Community calls on PM to protect native forests

The Wilderness Society (Tasmania) Inc
Media Release
9th  September 2008

More than 10,000 Australians have sent a strong message to the Rudd Government demanding decisive action to protect Australia’s native forests.

The Wilderness Society today delivered submissions from concerned members of the public, calling on Prime Minister Rudd to act on climate change by protecting native forests in order to preserve the massive banks of carbon they contain.

“Protecting native forests can play a vital role in Australia’s response to climate change by providing immediate cuts to greenhouse gas emissions,” said Vica Bayley, Wilderness Society spokesperson.

“Any credible policy to deal with climate change must have forest protection as a top priority.”

The public reminders to the Prime Minister are timely given his chief climate change advisor Professor Ross Garnaut’s failure to address the issue in his Supplementary Draft Report released last week.

“Prime Minister Rudd should listen to his most important advisors - the Australian public - the majority of whom want to see native forests such as those in Northern Australia, Tasmania and Victoria protected.”

“The science is clear; there is simply no excuse for not acting now. Recent ANU research revealed the amount of carbon preserved in Australia’s natural forests has been vastly underestimated. Australia has some of the most carbon-dense forests in the world and protecting them is one of the quickest and cheapest ways to tackle climate change.”

“Logging these forests releases millions of tonnes of greenhouse pollution into the atmosphere, worsening climate change.”

“Protecting our forests would send a signal to the world that Australia is serious about our obligation to combat climate change. By protecting the carbon in native forests Australia can lead the world in credible climate change policy,” concluded Mr Bayley.