Mountain Views
Mail Covering the foothills of the Yarra Ranges & Murrindindi Shires
7 Tuesday, 24 April, 2018
Mud dogs
8
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Doggies get down and dirty
Lorraine O'Connell with ''Nemo'' and Mud on Her face. 179928
By Kath Gannaway You've heard of 'Tuff Mudder'? Well now there's 'Ruff Mudder'. Animal Aid in Coldstream is getting down and dirty with 'Adventure Dog'. The cross country challenge on Sunday, 27 May, will see dogs and their human companions like Lorraine O'Connell and Nemo (pictured) tackling 25 obstacles spread over a 4-kilometre course at Wandin Park Equestrian Centre as a fundraiser. See story and more photos on page 7.
It’s back to court By Kath Gannaway VicForests and environment group Friends of Leadbeater's Possum (FLBP) will be back in court in May following new allegations of non-compliance by the state-owned timber company. The new claims follow a decision by the Federal Court on Friday, 20 April, that an amended statement of claims should be heard after the parties, and the state and federal governments, failed to reach agreement on the case before the court. A stay on the logging of more than 30 areas that FLBP say are home to the possum and to Greater Gliders, and agreed to by VicForests last year, has now lapsed. VicForests in a statement released on Friday said they will defend the new claim.
Danya Jacobs, lawyer from Environmental Justice Australia acting on behalf of FLBP, confirmed EJA have filed an amended statement of claim and said they will also be seeking an interim injunction to halt logging in the affected areas. The case will test allegations that VicForests failed to identify and protect Leadbeater's Possums, Greater Gliders and their habitat in accordance with the Central Highlands Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs). The new claims include allegations that VicForests did not conduct detection activities or surveys for Greater Gliders in areas that have already been logged, and is not protecting the species in more than 30 planned coupes. Referring to a Federal Court finding in March that non-compliance of the RFA did not remove the logging industry's exemption
from Federal environment protection law, Ms Jacobs said it was precisely that type of noncompliance that FLBP is alleging. Addressing the recent announcement by the federal and state governments that extends three of the state's RFAs for two years, bringing them into line with others that expire in 2020, Steve Meacher, President of FLBP, said if logging continued in the Central Highlands forests, the extinction of the possum would be even harder to avoid. "The government recently announced an extension to the Central Highlands RFA designed to lock in another two years of logging our critically endangered possum's habitat - despite non-compliance with rules that are meant to protect threatened species," Mr Meacher said. He added "If the government won't act to
protect the state's faunal emblem, we will." VicForests said the orders issued by the Federal Court on Friday reject the basis of the claim brought by FLBP. "The initial hearing found VicForests operations were not affected by government-togovernment delays in reviewing the Central Highlands Regional Forest Agreement (RFA)," VicForests CEO Nathan Trushell said. He said FLBP had amended their Statement of Claim to allege that VicForests operations in a number of coupes were not being conducted in accordance with the Central Highlands RFA because they have not complied with the state-based regulatory regime. "We are confident our operations comply with the State regulations and will be defending this new claim," Mr Thrushell said.
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