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The native timber industry has been dealt a blow by the High Court as it kept the door open for environmental groups to prosecute law-breaking loggers. A decision, centring on a battle to protect habitat for three types of gliders, was immediately described as a “huge win” for native forests and the community at large. Source: Nine News The nation’s highest court upheld a NSW court’s decision allowing private people or entities to bring cases to enforce state forestry laws. “This marks the end of the rule that only the Environment Protection Authority can prosecute the Forestry Corporation for their illegal logging,” environmental law expert and Greens MP Sue Higginson told AAP. “No longer will internal government deals protect the Forestry Corporation from being prosecuted for their illegal actions. “This is a huge win for South East Forest Rescue (SEFR), the community at large, and especially for our precious native forests.” SEFR says it has damning evidence of illegal activities in NSW state forests and the High Court challenge by Forestry Corporation was an attempt to avoid answering it. Its case sought to minimise the effects of forestry operations on three forest-dependent marsupials living in southeast Australia: the southern greater glider, yellow-bellied glider and squirrel glider. The southern greater glider, which is about the size of a house cat, is listed as endangered while the other two are considered endangered in some areas and vulnerable elsewhere. Forestry Corporation, which manages NSW’s native timber and plantation industry, had argued third parties had no standing to bring civil enforcement proceedings. But the High Court found cases could be brought by people whose private interests were affected or who has a special interest, such as long-standing concern about logging and its effect on certain species. The case will now return to the Land and Environment Court later this year. SEFR is seeking court orders to restrain Forestry Corporation from logging in NSW north and south coast state forests unless proper surveys for greater gliders, yellow-bellied gliders, and squirrel gliders are completed, and appropriate protections around their den trees are put in place. The High Court judgment is another blow to the native logging industry in Australia. The industry has been haemorrhaged money in NSW amid environmental court battles and faces large swathes of forest being protected from logging in a proposed Great Koala National Park. Victoria ended native forest logging in 2024, as did Western Australia, the home of sought-after karri, jarrah and wandoo woods. The WA government said the closure reflected the changing climate and community attitudes about an “unsustainable” part of the industry. Tasmania plans, however, to capitalise on mainland jitters, pledging to let loggers into up to 40,000 hectares of native forest previously set aside as a “wood bank”.

Prolonged drought conditions in the Green Triangle are killing pine trees and increasing disease risks, threatening long-term timber growth, according to the Green Triangle Forest Industries Hub. Source: Timberbiz South Australia’s South East and Victoria’s neighbouring Western District are experiencing their driest conditions on record, which forestry industry representatives have told the ABC is now taking its toll. Green Triangle Forest Industries Hub general manager Tony Wright told the ABC forestry pine plantations were planted on a 30-year rotation. He said the current drought damage had stunted tree growth, which was unable to be recovered throughout the trees’ life cycle. “Trees that would tend to shut down, particularly softwood, they take the water that’s available to them in the environment, but they obviously have a limitation about how deep [their roots can go],” he told the ABC. “They will start to shut down their growth and these are 30-year crops. “So, an impact on growth in any particular year will affect the yield at the end of that rotation and that then will affect the entire supply chain around that.” University of South Australia Forestry Centre of Excellence director Professor Jeff Morrell told the ABC that due to the long lifespan of plantations; it could take months or years for damage or disease to become noticeable. “We’re looking at trees that are stressed and it will take a while for some of that to really show up,” he said. “The other part of that will be because those trees are stressed, we’ll start to see some insects and diseases start to become a problem and that can build on itself.” Mr Wright said with warmer and drier climate conditions expected in the future, the industry was running a number of studies to drought-proof timber plantations. He said the Green Triangle region remained a viable place for timber plantations, despite the drying climate. “We’ve been doing a lot of work as an industry, through Tree Breeding Australia, improving their genetics every year,” he told the ABC. “But this particular season is one of the driest on record and also there’s been a shift in the season as well. “So, we don’t have any science or data that is of a comparable period.” The Green Triangle region supplies around 34% of Australia’s structural timber for housing construction. Master Builders Association SA chief executive Will Frogley told the ABC that current timber supply was meeting demand, but he wanted Australia to stay self-sufficient. “A lot of Australians would probably be shocked to know we import a lot of timber for industry, it also comes from other states,” he said. “Most people would think in a country like Australia it’s quite incredible we haven’t been able to develop enough supply for our local building industry. “It probably highlights some problems and mistakes that have been made over the years.” An SA government spokesperson told the ABC that the forestry industry had been in-volved in discussions ahead of the government’s $55 million drought support package announced on Tuesday. The spokesperson said the forestry industry had advocated for increased mental health support for producers and local business programs, which were included in the drought funding.