We live in one of the most beautiful places in Australia and I think it is fair to say the majority of us live here for its beautiful beaches, pristine lakes, and wonderful forests. It is absurd that we are not able to protect this environment from the devastation of land clearing and logging of our native forests.

I am spokesperson for the Corunna Forest Protection Group and to this day have about 2000 online signatures and nearly 500 signed petitions.

Eurobodalla Shire is all about attracting tourists to the region exploiting its scenic beauty in all of their promotions. Our community is dependent on tourism for economic growth, so why are we even contemplating the destruction of Corunna Forest?

Corunna forest is the gateway to the historic Tilba Heritage Landscape and the Histroric Village of Central Tilba. This forest has cultural significance since it is connected to Gulaga, where the wedged tailed eagles fly and roam foraging for food.

We have investigated the bird life in this forest and recorded 125 species, including shore birds, several on the threatened species list.

Most notably is the fact that the migratory swift parrot, a priority species under the Australian Government’s Threatened Species Strategy, travels all the way from the Tarkine in Tasmania to feed on the flowering spotted gums in Corunna Forest.

The harvesting of the forest is devastating to the habitat of so many species and the erosion it will cause will create huge problems for the complex ecosystems that keep Corunna Lake a pristine environment.

The reasons not to log the forest by far outweigh the reasons to proceed.

Anyone who saw the video of conditions on board the death ship carrying Australian sheep to be slaughtered in another country would have been horrified.  Such a method of transporting animals for food is unnecessary when there is a cost-effective, more humane alternative that was pioneered by Thomas Sutcliffe Mort almost 150 years ago.

Thomas Mort may not be remembered by many Australians, but he was a very successful entrepreneur in Sydney after he arrived from London in a bid to make his fortune in the colonies.  He became a powerful landowner in the Bodalla district from 1860, where he eventually owned 38,000 acres that he ran as a tenanted dairy estate. He was also responsible for the development of refrigeration capable of keeping meat frozen for long enough to be sold overseas in London. He died of pneumonia in Bodalla, just two years from seeing the realization of his dream.    

 A grand church in Bodalla was built by family and friends in his memory.  On a tablet in the church is inscribed:  “A colonist and a citizen of keen foresight and unselfish service, the soul of honour, a faithful and generous churchman, a neighbour of unfailing  kindness to rich and poor alike, his simplicity and largeness of heart gained for him the friendship and love of men of all classes.” There is also a bronze statue of Thomas Sutcliffe Mort in Macquarie Place Sydney. The inscription there also highlights his care for the welfare of his fellow citizens.

It’s not hard to believe that such a man as Mort would have opposed cruel animal treatment for the sake of developing  certain foreign markets, especially now when the refrigerated  sea transport that he pioneered presents a humane and economic alternative.