AUSTRALIA — Victoria’s state logging agency has abandoned its latest attempt to gain sustainability certification from the Forest Stewardship Council Australia… citing concerns over an ongoing Federal Court case and some directors of the council, the local branch of an international sustainability initiative. “Three directors of FSC Australia … are leading public activism and advocacy, calling for the complete cessation of native forestry and actively seeking to discredit VicForests.” …Because VicForests had made several applications to the council’s auditing process, it was permitted to claim membership for the past decade without achieving the first level of accreditation. A spokesman for FSC Australia rejected VicForests’ concerns over governance. “As VicForests well knows, all assessments are carried out by independent auditors,” it said. “The FSC itself plays no role in the outcome of the assessment. If they meet the standard, they get the certification.”