them in their endeavour.
Regards,
Jason JOHN,
Forest Chaplain,
Uniting Church in Australia.
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