Australia Day in London

Ula Majewski
British activists marked Australia Day by climbing trees and hanging banners in front of the Australian High Commission in London to highlight the continued destruction of Tasmania’s old growth and high conservation value forests. This action has coincided with British MP Norman Baker’s decision to table an early motion in parliament regarding recent roading operations in the Upper Florentine Valley.

And, Kim Booth

MEDIA RELEASE

Tuesday, 27th January 2009

UPPER FLORENTINE PROTESTS MARK AUSTRALIA DAY IN LONDON, NORMAN BAKER DECIDES TO TABLE AN EARLY MOTION IN BRITISH PARLIAMENT AND CAMP FLORENTINE IS LAUNCHED ONCE AGAIN

British activists marked Australia Day by climbing trees and hanging banners in front of the Australian High Commission in London to highlight the continued destruction of Tasmania’s old growth and high conservation value forests. This action has coincided with British MP Norman Baker’s decision to table an early motion in parliament regarding recent roading operations in the Upper Florentine Valley.

In Tasmania, forest activists and community members have re-launched Camp Florentine, with a number of new tree-sits and road blockading structures set up over the weekend.

“The devastation of some Tasmania’s ancient forests is a critical global issue. Once again, the Tasmanian and Australian Governments’ continued support of Forestry Tasmania and Gunns Limited’s environmentally criminal operations is being shown up as an international disgrace” said Still Wild Still Threatened spokesperson Ula Majewski.

“The World Heritage Centre, the IUCN and now members of the British Parliament have expressed their interest and concerns regarding Forestry Tasmania’s atrocious roading operations in the Upper Florentine Valley. We once again call on Minister Garrett, who will be visiting Tasmania this week, to show some real leadership and put a halt to the destruction of these World Heritage-valued forests” said Miss Majewski.

UK media release and images from the London action attached. Photos by Clotild Courtois.

A number of clips from the London action is available from www.youtube.com/tassieforests. All vision by Abigail Norman.

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Ula Majewski
Forest Campaigner
Still Wild Still Threatened

PO Box 295. South Hobart TAS 7004

www.stillwildstillthreatened.org

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GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS LEADING TO DOWNTURN IN WOODCHIP DEMAND …
… While Forestry Ramps Up Vandalism of Contentious Forests to Supply Woodchips
Kim Booth MP
Greens Shadow Forests Spokesperson
Tuesday, 27 January 2009

www.tas.greens.org.au
The Tasmanian Greens today called on Forestry Tasmania and the Bartlett Labor Government to acknowledge the irrational vandalism involved in logging contentious areas of high conservation value forest while the global financial crisis causes massive reductions in demand for woodchips and other wood products.

Greens Shadow Forests spokesperson Kim Booth MP said the plummeting global demand for woodchips and wood products has already resulted in the stockpiling of woodchips and logs right across Tasmania, and the latest revelation about declining woodchip demand from Japan once again raises the issue of Forestry Tasmania targeting contentious areas of high conservation value forest for priority logging. [1]

Mr Booth also called on the Bartlett Government to change its forest policy settings to protection rather than destruction, and to cease encouraging Forestry Tasmania to destroy forest areas of global significance that will be a key drivers of Tasmania’s future economy if left standing.

“Why are FT logging in the contentious forests in the Upper Florentine, which are surrounded on three sides by World Heritage Area, when that logging operation is damaging Tasmania’s brand, and the demand for the woodchips flowing out of those forests is in free-fall?,” said Mr Booth.

“FT should explain why it uses the need to supply specialty timbers to justify the destruction of these contentious forest areas, when it is bulldozing, burning and wasting thousands of tonnes of specialty timbers in forest coupes right across Tasmania.”

“The only reason for FT to log these contentious forests is to vandalise their conservation values and deliberately spark community division for base political reasons – there are no economic justifications and no supply chain requirements that justify the logging of Tasmania’s high conservation value forests.”

“There are massive woodchip stockpiles at all three woodchip export ports and large numbers of sawlogs and peelers are currently being stockpiled on bush landings where they are degrading – it is utter insanity for Bartlett Labor to be pushing for logging in the Upper Florentine at this particular time,” said Mr Booth.

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1] “Forestry Tasmania Prioritising the Logging of Contentious Forest,” Tasmanian Greens MP Kim Booth, 12 Jan 2009, http://tas.greens.org.au/News/view_MR.php?ActionID=3480

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