RFPG Documents

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Forest Regulation map (updated 5 August 2022)

7 Nov 2022 Forest Conservation Cases

Chronological

7 August 2024 Forest fire risk management: Where is the science?

6 April 2024 Investigating planned burns at Narbethong

15 March 2024 RFPG welcomes DEECA consultation on the future of the Rubicon

27 Nov 2023 Much at stake in EPBC Act reforms

26 Nov 2023 Bushfire prevention and response

3 April 2023 RFPG calls on Minister Stitt to undertake a comprehensive ecological review of planned burns in State forests

3 March 2023 The Commonwealth "Nature Repair Market" is bad policy. RFPG Submission to Dept of Environment Consultation on draft Nature Repair Market legislatoin

27 October 2022 Unrestrained treefern destruction breaches the RFA, the Code and the FFG Act

5 October 2022 Treeferns, critical players in ash forest ecosystems, are being smashed by VicForests

2 October 2022 RFPG calls on Commonwealth to audit failed forest regulation in Victoria (letter plus attachment sent to Helen Haines and forwarded to Commonwealth Minister)

19 July 2022 Reflections on Major Event Review (includes RFPG Submission and reflections on MER Report

10 July 2022 Designed to fail: the deeply flawed regulatory framework governing timber harvesting in state forests in Victoria (linking to RFPG submissions to Comprehensive Code Review)

16 March 2022 RFPG Ecosystem Alert: Research, monitoring, and protection of Victoria's native forest ecosystems is being gravely neglected by the Victorian State Government (focus on fungi)

15 March 2022 RFPG Submission to 2022 Code Review

30 July 2021 Proposed TRP flouts long term planning requirements of the Code

29 July 2021 RFPG Submission Slams Proposed Deregulation of Logging in Victoria's Native Forests

14 February 2021 Listen to the science, Dan Andrews!

5 February 2021 Victoria's logging regulator protects unsustainable logging of Victoria's native forests

5 October 2020 RFPGSubmissionEnvironments4UrbanDwellers_2020-1005.pdf (RFPG submission to Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry)

15 September 2020 Summer fire risk fueled by unlawful logging

14 September 2020 New TRP Will Trash Koala Habitat and Walking Tracks

13 Sept 2020 Regulatory Action Timelines - tracking interacting streams of regulatory action around native forest logging

11 Sept 2020 Auditor-General urged to examine the contradictions between the State Government's conservation obligations and its log supply commitments

9 Sept 2020 TRP Unlawful, says RFPG. Torn between conservation and logging, Gov't forces VicForests to breach legal obligations. This post links to RFPG Submission to VF re Aug 20 draft revision of TRP

9 Sept 2020 Cost of water loss from logging Thomson catchment

8 July 2020 RFPG submission to Inquiry into Ecosystem Decline

26 June 2020 VicForests Secrecy Over-ruled by Information Commissioner

27 May 2020 Historic outcomes of the Possums Case

14 May 2020 RFPG welcomes State Parliamentary Inquiry into Ecosystem Decline

4 May 2020 RFPG submission to SCS consultation re VF bid for controlled wood certification

Main submission 6 Nov 2019 and

Supplementary submission 4 May 2020)

12 April 2020 RFPG submission to Commonwealth EPBC Act Review

30 March 2020 RFPG issues Five Actions Challenge to Victorian State Government (Media Release by Ken Deacon)

7 Feb 2020 RFPG letter to Jaclyn Symes, Min for Ag, reiterating earlier requests for meeting regarding ecosystem degradation, disappearing tourist potential, and flaws in the code and the allocation order / TRP process

20 Jan 2020 RFPG urges important corrections to draft guide for identification of 'old growth forests'

11 Nov 2019 Rubicon Forest Protection Group’s comment about the Andrew Government’s decision to end native forest logging in Victoria (Media release by Ken Deacon).

See also Nick Legge 'Devil in detail of Andrews’ logging announcement' in The Age, Nov 13 2019

and the original unedited submission to TheAge (including references to Code breaches), Andrews’ Logging Ban: The Under Story

27 October 2019 Discovery of Leadbeaters possums on Blue Range

14 October 2019 VicForest faces new audit for FSC accreditation

24 Sept 2019 Minister abandons Stage 1 Code review

23 Sept 2019 Forest policy: recent and current initiatives (updated 24 Nov 2019)

28 Aug 2019 Fire and logging as a biodiversity threat with serious and potentially irreversible ecological consequences for the Rubicon State Forest (Nick Legge paper, revised version)

