Environmental groups and the state government are analysing whether a Federal Court judgment this week will have implications on the Tasmanian Forest Agreement in regards to logging in areas relied upon by threatened species.
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The court found that VicForests had breached the code of conduct in its state-based forest agreement due to logging that was found to have impacted the critically endangered Leadbeater's possum and the vulnerable greater glider.
It meant that, as a result, these activities needed to be subject to federal environment laws.
The use of regional forest agreements, such as Tasmania's, has meant that forestry activity has been provided an exemption in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, should all activity be in accordance with the state-based agreement.
Primary Industries Minister Guy Barnett said he had received early advice that the judgment would most likely only impact Victoria.
"We'll have a further look at the Federal Court decision with respect to Victoria and the Leadbeater's possum," he said.
"The advice to date is clearly that it's related to Victoria, it's specific to Victoria, and we have every confidence in the resource security legislation in Tasmania, and the regional forest agreement in Tasmania."
IN OTHER NEWS:
The case was brought by the Friends of Leadbeater's Possum to prevent logging in 66 coupes in Victoria's Central Highlands.
Their case, in part, invoked the Wielangta case which started in 2005 in which Bob Brown successfully argued that logging activity in the forest home to endangered species could not be broken down into individual actions in each coupe in order to avoid the EPBC Act, before laws were altered and he lost on appeal.
In this week's matter, Judge Debra Mortimer ruled that there was enough evidence to suggest that forestry activity in each of the 66 coupes could have "significant impact" on the two species, even if there had not been recorded evidence of them in some of the coupes.
"The more general level findings I have made are in my opinion equally applicable to such coupes, and I have - as I have indicated - given weight to the fact that there are detections of one or both species in or close to each of the 66 impugned coupes, as well as clear evidence about the nature of the suitable habitat present in all of the coupes," she said.
The Environmental Defenders Office Tasmania and the Wilderness Society are among the groups analysing the judgment.
There have been several instances of logging in Tasmania occurring in or near known habitats of endangered species, including at Tylers Hill in 2017 when swift parrot habitat was logged.
A moratorium on logging in 356,000 hectares of future potential production forest was lifted in Tasmania in April, with applications subject to an assessment process followed by scrutiny of both houses of parliament. No application has been made at this stage.