The Federal Government in Australia has retreated from a commitment to set aside at least 60 per cent of old-growth native forests. The Minister for Forestry and Conservation, Mr Wilson Tuckey, said yesterday that Labor's 1995 commitment on conservation reserves was not a minimum, but a target that need not be met if the impact on jobs and towns was too much. He said social and economic considerations carried equal weight with conservation under the 1992 national forest policy statement, which underpins the regional forest agreements (RFAs).