Matthew Moore The Age
HOBART’S Hotel Grand Chancellor is an unlikely venue for what may be the largest gathering of former prison inmates Australia has seen. They’re coming from all over the country, and from as far as Britain, participants and supporters of the Franklin River blockade over the summer of 1983 in which 1272 people were arrested and hundreds were jailed. It saved the river, tore Tasmania in two and has made preservation of Australia’s environment a mainstream political issue ever since.
This Tuesday is the 25th anniversary of the 4-3 High Court decision that stopped the building of the dam. Senator Bob Brown, who led the biggest, most successful environmental campaign in Australia, reckons there are always so many environmental struggles under way it is now time to stop and celebrate a true victory. Many agree with him, and the event has sold out. Read more here
