The Albanese government secretly planned to bypass federal environment laws to allow continued native forest logging in northern New South Wales if it lost a court case, documents released under freedom of information laws reveal. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sought 'advice on strategy' as the commonwealth and NSW governments prepared for the 'potential impacts of an adverse decision'.
The planning proved unnecessary after the federal court ruled in 2024 that the north-east regional forest agreement (RFA) was legitimate, despite being amended in 2018 without fresh scientific studies on threatened species. The North East Forest Alliance had challenged the RFA, arguing it failed to assess environmental values including old growth, wilderness and endangered species.
If the governments had lost, logging could have halted immediately, requiring approximately 1,700 applications under federal environment laws. In July 2023, then environment minister Tanya Plibersek and agriculture minister Murray Watt wrote to Albanese confirming they were working with the NSW government to manage the impacts of an adverse decision.
A briefing note warned the region supports around 300 threatened species, including the Greater Glider, Swift Parrot and Koala. The federal environment department said the number of assessments needed would be 'extremely high', requiring staff transfers and causing political and economic fallout.
