Irreparable loss

Linda Zibell, Mount Helen 

The Age, Letter, 10 May 2015

I grew up near the Australian Paper Mills. My family listened to its drone, smelt it, even earned by it. I also love a tiny pocket of temperate rainforest close by, Tarra Valley/Bulga Park, where lyrebirds call ("National park moves a step closer to reality", 3/5). The loss of a great Mountain Ash tree cannot be weighed against giving a human the job of cutting it down. We are all going down if we frame it like this.

Using the word "environmentalist" reduces and stereotypes people who support a healthy ecosystem in this Great Forest Park. As the federal government's "Australia, State of the Environment Report" 2006 states: "The environment is everybody's business."

The question is what will a Great Forest National Park mean? The possum is close to its heart but untold benefits for people are built into this genuinely sustainable proposal. It is designed for the future – to generate jobs, restore habitat, bring great healthy outdoor recreation to Melbourne's doorstep and create a tourist destination to rival Phillip Island. All this, in Australia's most environmentally depleted state.