Flora, fauna at risk

By Emma Sun
PASSIONATE Mount Evelyn conservationist Franc Smith has expressed fears that changes to State Government legislation will put local flora and fauna at risk of extinction.
And he has pleaded with the government to abandon planned changes to its Code of Practice for Timber Production (2007).
Mount Evelyn Environment Protection and Progress Asssociation (MEEPPA) president Mr Smith said the move would effectively render the Flora and Fauna Guarantee (FFG) Act useless, which puts to waste a lot of time, money and effort invested by MEEPPA towards protecting local plants and wildlife.
“Because of our investment in monetary terms, hours of voluntary labour and research, our ongoing environmental repair and the protection of our special reserves we cannot and will not accept any implied or ill considered threats to the unique flora and fauna we have sought to protect for many years.”
One of the changes to the code allows for “the secretary” to decide whether certain action statements in the FFG Act should apply, which Mr Smith said placed doubt on whether flora and fauna would receive sufficient protection.
“How will the secretary know whether or not a threatened species is adequately protected elsewhere in the state? The determination to exempt a forest coupe (or coupes) from the FFG Action Statement is made by the secretary and the secretary alone, (who) does not have to explain or publish reasons for the decision, does not have to provide any evidence for the decision, does not have to consult the public in making their decision and does not have to notify anyone once they have made their decision.”
Mr Smith questioned the validity of such a person and the proposal.
“Who is the secretary – is it a ‘specialist group’ or simply one person? This is still very ill defined in the proposal,” he said.
“There simply are no checks and balances in this proposal. The determination of the secretary is ultimate and cannot be reviewed and it cannot be challenged on the merits, either by appeal to the secretary or by appeal to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).”
Mr Smith appealed for the changes to be dumped in order to protect flora and fauna.
“The proposed variations must be abandoned in their entirety,” he said.
The Department of Sustainability and Environment did not respond by time of publication.