9:19a.m. 18th July 2008

| Bill Hoffman & Belinda Warren

Premier Anna Bligh has ordered a stop work on logging in West Cooroy forest.

Her decision came after angry residents voiced concern about the impact on sensitive koala and other wildlife habitats.

Ms Bligh issued the order yesterday after meeting with independent Member for Nicklin Peter Wellington who raised residents’ concerns.

Logging started on Monday and Old Ceylon Road resident Evelyn Schueltze said more than 50 mature trees had already been felled with many more marked for the chop.

She described the halt order as wonderful news, even though it stops logging activity only until a meeting between the premier, loggers and Mr Wellington at 2pm today.

Mr Wellington said the loggers had been relying on the Regional Forestry Agreement to proceed in what was a sensitive wildlife corridor.

“The federal government is wanting comment on how to protect and preserve koala habitat and this logging goes on with no community consultation,” Mr Wellington said.

“Government departments have been aware that this was going to happen since early May.

“I’m happy Ms Bligh has listened to our concerns and not ignored them.

“I just hope common sense will prevail.”

Mr Wellington said any chainsaws any resident heard this morning would be work being done only on trees that had already been felled.

He said one of the questions he had asked was how much royalties were proposed to be paid to the state government as a result of the logging.

“I still have not been able to receive any advice from the government as to how much they have been proposed to be paid,” he said.

Earlier, Mr Wellington had said he had been advised by the state government that the forestry agreement reached 10 years ago would allow loggers to go back into work at west Cooroy after a decade.

On Wednesday, the weather intervened, however, with rain halting the logging work.