Forestry

A case study in folly #4: The price of ignoring fire risks

7 March 2025 / 4 Comments

The day started rather innocuously on 18 March 2018 at Tathra, a serene coastal town nestled amidst the forested hills of southern New South Wales, renowned for its natural beauty near the sea. Yet, by 5 pm, this picturesque setting became the backdrop for a disaster that laid bare systemic failures in firefighting coordination, urban planning and bushfire preparedness.

The great carbon credit con: A shonky system exposed

7 February 2025 / 5 Comments

Carbon offsetting is an honesty system coupled with a financial incentive for dishonesty.

– Ketan Joshi

Carbon credits, once hailed as a cornerstone of Australia’s climate change strategy, have been unmasked as a financial sleight of hand. They are marketed as a tool to curb emissions, yet in practice, they have become a glorified accounting trick, enriching a select few while diverting funds from genuine climate action.

The Cricket bat – a journey from the backyard to Test matches

31 January 2025 / 4 Comments

Nostalgic beginnings

Growing up in Australia in the 1970s, I spent countless hours playing backyard cricket during those balmy summer evenings. Despite my love for the game, I never excelled, oscillating between dreams of being a superb bowler or a top-order batsman, yet failing to master either. My lack of skills was evident as I was always the 11th-picked player on our school cricket team, batting last and rarely bowling.

Debunking false claims about bushfire risk and native forest logging in Australia

17 January 2025 / 21 Comments

Recently, a troubling narrative has emerged that native forest logging in Australia contributes significantly to increased bushfire risk. Some academics championed this idea, purporting to follow the scientific method, but often their work lacks scientific rigour. These claims have misled the public, skewing the debate around forest management, fire prevention, and the ecological role of logging.

A wooden pipeline that carries more than water – it carries a lot of history

6 December 2024 / 9 Comments

It all started in November 1883. Payable gold was found on a high ridge separating the magical Linda Valley from the Queen River valley, some 18 kilometres inland from the isolated west coast Tasmanian town of Strahan. This discovery led to mining leases that supported rich copper mines. These mines eventually merged in 1903 to form Mount Lyell’s, and indeed the world’s, largest copper mining operations.

Logging on the edge

29 November 2024 / 9 Comments

In the heart of the Bellinger Valley, the Glennifer-Promised Land area is framed by a dramatic escarpment. This formidable landscape is defined by ancient, erosion-resistant rocks exposed from the Moonbil sedimentary beds, consisting of fine-grained siltstones, slate and chert. The escarpment forms a natural boundary, with the land dropping a staggering 970 metres from the plateau to the valley floor.

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Another flood, another poor response

1 November 2024 / 8 Comments

Eugowra station was established in 1834, and the town took its name from the station when a village popped up in the 1860s on the station about 35 kilometres east of Forbes.

The town is most famous for a gold robbery in 1862 when Frank Gardiner and his gang of bushrangers pulled off the biggest gold robbery at Escort Rock just outside of town.

The unsung timber product during war time

4 October 2024 / 2 Comments

At the start of WWII, Australia was unprepared for a prolonged conflict, processing just enough petrol reserves for three months and limited storage capacity.

Though fuel rationing wasn’t immediately imposed, the government urged citizens to conserve petrol, hoping to avoid drastic measures.

While the motor industry strongly petitioned against any fuel rationing, by 1 October 1940, however, fuel rationing became a necessity.

Reflections on working in a hippy valley

6 September 2024 / 9 Comments

“Bellingen continues to attract younger people with what they perceive as Bellingen’s ‘hippy’ and ‘alternative’ reputation, with love and peace in their hearts and wellness and wokeness in their souls. Paul Hemphill

The Bellinger Valley has a long history of dairy farming and timber harvesting.

The devastating floods of the 1950s played a major role in the eventual decline of the dairy industry.

The joy of being a tour guide

30 August 2024 / 9 Comments

I have spent decades in our wonderful forests, witnessing their cycles of destruction and regeneration, and in all that time, I’ve seen one constant: public perception remains stubbornly fixed on a false image of forestry. Headlines scream of devastation. Activists show photos of freshly logged areas, convincing the public that this is a permanent state.