149 SCIENTIFICALLY CREDIBLE FOREST RESERVES,

Letter to the Editor, Newcastle Herald, Barrie Griffiths (NEFA) 18/12/98



The new Commonwealth Minister for Forests and Conservation, Wilson Tuckey, is disingenuous in claiming that in NSW the science has been 'unsurped' because the conservation movement has 'played politics' with the forest reserve assessment process.

Speaking to industry in Maitland yesterday, Tuckey lamented that sufficient resource was not available to maintain supplies, and like the State Coalition, proposed existing reserves be available for logging.

We support the Minister in calling for scientific review of the NSW reserve decision, and propose an independent panel of scientists should determine additions required to ensure the final Regional Forest
Agreement is scientifically credible.