Media release by Timber Communities Australia (TCA)
The innocence of youth. Running through the Redgum forests with their dog these kids don’t realise what the future holds for them if VEAC draft proposals are accepted by Government unopposed.Under a VEAC future kids can look forward to impacts such as ‘ loss of employment for individuals and their families including poverty and financial hardship, reduced future work opportunities, reduced participation in mainstream community life, strains in family relationships and intergenerational welfare dependency”. (page 85 RRG Draft Proposals Paper)
“No community should have to suffer these sorts of impacts; no parent wants to have their kid faced with a life on the dole. No family should have to live in poverty. Why would anyone put forward such ludicrous proposals that have such damaging implications?” Asked Mr Scott Gentle, Victorian State Manager of the grassroots organisation Timber Communities Australia. “After 10 years of drought this is the last thing these communities need.”
In their zest to satisfy the environmental movement VEAC have decided that the communities that live in and around the Redgum forests are a disposable commodity. The desire to preserve the environment will come at the expense of families and kids.
‘Every Australian is entitled to have a healthy and prosperous lifestyle in harmony with the environment. Organisations such as VEAC should not have the right to put forward recommendations that will deprive people of this opportunity.’ said Mr Gentle.
“If VEAC had listened to the locals who understand the complexities of managing Redgum forest rather than consultants in Melbourne they would have delivered a report that could give hope to the region rather than tear its heart out” concluded Mr Gentle.
2 comments:
I see absolutely no quantitative evidence displayed on this page.
Authoritarian, tenacious and intuitive language is quite compelling but i refuse to swallow what is written here without there being substantial scientific fact to back up the opinions that I felt were forced down my throat.
I come from a rural background and understand the importance of primary industry and therefore i am sympathetic to the fears that are faced when trying to deal with something as fragile as the land that provides our day to day livelihood.
Sure your children will not get to enjoy the forests with the same freedom that generations before have, yet they are ultimately the guardians of these forests. If a tread lightly philosophy is not adopted these forests will not be there to enjoy for your children's children.
Remember that it can take many decades for a tree to die, and once a tree has passed a certain point of no return not much can be done to save it.
A glorious river red will look glorious for many years even after the tree has passed the point of no return. So your children may grow up with fond memories of a big, beautiful healthy tree and may not be aware that long after their lifetime has passed the the tree was doomed to die a slow death that may extend over a 100 year period.
Trees live much longer than humans and play a much more important role than humans in respect to the delicate eco-systems that exist around us. This is fact, not opinion.
So ultimately our ego needs to be pulled back a gear so that our grandchildren get to enjoy these forests... not just our children.
It is also worth mentioning the cultural and spiritual significance that these forests hold for the local indigenous people. The forests are the equivalent to our churches. They are a place of sanctuary, healing and ritual; therefore it is plain disrespectful to deny future generations of Australians (both indigenous and otherwise) the continued existence of such amazing native flora.
Take a step back and really analyse the situation... what are we gambling with?
The Red Gum forests along the Murray and its tributaries are a vestige of a once much larger forest that has been cleared, fragmented and degraded. It is an area of immense ecological value with many species at the edge of their range due to coastal species being able to survive along this productive landscape.
While forest industries have benefited from accessing these public forests for many decades, the lack of water available for recruitment and the continued degradation and ecological simplification caused by logging for mostly low value sleepers and firewood cannot be accepted just because some make a profit from it.
The values of the red gum wetland forests are also of important cultural significance to many aboriginal nations that have been largely ignored by forest industries.
New National Parks in these areas will not impact on recreational activities and will allow these forests to recover, or at least not lose any more of their values while we wait for flodding rains - or a fair go from irrigators.
The timber industry needs to accept that if it wants timber, it needs to grow it on private land as all other agricultural industries must do.
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