The Hon. I. COHEN: Is the Attorney General, and Minister for Industrial Relations, representing the Minister for the Environment, aware of reports written by former National Parks and Wildlife Service ecologist, Mr David Milledge, that were detailed in the Sydney Morning Herald on Monday 16 October and described numerous serious breaches of licences to take or kill endangered species issued to State Forests of New South Wales for logging operations in the Pine Creek and Carrai State forests in the north-east of the State? Given that Mr Milledge's reports describe the negligent and unnecessary taking or killing of species including koalas, yellow-bellied gliders, powerful owls, sooty owls, tiger quolls, rufous scrub birds, and sphagnum frogs, and given that the National Parks and Wildlife Act provides for prosecution of such licence breaches, why has the Minister not directed the National Parks and Wildlife Service to proceed with prosecutions against State Forests of New South Wales? Will the Minister move to discourage such flagrant disregard for our rare and endangered fauna by immediately directing the National Parks and Wildlife Service to prosecute this and any other future breaches of licence conditions, or will State Forests of New South Wales be allowed, as Mr Milledge describes, to "go on their merry way"?

The Hon. J. W. SHAW: I will be happy to refer the matters raised by the Hon. I. Cohen to the Minister for the Environment for an appropriate response.