Steve Meacher.
Hi there CH forest fighters,
Urgent action required, please spread the word far far and wide.
We are in the middle of some of the most important weeks of our forest campaigning lives (and what a historic time it is), but it is pretty critical that we get the Central Highlands community to contact Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor's offices to talk very passionately from a local perspective about the importance of maintaing the prohibition on earning RECs by burning native forest biomass for renewable power generation. Even though we are outside of their electorates, they are making decisions that impact nationally.
You can see coverage of Oakshott's move in the papers:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/nationa ... 6267178121
http://www.theage.com.au/environment/an ... z1lvLFxXIW
The Sylvia Creek case is a rallying cry to end the madness of native forest logging, and this proposal gives a lifeline to the industry.
Key points to make:
Woodchipping drives the logging, it is the largest portion of the logging, paper companies are moving to plantations and this will entrench ongoing forest conflict
This is not about small sawmills, it is about industrial energy production from native forests
Here in Victoria, VicForests is about to put 837,000 tonnes of wood up for sale potentially to coal fired powerstations - this will almost guarantee extinction of species
We are in the middle of a court case over this very issue - burning forests for power will simply put more pressure on a forest ecosystem that has suffered from 3 major fires and 3 decades of over logging
Recovery of sawn timber is about 30% with >70% going to waste. Over 85% of what comes out of a forest turns into waste, woodchip and sawdust.
Our forests need protection, not to be logged and burned
For more commentary and background information:
Crikey - Oakeshott, Windsor biomass burner scheme Pythonesque - Andrew Macintosh
The Conversation - Oakeshott’s call for wood-powered electricity means more logging - Judith Ajani
The Age - Native woodchipping sector in rapid decline - Warrick Jordan
Rob Oakeshott delivers blow to Greens with move on wood waste ban - The Australian
Anger at independent MPs on woodchips - The Age
Oakeshott’s backflip on native forest biomass is bad for koalas and bad for the climate - Australian Forest and Climate Alliance
Wood energy way to go: MP - Port Macquarie News
It would be good to call ALL the following numbers.
Rob Oakeshott's details:
- Parliament House (02) 6277 4052
- Port Macquarie Office (02) 6584 2911
You can also use this contact form:
www.roboakeshott.com/contact-rob or email on
robert.oakeshott.mp@aph.gov.au
Tony Windsor's details:
- Parliament House (02) 6277 4722
- Tamworth Office (02) 6761 3080
http://www.tonywindsor.com.au/contact.html or email at
Tony.Windsor.MP@aph.gov.au
For everyone living in and around Toolangi it would be important to copy to their Federal MP Rob Mitchell at
rob.mitchell.mp@aph.gov.au
These below are also worth contacting with a polite short email - especially if you happen to be in their electorate, or maybe pass this on if you know friends who are.
Malcolm.Turnbull.MP@aph.gov.au,
Greg.Hunt.MP@aph.gov.au,
Tony.Burke.MP@aph.gov.au,
mark.dreyfus.MP@aph.gov.au,
mike.kelly.MP@aph.gov.au,
tony.crook.MP@aph.gov.au
Also people could also sign the following petitions:
http://www.change.org/petitions/rob-oak ... generation
http://www.getup.org.au/renewables-not-forest-furnaces