The Australian National Party lobbies relentlessly to increase access to native forests for logging. It’s not surprising they champion, via their principal lobby group, The Forest Industry Advisory Council, a U.S/Canadian import called Mechanical Fuel Load Reduction (MFLR). Under the guise of mitigating bushfire risk MFLR is posited as the solution to prescribed burning. But the circumstances whereby MFLR is useful – in spruce forests in the US – don’t necessarily translate to Australian eucalypt forests. MFLR in Australia presents an opportunity to log more forests including sensitive areas under the guise of reducing bushfire risk. Also trials in Australia include burning once the ‘mechanical’ harvest is complete so fire is still involved. MFLR is mooted as a means of profit for the logging industry so that is can sell ‘thinnings’ to the wood biomass industry meaning that native forests can be burnt for profit by an industry insisting wood burning is ‘carbon neutral’
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