MEDIA RELEASE June 15, 2015
Senators urged to reject burning native forest in RET vote today
The Wilderness Society, GetUp and the Australian Conservation Foundation have urged Senators to reject
the burning of native forest as renewable energy, when the Senate considers the Renewable Energy Target
(RET) legislation later this morning.
“The Abbott Government has proposed making the burning of so-called native forest ‘wood waste’ an
eligible source of renewable energy under the RET,” said GetUp spokesperson Paul Oosting.
“The Labor Party has made it clear it will oppose the inclusion of native forest wood waste when the
legislation is voted on in the Senate, as have the Greens. We urge the Government to rethink its position on
the issue and we urge the cross benchers to seriously consider the consequences for our wildlife and for
genuine renewables such as solar, when casting their vote.”
Wilderness Society spokesperson Warrick Jordan said: “There is no way native forest wood can credibly be
called renewable or sustainable when Tony Abbott’s Environment Minister, Greg Hunt, is having to list
Australian wildlife such as the Leadbeater’s Possum and the Swift Parrot as critically endangered because of
logging.
“Current laws are failing to keep our wildlife safe from logging. Classifying burning native forest wood as
renewable doesn’t make sense, and impedes progress towards a more sustainable way of looking after
Australia’s forests.
Australian Conservation Foundation spokesperson Jess Abrahams said: “It’s clear from the Prime Minister’s
anti-wind comments last week that the Government is seeking to stop the growth of genuine renewables.
The native forest industry is already heavily subsidised. Every native tree that gets cut down and burnt for
electricity will unfairly compete against real clean power.”
For further comment contact:
Wilderness Society Forest Campaign Manager Warrick Jordan on 0451 633 197
GetUp spokesperson Paul Oosting on 0409 963 734
Australian Conservation Foundation spokesperson Jess Abrahams on 0407 043 457
For more information, contact Wilderness Society media adviser Alex Tibbitts on 0416 420 168
Briefing Paper available here:
https://www.wilderness.org.au/sites/default/files/PDFS/TWS%20Briefing%20Paper%20%20Native%20forest%20wood%20and%20the%20Renewable%20Energy%20Target%20May%202015.pdf