Forest waste plan slammed

A peak north coast environmental group has slammed a plan to give renewable energy status to native forest waste used to fuel power stations.

Lyne MP Rob Oakeshott plans to support the move to make native forest waste eligible for renewable energy credits.

The North Coast Environment Council says it's throwing a lifeline to the industry by subsidising unsustainable practices.

NCEC spokeswoman Susie Russell says it would lead to more clear felling if forest managers are to decide what constitutes 'waste".

"We're extremely disappointed that Rob Oakeshott has moved to allow native forest material to be burnt in power stations and classed as a renewable energy," she says.

"That would mean that the wholesale devastation of forests occurring all around Australia would be able to continue under the guise of a green energy programme."

Ms Russell says history suggests the move could lead to clear felling of forests to rack up carbon credits.

"When you look through the history of what's happened in the forests in the last forty years, woodchipping was introduced to Australia as a means of dealing with forest waste," she says.

"Waste is in the eye of the beholder.

"It's not waste that is left in the forest I mean it's all part of the natural processes of nutrient recycling."