Community group Save Our Strathbogie Forest has launched a legal challenge against the State of Victoria to halt several planned burns in the Strathbogie Forest, pending a review of these burns under Australian Government law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
There is a considerable and growing body of evidence that shows the serious and negative impact planned burning (aka fuel reduction burning) can have on forest ecosystems.
One of the more immediate and consequential impacts of planned burning is the loss of hollow-bearing trees (and their hollows) for those fauna species that rely on hollows either seasonally, for breeding, or daily, for shelter. Australia has amongst the largest number of hollow-dependent fauna, over 300 species, of any country.
The Strathbogie Forest is a recognized stronghold for the Southern Greater Glider (Petauroides volans), a species that relies on hollows in large, old trees and is protected under state and national environment laws.
Between 2016 and 2019, citizen science surveys and government research detected high densities of the Southern Greater Glider across large parts of this 24,000 ha forest, among the highest densities recorded for this species anywhere in southern Australia.
In the 2023-24 fire season, the Victorian government has plans to burn several thousand hectares of forest habitat as part of their annual planned burning program. Much of the forest slated for burning is known to support populations of the Southern Greater Glider. The Save Our Strathbogie Forest community group believes these burns will 1) significantly degrade Southern Greater Glider habitat by killing and burning many of the hollow-bearing trees the species needs to survive and 2) directly kill many hundreds of the gliders.
The Strathbogie Forest is a stronghold of the nationally endangered Southern Greater Glider (Image: Lance Williams)
We have enlisted the assistance of Bleyer Lawyers to challenge the legitimacy of these burns in the Federal Court.
Our case claims that the planned burning in the Strathbogie State Forest constitutes an action that:
- will have a significant impact on; or
- is likely to have a significant impact on the Southern Greater Glider;
- in that fire:
- leads to a long-term decrease in the size of an important population of Southern Greater Glider;
- reduces the area of occupancy of an important population of Southern Greater Glider;
- adversely affects habitat critical to the survival of the Southern Greater Glider.
Hence, we are seeking an injunction pursuant to s 475(2) of the EPBC Act restraining the respondent from undertaking or authorising the planned burns in the four identified burn areas in the Strathbogie State Forest.
Should our legal challenge be successful, the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action should be required to refer future planned burns in the Strathbogie Forest to the Federal Environment Department. That Federal Department should then decide how or if planned burns should proceed given the significant impact of them on the Southern Greater Glider habitat in the Strathbogie Forest.
Bertram Lobert
President, Save Our Strathbogie Forest
- Applicant Statement of Claim
- Respondent Defense
- Court Order 19.10.2023
- Notice of a constitutional matter
The hearing will commence at 10am on Monday January 29th in the Federal Court of Australia, Owen Dixon Commonwealth Law Courts Building, 305 William Street, Melbourne.
Our Strathbogie Forest 
This is an excellent move. Thanks ‘bogies team. There is no evidence of these burns keeping anyone or anything safe. In fact, they are often counter-productive to fire suppression. But the evidence is very clear, that this ARSON management is killing off our forest biodiversity at a rapid rate over hundreds of thousands of hectares every year! It MUST be reviewed!
All the best with the court challenge. As you know, there is no scientifically valid reason for undertaking such burns in areas away from infrastructure – it’s purely a political decision based, I suspect, on concern that they will be criticised for not burning the crap out of the bush by a few vocal, paranoid citizens who don’t understand the value of an unburnt environment and who cannot grasp that whether bush is burned or not well away from infrastructure has absolutely no impact on the severity of a fire close to infrastructure. Burning within 500 m of infrastructure may provide a temporary reduction in fuel loads and fire severity, but it is short-lived and the resultant regrowth increases flammability. You know this of course.
I will be there with you in spirit.
Cheers
Ian
Ian (Galumay) Temby CF MAppSc Ian Temby Wildlife Management Consulting M: 0425 730 129 E: iantemby@hotmail.com LinkedIn ________________________________
Firstly congratulations on bringing this case and presenting it so well with expert forward thinking witnesses. I watched most of the case which was an eyeopener in the way a Federal court case works . The main takeaways for me were
1 DEECA unable to produce any written report on the long term effects of previous burns. They always say they are required to do postburn reports and that they have done them but they are never forthcoming with them.
2 There seemed to be no response to the point that previous burns create more hazardous ladder growth after 3 to 4 years, which is always the case around our Castlemaine/Daylesford area. There seems to be a need to open a case on the effectiveness and cost of these burns but who could afford the legal fees?
I hope you are able to save the Greater Gliders and thank you all again for taking on something close to my heart.
Rob
Thank you for your support, Rob.
We’ll be able to make a statement once His Honour hands down his decision. Shouldn’t be too long, perhaps several weeks.
SOSF