Liberal Party honours its 2006 East Gippsland election policy.

The Liberal Party went to the last 2006 State election with the same East Gippsland forest policy as the ALP; promising to protect the same forest areas. Both the Liberal Environment & Forest policies have the same committments.

Download 2006 Liberal Party Environment Policy. (PDF:. See page 17).

Download 2006 Liberal Party Forest Policy. (Word: See page 6.)

EXCTACT from 2006 Liberal Environment Policy

4. Protect and create new national parks

A Liberal Government will protect our current parks and reserves and add to strength and size of national park and reserve network. A Liberal Government will protect additional areas of mature forest and rainforest along with threatened species habitat by retiring 10,000 cubic metres of annual resource over the next three years; including Goolengook and State Forests in East Gippsland and linking the Errinundra, Snowy and Alpine National Parks. We will also ask the Victorian Environment Assessment Council to investigate the capacity to link and protect important areas of forest. This would include an examination of corridors for fauna movement and significant vegetation.

• A Liberal Government will immediately release the review into old growth forests, upon coming to Government, which Labor has been deliberately withholding from public scrutiny

Extract from 2006 Liberal Forest Policy

The Liberal Party has maintained a consistent position on old growth forests and will provide increased protection while minimising the harvesting of this resource. A Liberal Government will:

• Protect additional areas of mature forest and rainforest along with threatened species habitat by retiring 10,000 cubic metres of annual resource over the next three years; including Goolengook and State Forests in East Gippsland and linking the Errinundra, Snowy and Alpine National Parks

• Retire 10,000 cubic metres of resource in protected areas provided there are no net job loss and is deliverable with no net loss of resource • Achieve this additional protection by phasing in the further protected areas as alternative resources are identified, provided that there is demonstrable industry support

• Properly manage Victoria's regrowth forest resources and increase the amount of old growth forest protected in the State • Protect existing old growth forest and identify potential areas of developing old growth forest and nurture these areas with pest control, fire protection and mimumum disturbance regimes

• Immediately release the review into old growth forests, upon coming to Government, which Labor has been deliberately withholding from public scrutiny

• Ensure additional reserves are not created until management plans are in place