The Federal and State Governments will today sign the last of Victoria's five regional forest agreements, despite widespread community and commercial opposition. The last two agreements, covering western Victoria and Gippsland, will entrench clearfelling by locking in unlimited woodchip exports with no federal controls.
Forests covered by the agreements are exempt from federal environment protection laws.
An anti-logging campaign is poised to begin, led by business figures such as Mr Graham Wise, the managing director of the Body Shop, Ms Margaret Porritt, founder of the fashion chain Feathers Boutique, and Mr Greg Hocking, the lessee of the Athenaeum Theatre. The reductions are due to a miscalculation of timber volumes by the Forest Service. Mill closures are expected, but no net job losses and there will be few concessions to demands for permanent reserves to protect endangered species and for an end to clearfelling in water catchments. A new group, Doctors for Native Forests, warned this week that clearfelling in catchments affected water quality and quantity and was a threat to public health. The Age Company Ltd 2000.