VicForests has won its appeal against a ruling that threatened its logging activities in native forests. 

Earlier this month, the Federal Court ruled in favour of environmentalists Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum, which argued VicForests breached the federal Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act by logging forest coupes in the Central Highlands region.

The state body had relied on an exemption from federal laws for logging in areas that are covered by Regional Forestry Agreements (RFAs), which are drawn up by state governments and co-signed by the federal government.

The EPBC Act exempts commercial logging operations from protecting threatened species if the state can come up with a plan to “balance” the impact of logging on flora and fauna with economic factors.

When Justice Debra Mortimer ruled that logging within an RFA area is still subject to the Act, that precedent was essentially overturned. 

Her orders barred VicForests from logging in 41 of the 66 Central Highland forest coupes covered by the Central Highlands RFA.

But this week, three judges of the Federal Court have upheld VicForests’ appeal against Justice Mortimer’s judgment, finding that logging is indeed exempt from federal law if it is conducted within an RFA zone - even if it breaches state laws and the RFA.

However, the judges upheld the original judgment that the logging agency had breached conditions of Victorian environment laws.

The environmentalists are reportedly planning to appeal this week’s judgment to the High Court, and will keep pushing for injunctions on logging in the interim. 

Environmental Justice Australia chief executive Nicola Rivers said VicForests’ appeal conceded that “VicForests’ logging destroyed critical habitat for species at high risk of extinction, has driven decline of the critically endangered Leadbeater’s possum, and may have killed hundreds of threatened greater gliders”.

The CFMEU’s manufacturing division, which represents timber workers, and the Australian Forest Products Association have welcomed the ruling. 

“In effect, the full court agreed with the honourable Justice Mortimer that VicForests was and is manifestly impacting on the survival of endangered species but disagreed that it is their court’s responsibility to curtail these impacts,” Wilderness Society national campaigns director Amelia Young said.

“This means that VicForests aren’t obliged to adhere to state environment laws in order to enjoy an effective exemption from national environment laws.”