The forest pledge

ITS TIME TO END LOGGING IN NATIVE FORESTS ACROSS AUSTRALIA


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The Forest Pledge

We stand before the Australian community with a heartfelt plea to urgently end industrial logging of native forests across Australia.


Half of Australia’s forests have been lost.


Australia can become a world leader in protecting and restoring forests to protect wildlife, store carbon and adapt to climate change. Ending native forest logging would also help us meet our climate and nature commitments under the Paris Agreement and the Global Biodiversity Framework.


With generous support for timber workers and a well-managed transition, we could grow regional economies with a sustainable timber industry and support tourism businesses.


Taxpayer subsidies to government logging agencies must end. Major investment is needed to expand sustainable plantations to secure future supply of timber.


We must listen to and learn from First Nations Australians, whose knowledge is critical to successfully restoring and protecting our native forests.


We - the undersigned – pledge to do everything in our power to pressure local, state, and federal governments to end the destruction and loss-making logging of our precious native forests.


Pledge your support

write to your mp

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Email us at sophie.scamps.mp@aph.gov.au if you are a politician/ environmental organisation and wish to sign the pledge.

I want to see our politicians – state and federal - commit to working towards this objective.

Corporations, groups and individuals can help by writing to their MP and urging them to commit to the pledge for your local MP to join this list and work within their parties to support this goal.


Fighting for our trees

The Independent Federal Member for Mackellar

Dr Sophie Scamps launched this pledge in November 2023 to call on all state and federal politicians to work together toward a total national ban on harvesting native timbers from our precious forests.



Continued logging of our native forests endangers species like the Greater Glider and koalas may become extinct during our children’s lifetime.

Global Climate Strike 09-20-2019

It’s now time we call for politicians and decision makers in the major parties to act.

Close up Business people meeting to discuss the situation on the market. Business Financial Concept

Scientific economic and social data show that native forest logging is environmentally, economically and socially bankrupt.

An estimated 50 million trees are bulldozed in Australia each year, leading to the death of over 70 million native animals, as a result of deforestation across Australia.

who has signed?

Federal politicians

Dr Sophie Scamps

Member for Mackellar

Penny Allman-Payne

Senator for QLD

Adam Bandt

Member for Melbourne

Kate Chaney

Member for Curtin

Dorinda Cox

Senator for WA

Zoe Daniel

Member for Goldstein

Mehreen Faruqi

Senator for NSW

Sarah Hanson-Young

Senator for SA

David Pocock

Senator for ACT

Nick McKim

Senator for Tasmania

Barbara Pocock

Senator for SA

Janet Rice

Senator for VIC

Dr Monique Ryan

Member for Kooyong

David Shoebridge

Senator for NSW


Allegra Spender

Member for Wentworth


Jordon Steele-John

Senator for WA

Zali Steggall OAM

Member for Warringah

Lidia Thorpe

Senator for VIC

Kylea Tink

Member for North Sydney

Elizabeth Watson-Brown

Member for Ryan

Larissa Waters

Senator for QLD

Peter Whish-Wilson

Senator for TAS

Andrew Wilkie

Member for Clark

state politicians

Michael Berkman

Member for Maiwar

Judy Hannan

Member for Wollondilly

Abigail Boyd

NSW Legislative Council

The Hon. Jeremy Buckingham

NSW Legislative Council



Dr Amanda Cohn

NSW Legislative Council


The Hon. Emma Hurst

NSW Legislative Council



Jenny Leong

Member for Newtown


Amy MacMahon

Member for South Brisbane

Cate Faehrmann

NSW Legislative Council


The Hon. Dr Brad Pettitt

WA Legislative Council


Alex Greenwich

Member for Sydney

Sue Higginson

NSW Legislative Council

Gareth Ward

Member for Kiama

Kobi Shetty

Member for Balmain

Tamara Smith

Member for Ballina

Dr Rosalie Woodruff

Member for Franklin

Greg Piper

Member for Lake Macquarie

Michael Regan

Member for Wakehurst

Sarah Mansfield

Victorian Legislative Council

former politicians

The Hon. Robert Hill AC

Former Federal Environment Minister

The Hon. Dr Geoff Gallop AC

Former Premier of Western Australia

The Hon. Rod Welford

Former Queensland Environment Minister

The Hon. Bob Debus AM

Former NSW Environment Minister

The Hon. Peter Garrett AM

Former Federal Environment Minister

The Hon. Desley Boyle

Former Queensland Environment Minister

organisations

Rainforest Information Centre

Brooman State Forest Conservation Group

South East Region Conservation Alliance

National Parks Association Victoria

South East Forest Rescue

2024 tasmanian candidates

Bass

Lara Alexander (Independent)