17 July 2019 SOS - Save Our Snobs (in Alex Standard, 17 July 2019)

30 June 2019 RFPG research exposes looming threat to biodiversity

30 June 2019 (revised 27 Aug 2019) Can VicForests turn over a new leaf?

30 June 2019 RFPG Submission to RFA Modernisation Consultation

12 June 2019 RFPG Submission to Murrindindi Shire Council re Tourist Development

15 May 2019 Ken Deacon in Alex Standard

24 October 2018 Lake Mountain and Mt Bullfight (Nick Legge in Alex Std)

10 October 2018 100 years of logging in the Rubicon State Forest

7 October 2018 RFPG submission to DELWP's independent review of timber harvesting regulation

12 September 2018 Threatened species day (Lea Jelinek in the Alex Std)

6 September 2018 Protect the Rubicon: a Roadmap for Forest Governance Reform (reworking of earlier (20 July 2018) Policy Principles for Forest Governance Reform

27 August 2018 Socio-economic impacts of the forest industry in Victoria

27 August 2018 G6 Open Letter: "Bridging the Gap"

4 August 2018 VAGO report slams DELWP and DEDJTR

22 July 2018 RFPG invites Minister D'Ambrosio to talk with the Murrindindi Community

18 July 2018 Community engagement: RFPG stalls in Alex and Yea.

18 July 2018 Open letter to Victorian recreational fishing associations

9 June 2018 Save the Rubicon - Stop the Logging (report of mass protest)

26 May 2018 Landsat images confirm extensive logging in Rubicon State Forest (5 June 2016, relaunched with movie 26 May 2018)

26 May 2018 Failures of stewardship: 1. Escaped regeneration burn; 2. Are these logs pre 1900?

19 May 2018 Community engagement: RFPG stalls in Alex and Yea

28 April 2018 Rubicon Dam walk

19 May 2018 New RFPG brochure,

13 May 2018 Ray of hope in battle against unsustainable logging, Nick Legge in The Age

11 April 2018 Two year extension of RFAs allows Rubicon catastrophe to proceed unchecked

1 March 2018 How the forest has been left on Royston Ridge after logging (posted by Trevor Hedge)

21 Feb 2018 Impact on fish hatchery (by Rod Falconer in Alex Std)

18 Feb 2018 The contribution of agriculture, water supply, tourism and plantation timber to the Central Highlands economy far outweighs that of native timber production

12 Feb 2018 Logging threatens Victoria’s fish hatchery, the spectacular Snobs Creek falls and a precious Greater Glider population, RFPG Media Release

29 Jan 2018 Commonwealth and Victoria flout the principles of the RFAs: RFPG submission to third five year review,

25 Jan 2018 Ann Jelinek submission to RFA five year review

Jan 2018 VicForests' changes to the Timber Release Plan (TRP) inconsistent with the Code of Practice for Timber Production, RFPG submission (Jan 2018) on proposed amendments to the TRP

12 December 2017 Stop Calvin (RFPG calls for action)

6 December 2017 VicForests' illegal logging cannot gain FSC certification (RFPG submission to independent audit of VicForests' practices)

17 Nov 2017 Leadies challenge VicForests

4 October 2017 Dear Minister, please save our forest,

4 August 2017 Rescue the Rubicon (RFPG’s six point plan to save the Rubicon)

1 July 2017 New data confirm rate of logging in Central Highlands is Unsustainable!

18 June, 2017 Rubicon: beauty in Melbourne's backyard,

June 9, 2017 Voices from the forest,

June 6, 2017 Time to step in Minister D'Ambrosio,

June 6, 2017 Excellent resources in Murrindindi Guide for Winter 2017

6 May 2017 Invitation: Mountain, Forests and River Ecology Tour

April 27, 2017 VicForests' analysis explains shortfall in supply,

3 April 2017 Heyfield timber mill: Time to face forest facts (Nick Legge in The Weekly Times)

30 March 2017 Another log on the ire (Nick Legge opinion piece in The Age)

March 2017 Victoria’s forests are not magic puddings - VNPA

16 March 2017 Media Release: Very high conservation values of Rubicon and Marysville State Forests confirmed by latest Victorian Government report

10 March 2017 Key issues: RFPG report identifies over-cutting, code of practice breaches, destruction of tourism assets, increased fire risk and impacts on water

2 March 2017 The battle to find balance between industry and environment

1 March 2017 RFPG hosts guided walk through Rubicon Valley Historic Area

22 Feb 2017 Devastating vision of logging vandalism in Rubicon Forest

12 Feb 2017 RFPG invitation to Rubicon Dam Walk, Feb 25, 9:30 -1:30 pm, 10 k return

13 Jan 2017 Memories of Black Saturday (Jill Sanguinetti in The Age)

16 Dec 2016 Inaugural Rubicon State Forest Tour

10 Dec 2016 Fabulous invitation to join inaugral free Rubicon Forest Tour

13 Dec 2016 Our forests, our trees

17 Nov 2016 Supplementary RFPG TRP Submission (Alexandra area)

22 Sept 2016RFPG rejects extreme logging proposed in proposed August amendments to VicForest's Timber Release Plan (TRP)

RFPG submissions re TRP (August and November, 2016)

18 August 2016 RFPG TRP Submission