The forest pledge
ITS TIME TO END LOGGING IN NATIVE FORESTS ACROSS AUSTRALIA
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.
It’s now time we call for politicians and decision makers in the major parties to act.
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)
Carol Barnett (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.
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