Lauren Ball (Greens)

Jack Davenport (Independent)

Ivan Davies (Animal Justice Party)

Jack Fittler (Greens)

Tom Hall (Greens)

Calum Hendry (Greens)

Anne Layton-Bennett (Greens)

Cecily Rosol (Greens)

Tim Walker (Independent)

Braddon

Darren Briggs (Greens)

Craig Garland (Independent)

Sarah Kersey (Greens)

Julia King (Greens)

Leeya Lovell (Greens)

Michael McLoughlin (Greens)

Erin Morrow (Greens)

Sussane Ward (Greens)

Petra Wilden (Greens)

Franklin

Jenny Cambers-Smith (Greens)

Christine Campbell (Greens)

Gildeon Cordover (Greens)

Tamar Cordover (Independent)

Jade Darko (Greens)

Martine Delaney (Local Network)

Bob Ellison (Independent)

Owen Fitzgerald (Greens)

Clare Glade-Wright (Independent)

Lukas Mrosek (Greens)

Jehni Thomas-Wurth (Greens)

Rosali Woodruff (Greens)

Clark

Sam Campbell (Local Network)

Vica Bayley (Greens)

Helen Burnet (Greens)

Casey Davies (Animal Justice Party)

Frank Formby (Local Network)

Sue Hickey (Independent)

Trenton Hoare (Greens)

Kristie Johnston (Independent)

Peter Jones (Greens)

Ben Lohberger (Independent)

David Nunn (Local Network)

Janet Shelley (Greens)

Stefan Vogel (Independent)

Nathan Volf (Greens)

James Zalotockyj (Greens)

Ranae Zollner (Local Network)

experts

Lyons

Alistair Allan (Greens)

Tabatha Badger (Greens)

Craig Brown (Greens)

Anna Megan Gralton (Animal Justice)

Mitch Houghton (Greens)

Glenn Miller (Greens)

Hannah Rubenach-Quinn (Greens)

Gary Whisson (Greens)

Jenny Branch-Allan (Independent)

Cr Mike Berwick AM

GreenCollar, Governor WWF-Australia

Greg Bourne FAICD

Climate Council

Prof Don Bradshaw

University of Western Australia

Dr Tim Cadman

Griffith University

Dr Sean Cadman

Oxford Brookes University

Adj Prof Chris Daniels

University of South Australia

Prof Chris Dickson

Sydney University

Professor Don Driscoll

Deakin University

Associate Prof Ross Goldingay

Southern Cross University

Dr Andrea Griffin

University of Newcastle

Prof Robert Heinsohn

Australian National University

Prof Richard J Hobbs

University of Western Australia

Prof Lesley Hughes

Macquarie University

Dr Heather Keith

Griffith University

Prof David Lindenmayer

Australian National University

Tim McFarlane AM

Executive Chairman

Trafalgar Entertainment Asia-Pacific

Dr Anika Molesworth

Wilyakali land

Caroline McFarlane OAM

Co-founder of The Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists

Prof Martine Maron

The University of Queensland

Prof Jamie Pittock

Australian National University

Robert Purves AM

Founder

Purves Environmental Fund

Phil Rist

CEO

Girringun Aboriginal Corp

Prof Euan G Ritchie

Deakin University

Eddie Smallwood

Gudjuda Elder and Ranger Coordinator

Mike Thompson

Principle, Nature.Net

Prof Glenda Wardle

University of Sydney

Prof James Watson

University of Queensland

Dr Dedee Woodside AM

Corporate & Community Sustainability International

Adj Assoc Prof Philip Zylstra

Curtin University

what the experts say

Logging was banned in South Australia in the 1870s and in the ACT in the 1980s.


In May the Victorian government announced it was ending native forest harvesting by 1 January 2024. It had already protected 96,000 hectares of state forests from logging in 2019.See here.


This follows Western Australia’s decision in 2021 to cease native forest logging from the start of 2024.

See here.


Logging will cease across in South East Queensland region by 31 December 2024, and in the Eastern Hardwoods Region by 31 December 2026.See here.


The Blueprint Institute, an independent think tank, has recently published a paper on the economic impacts of ending native forest logging and alternative land use and industries for logging regions.Here.


The Australia Institute has published a paper on Tasmanian native forest logging, the impact on employment and alternative industries. Here.



Thank you to WWF for providing photography assets

Authorized by Dr Sophie Scamps MP, Independent Federal Member for Mackellar – Shops 1&2, 1238-1246 Pittwater Road, Narrabeen, NSW 2101