The Victorian Greens have demanded Labor immediately halt and overhaul Forest Fire Management Victoria's (FFMV) logging operations, after an endangered greater glider was found dead in illegally-destroyed habitat in the Yarra Ranges National Park.
The Greens are also calling for an independent investigation after FFMV flagrantly ignored warnings that it was clearing ancient hollow-bearing trees - home to critically endangered Leadbeater's Possums and endangered greater gliders - in direct contravention of Federal environment laws.
Tragically, a dead greater glider was found early yesterday morning by citizen scientists in a section of the Yarra Ranges National Park cleared by FFMV for fuel breaks - despite conservation groups, taking on surveying work the Government should be doing itself, warning FFMV and state and federal environment ministers the area includes critical habitat.
Leader of the Victorian Greens Ellen Sandell said she was heartbroken over the death of the critically endangered greater glider, and furious at FFMV for logging critical habitat while repeatedly ignoring warnings about the risks.
She demanded the Labor State Government implement immediate reforms:
- Immediately halt logging and 'debris clean up' operations in the Yarra Ranges National Park until a full ecological assessment can be completed.
- Force FFMV to comply with the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC), which requires referral, assessment and approval of all works likely to impact threatened species.
- Require permanent ecological reporting as part of all fuelbreaks works.
- Empower the Office of the Independent Regulator (OCR) to investigate this incident as well as all ecological impacts from fuelbreaks - and, if needed, move the OCR from the Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action (DEECA) to the Department of Justice and Community Safety (DJCS) to ensure independence.
Additionally, Ms Sandell announced the Greens plan to refer the incident to both the Victorian Auditor-General's Office (VAGO) and Victorian Ombudsman.
As stated by Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell MP:
"I am beyond disgusted that Labor's continued destruction of critical habitat in Victoria's forests has led to the death of a critically endangered great glider.
"This is outrageous. For too long, departments within the State Labor Government have been allowed to do whatever they like in Victoria's forests with no oversight or requirement to look for or protect threatened species.
"The Labor State Government and its departments think they're above the law when it comes to destroying endangered species - but they're not.
"Government agencies like Forest Fire Management Victoria have refused to stop work when they find endangered species in the areas they're destroying, this is completely unacceptable and it's also against the law, and they should be held to account.
"The Labor State Government must immediately overhaul the way that their departments undertake fuel breaks or post-storm work in our forests, to prevent any more critically endangered species being killed and pushed to extinction."
