The mammoth David and Goliath battle which first began in 2017 has finally reached its conclusion.
In August 2020, The Federal Court delivered final orders for our historic win for Friends of the Leadbeater’s Possum that protects the forests subject to the case from logging!
Although the judge’s verdict was handed down in this case back in May, the final orders decided how the judgement would apply practically.
The final orders
Justice Mortimer’s orders grant final injunctions to protect the 66 areas of forest home to the threatened Greater Glider and critically endangered Leadbeater’s Possum subject to the case. The judge also made formal declarations of unlawful logging by VicForests in those 66 areas and ordered VicForests pay Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum’s costs of running the case. This sets a national precedent which will have national implications for species threatened by logging under Regional Forest Agreements across the country which will now face much greater scrutiny.“We are immensely grateful to the public for the donations that have enabled us to pay the costs of mounting a case on this scale and to all those who have worked on the case and supported us in so many ways on this long and challenging journey. And to the surveying team from WOTCH and the expert witnesses who provided an unassailable body of detailed evidence.” – Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum