South Sister St. Marys, Tasmania

South Sister

ft costs application dismissed

SOS applicants were very relieved to be informed on Friday July 7 that the costs application made by Forestry Tasmania to Resource Management and Planning Appeals Tribunal was dismissed.

Following SOS applicants' withdrawal from RMPAT hearing in September 2005 (due to lack of ability to meet the threshold for the Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act), Forestry Tasmania claimed that:

..... the applicants instituted and maintained proceedings to obstruct the Respondent
..... that the applicants have unreasonably prolonged the appeal and have significantly increased the costs of that appeal
..... in the absence of a costs order, the Respondent (FT) may be attacked with impunity by groups such as the applicants

Since November 2005, the ten applicants and other SOS members have been nervous about the decision that would be handed down.

We therefore welcome this decision which of course we believe to be the correct decision.

Despite our withdrawal from the Hearing, our experts still believe there is a significant risk should logging proceed.

The risk to groundwater continues to be a major concern particularly after observing changes to the groundwater system after road works was instituted in February last year. The 'Derricks Marsh Road puddle' (found on the coupe) has never been seen to be dry in the past 60 years. However immediately after road works had been completed, it was dry and remains so except after heavy rains (yet within a few days it has drained and then remains dry).
The risk of landslides is always possible as this area has had numerous slides in the past. It is the opinion of various experts that harvesting of trees on the coupe will increase this risk which may have deleterious affects on groundwater, springs, roads, private properties and possibly people.

Despite providing new evidence to Forest Practices Authority in February 2006, they have ignored our claims even though Graham Wilkinson assured us they would '...consider any new information that is relevant to the logging of the coupe'. This evidence includes the subsidence over Jubilee Mine and the changes to groundwater post road works.

Forestry Tasmania still intends to log this coupe however we have no information about when this might occur.

With the downturn in Gunns' contracts for woodchips, perhaps South Sister will be spared - it would be nice but ....

We continue to think of new ways to stop the process and haven't yet given up hope that it might happen!