18TH NOV. 1999

LETTER TO THE EDITOR - SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

CARR'S CLEARFELL TEAM TARGETS SOUTH COAST FORESTS


Ambitious Kim Yeadon, Bob Carr's Forest Minister, has double talk down pat
(Letters 14 Nov.). Fact is the NSW ALP have brought forward 20 years of
complex land use decisions affecting 2 million hectares of public land
(most but not all forested) based on today's limited knowledge and today's
political values ("balance", "rational" economics). As a result about 1
million hectares of  forest is to be clearfelled for woodchips (60% koala
habitat in the south east alone). Don't you remember, Kim, the repeal of
all those pesky environment laws last year? Also contrary to the spin, the
NSW electricity industry has exceeded greenhouse benchmarks for 1998 and
likely will again. Now the precious and rare south coast native forests
(and west to Tumut) are on the woodchipping block.  Shame on you.


Tom McLoughlin,
FRIENDS OF THE EARTH, SYDNEY


Contact tel. 0410 558838 or 02-9517 3900