The Federal Court has handed down a scathing ruling in Leadbeater's Possum vs #VicForests today, saying VicForests has shirked responsibility for surveying forests and uses a flawed habitat mapping system, putting the threatened Greater Glider and Leadbeater's Possum at risk.

Justice Mortimer states in the ruling she does not believe VicForests' claim they will apply practices required by the Forest Stewardship Council when logging 41 critical habitat areas for the Greater Glider and Leadbeater's Possum

And even if they did, the logging would still cause significant harm to the species.

"Not only do VicForests’ forestry operations damage or destroy existing habitat critical to the survival of the two species, they also prevent new areas of forest from developing into such habitat in the future" - Justice Mortimer.

Crucially, J Mortimer says protected wilderness areas face increasing risk (frequency and intensity) of wildfires, which means unprotected Greater Glider and Leadbeater's possum habitat is all the more important.

VicForests relies on RFAs to log native forest, so they come under Victorian law instead of the EPBC Act (protects threatened species). The court has ruled VicForests has not complied with Victorian law to “wherever practical avoid serious or irreversible damage to the envrnmnt”

Because VicForests did not comply with Victorian law, J Mortimer ruled it is NOT EXEMPT from the EPBC Act. She said VicForests has already contravened s18 of the Act, (impacting a listed threatened species) in 26 coupes, and will contravene s18 in 41 coupes listed for logging.

No discussion of penalties for failure to comply with EPBC Act. Theoretically, "any act deemed to have or likely to have a significant impact on a threatened species or ecological community may be met with a maximum penalty of $5,500,000 for a body corporate."