E-Petition

Queensland residents draws to the attention of the house grave concerns regarding the historic and ongoing commercial use of Deongwar State Forest for timber extraction and the immediate and long term adverse impact it is having on ‘Nature’, ‘Critical Habitat’ and ‘Biological Diversity’. This use is failing to maintain viable and sustainable populations of native species, and is not ‘ensuring that the benefit of the use to present generations does not diminish the potential to meet the needs and aspirations of future generations’ as required by the Queensland Conservation Act 1992.

The timber industry have no commercial interest in Deongwar beyond 2024. Existing legislature and policy does not require them to consider forest health, or regeneration, beyond naturally occurring processes. Deongwar is now a highly modified and degraded landscape, prone to extreme intense stand replacing bushfires, with a significant scarcity of live large old, hollow bearing, habitat trees. Declining abundance, and distribution, of hollow dependant species demonstrates that the current commercial use is not ecologically sustainable. Recently at Cressbrook Creek 427 hectares, used for timber extraction, has become a ‘moonscape’ of dead trees and ash and the aquatic ecosystem is under direct threat. Deongwar needs restoration, not further exploitation.

Your petitioners, therefore, request the house to acknowledge the harm that is being done to ‘Nature’ in Deongwar State Forest and hold to account those who have custodial and legislative responsibility to protect it and demand that they act to ensure that the needs and aspirations of future generations are met.