Kinglake Friends of the Forests
v
VicForests
We are one of several community groups who successfully challenged VicForests in court.
We have run four cases:
THE GLIDER CASE
The trial for what has become known as the “Glider Case” was heard over 7 days, from 9-17 May 2022. Three community groups; Kinglake Friends of the Forest, Environment East Gippsland and Gippsland Environment Group ran separate “Glider Cases” . The three cases were similar and used the same Glider expert Professor Wardell–Johnson and the same legal teams. Our barrister is Jonathan Korman and lawyer is Kwabena Larbi of Oakwood Legal. The cases for KFF and Environment East Gippsland were heard at the same time. The case for GEG will rely on the decisions and orders found in the KFF and EEG cases.
On 4 November 2022 Kinglake Friends of the Forests and Environment East Gippsland heard that we had won our Glider Cases against VicForests.
Read Justice Richard’s full judgment here
On 11 November 2022 the orders were handed down. In the KFF case the orders consisted of a permanent court injunction that;
1. prohibited VicForests logging without first carrying out effective surveys for Yellow-bellied and Greater Gliders in all forest except that which had been clearfelled since 1939.
2. Prohibited logging in the home range of Greater Gliders and in 100m buffers over all waterways in ‘coupes ‘ in which Greater Gliders had been detected
3. Prohibited logging hollow bearing trees and Yellow-Bellied Glider feed trees and 100 m buffers over all waterways in ‘coupes’ in which Yellow-Bellied Gliders had been detected
Read the court orders in full here
As a result of the decision that VicForests had been illegally logging and the orders, VicForests has paused all logging in the Central Highlands, East Gippsland, Gippsland and the North East (the entire forest estate east of the Hume)
VicForests’ appeal was dismissed on June 27.
SCREENING AND OVERHARVESTING CASE
In the words of Justice Richards, this case was “derailed” by changes to the logging laws.
A revised “Code of Practice for Timber Production” came into effect on 17 November 2021 removing the clause on which this case was based.
We had two grounds in our court case, both relating to the question of whether VicForests was following its own guidelines, as set out in the Code of Practice for Timber Production 2014, the Management Standards of 2014, and the Sustainable Forests (Timber) Act of 2004.
That VicForests was not preserving a 20 metre wide vegetation buffer along roads and tracks in order to screen logging operations from view.
That the net area it planned to log in many coupes exceeded the net area specified in the Timber Release Plan.
In July 2020 the court ordered that VicForests refrain from logging any area within 20 m of roads or tracks and any area greater than that specified as the ‘net’ area in the 2019 published Timber Release Plan. The orders covered all state forests of the Central Highlands. The restriction on logging over the net area published in the 2019 TRP lasted until VicForests published a TRP in 2021 with no net area specified. This derailed our claim which was dropped. The restriction on logging within 20m of roads and tracks remained until the case was derailed by the change in law. The case trial had been delayed under VF’s request from its earlier date of July 2021.
BUSHFIRE MODERATION ZONES CASES
The judge has found against us in these two cases.
The BMZ cases temporarily protected 1,170 hectares of forest under court injunctions.
In these two cases KFF alleged that VicForests had over-harvested or intended to over harvest Bushfire Moderation Zones (BMZs).
KFF alleged that in 25 Bushfire Moderation Zones (10 BMZs in Case 1 and 15 BMZs in case 2) VicForests had unlawfully exceeded its 1% limit, and because clause 5.8.1.5(a) restricts harvesting over “any five year period”, no further harvesting could occur in these BMZs for the remainder of the relevant five year periods.
BMZ case 1
BMZ case 2
Court documents
