Camp Ourimbah has created a petition protesting logging operations in Ourimbah State Forest with the aim of seeing it delivered to the Legislative Council of NSW.
Launched on August 21, the petition calls for the cessation and total banning of Forestry Corporation NSW (FCNSW) logging in the forest and will be open for three weeks.
An operation which commenced on July 12 plans to log 300 acres of the forest as part of a larger plan encompassing more than 2,000 acres.
Spokesperson Ursula Da Silva said further undisclosed amounts of the forest could be marked for logging and have operations commencing at any time with minimal public notice.
“Cultural sites in the currently active compartments have drawn attention from custodians and community members who are extremely concerned there are completely inadequate protections for these sites,” she said.
“Important cultural sites in the logging compartments are at stake of being desecrated further.
“These cultural sites have already been damaged by machine marks, with what looks like excavator trails running within metres of an axe grooving.
“I can’t really fathom who else would have been in Ourimbah State Forest with an excavator.
“It is extremely distressing to traditional custodians and to the community.”
Darkinoong woman Renee Sales said it was heart-breaking to see the desecration of cultural heritage.
“Walking through compartments that had previously been logged, there were clear violations and lack of protections put into place,” she said.
“Upon reaching the cultural site we examined damage all along the surface of the stone where there were two grooving sites, as well as graffiti all over rock paintings.
“Despite the signs at either end of the site stating that it is an offence to harm, damage or desecrate Aboriginal sites, the total lack of compliance by the governing bodies is evident.
“To know that FCNSW is allowing vehicles to traverse the site for their operations, as stated in their harvest plans, clearly shows that they are failing to protect and care for this already damaged area.
“This area contains ochre caves-soft rock.
“Vibrations caused by machinery running over and around the site could cause it to fracture and eventually collapse, meaning it could be harmful to the public.”
Da Silva said the forest should be preserved as a conservation, recreation and cultural heritage site.
“Recent legal action against FCNSW in the Newry State Forest with regards to the safety of cultural sites within and around the forest has shown this is possible,” she said.
Protecting cultural sites is not the group’s only concern.
“This forest is koala habitat and … logging Ourimbah creates catastrophic fire hazards and threatens biodiversity collapse,” Da Silva said.
“It costs taxpayers around $20M per year to subsidise these practices.”
As well as calling for a ban on logging in the forest, the petition calls for it to be transformed into a conservation, recreation and cultural heritage site immediately.
The petition can be accessed at https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/lc/pages/epetition-details.aspx?q=RkLampdn6G0BHXCymrYqYg
Source:
Camp Ourimbah
Please ban logging .
This is ecocide, logging is madness at this point in history what are you greedy $#@ thinking?