The forestry minister in New South Wales in Australia has indicated that his government will not be backing away from its agreement to supply the south-east’s timber industry from some disputed areas in the region.
Ian Macdonald said he had been talking to both sides in the escalating logging dispute in the Wandella forest, where conservationists have been mounting blockades for nearly two months.
He insisted that conservationists were party to the supply agreement which set aside areas for wood supplies from the area over the next 20 years.
“We are locked in through that process which involved both the environmental movement as well as the forest industry,” he said.
“This has created 20 year supply agreements for the industry, providing certainty while making major decisions on environmental sustainability.”
