Rosalie Woodruff MP | Greens Environment spokesperson
It's pleasing to hear logging operations on Bruny Island will be temporarily halted in an effort to halt the extinction of the Swift Parrot.
This decision has been the result of a long and successful campaign by scientists, residents and environment groups.
The Minister for Forests told parliament that Forestry Tasmania will temporarily halt logging on Bruny Island. There are eleven coupes on the island which all contain swift parrot habitat.
This is a moratorium, not a ban and Minister Harriss needs to explain how he thinks there could be any case for resuming logging in the future.
The Swift Parrot is listed as critically endangered, the last stop before extinction.
This is not a situation that will reverse quickly. There are many other threatened species on Bruny, such as the Wedge- tailed Eagle and Masked Owl, that also require intact bushland.