Geoff Cousins levels his threat in a gravelly voice that he uses precisely and slowly. He speaks like a man used to being listened to.
“And when I say full-time commitment, I mean literally 24 hours a day. I can be working at three o’clock in the morning on something if I think it’s going to be productive. And then I use all the contacts I’ve got both in business and in the environment movement.”Cousins is a former chief executive and then chairman of George Patterson advertising agency. He has served on the boards of a swathe of Australia’s largest companies, including Telstra, the Seven Network, ACP and PBL.
In an email to Cousins, Loader wrote that she believed her staff had properly left the matter to police. Cousins notes that police did not act for months, during which time her staff had evidence of an assault.“The chair of this organisation, in brushing away these matters, which she has clearly done in writing, is unforgivable.
He says that the corporation did not substantially alter its logging practices after koalas were listed as vulnerable in NSW, or reduce the amount of wood it sought to extract from state forests after the Black Summer fires devastated them, demonstrates that the organisation was not interested in managing logging sustainably.
In a written response, a spokesperson for Moriarty said: “The minister has requested further information on matters that have been raised regarding NSW Forestry Corporation and actions by contractors and staff.“The timber industry plays a critical role in our economy, regional communities and in supplying critical materials for housing, essential to addressing the scale and affordability of housing across NSW and Australia.
James Jooste, the NSW chief executive of the Australian Forest Products Association, said it was environmentally reckless to campaign against the state’s native hardwood industry.“Where will we get our hardwood power poles that connect businesses and homes to the electricity network? How will we connect new renewable energy projects to our electricity grid without hardwood power poles?
“I understand some people are very concerned about the impact of current harvesting operations. The government is working to address those concerns and get the park established as soon as possible.”In the 2021-22 financial year, 34 compartments were logged within the park proposal area and in 2020-21, only 16 compartments.
“Malcy didn’t like that much,” Cousins says over a salad on his verandah one lunchtime at the end of summer. He waves his hand vaguely over his shoulder towards Turnbull’s famous harbourside home. When Adani sought to secure financing for its gigantic Carmichael coal mine in Queensland Cousins again stirred to action, successfully lobbying Australian banks not to back it.
”Gunns doesn’t exist any more. And the Woodside plant was never built and Woodside said it never will be, not in the Kimberley wilderness area anyway.”