Proposed changes to environmental laws will undermine protection of endangered species

I am concerned about proposed changes by the Baillieu Government to laws governing the protection of rare wildlife, specifically the following proposed change to the Code of Practice for Timber Production 2007:

“Forest management planning and all forestry operations must comply with measures specified in relevant Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act Action Statements, unless determined by the Secretary that the requirements of an Action Statement do not apply, and any Flora and Fauna Guarantee Orders.”

I am most concerned that this will allow the Department of Sustainability and Environment Secretary to approve any and all forests planned for logging, regardless of whether endangered wildlife live there.  This will take out the required protection for threatened species and their habitat.

I believe this will undermine the legal framework that protects our biodiversity, along with the necessary transparency and accountability required to ensure proper enforcement of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act’s Individual Action Statements for species protection.

I would like to encourage those concerned about this issue to send their comments to the following email address forestry.code@dse.vic.gov.au of the Department of Sustainability and Environment.