Senator BROWN (5:14 PM) —I have a copy of the RFA and I am not aware of the detail either, because there is no plan in there for the protection of that species. It is just a handover to a state government. As far as this endangered species is concerned, Forestry Tasmania and the state government are about to change the rules. They are about to cut out the area that is inhabited by this endangered species which the loggers want and say that the loggers can have that and it will still be all okay. That is flexibility a la Senator Troeth, who obviously does not know the first thing about this species despite the repeated visits she has had to Tasmania in the capacity which is so important to this debate.

We know that some 3,500 hectares of crucial habitat for large owls in East Gippsland have been allocated to woodchipping. As far as the masked owl, the sooty owl and the powerful owl are concerned, can the minister say what the framework is for protection of these magnificent species in East Gippsland to ensure, in particular, their habitat, without which they will not survive?