Bartlett mirrors Lennon

Vica Bayley Wilderness Society MR
“Calling in the police to clear the way for Forestry Tasmania to mismanage Tasmania’s oldgrowth forest assets was a hallmark of the Lennon era which saw many unique Tasmanian forests destroyed and burnt, releasing tens of millions of tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere.” “The Bartlett Tasmania is in the grip of the same greed-driven woodchip frenzy that ex-Premier Lennon promoted with such blinkered commitment. It makes a mockery of the ‘clever and kind’ Bartlett rhetoric when carbon-rich oldgrowth forests in an intact valley of world heritage-value are being opened up with a brand new logging road for clearfelling,” continued Mr Bayley.

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MEDIA RELEASE – Tuesday 13th January, 2009

BARTLETT vs. LENNON – MIRROR IMAGE ON FOREST POLICY

Bartlett inaction cultivates conflict by allowing Forestry Tasmania to start contentious logging

In a move that demonstrates it has not advanced a single step forward from the dark days of the Lennon era, the Bartlett Government is allowing publicly owned oldgrowth forests in a wilderness valley to be prepared for clearfelling and burning operations that will contribute to climate change, cost the taxpayer and continue the deep divide in the community.

“Despite a change of Premier, Forestry Tasmania is still firmly in control of government policy, is dictating the terms of forest destruction and is locking in decades of conflict with short sighted woodchip deals,” said Vica Bayley, spokesperson for The Wilderness Society.

“Calling in the police to clear the way for Forestry Tasmania to mismanage Tasmania’s oldgrowth forest assets was a hallmark of the Lennon era which saw many unique Tasmanian forests destroyed and burnt, releasing tens of millions of tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere.”

“The Bartlett Tasmania is in the grip of the same greed-driven woodchip frenzy that ex-Premier Lennon promoted with such blinkered commitment. It makes a mockery of the ‘clever and kind’ Bartlett rhetoric when carbon-rich oldgrowth forests in an intact valley of world heritage-value are being opened up with a brand new logging road for clearfelling,” continued Mr Bayley.

Over the next three years 10.8 kilometres of new roads are to be pushed into the pristine forests of the Upper Florentine to access oldgrowth coupes, all scheduled for modified clearfelling and burning. Over 84% of wood extracted from Tasmanian oldgrowth forests ends up as woodchips for export by Gunns.

“Premier Bartlett’s new logging in the untouched Upper Florentine will cultivate years of conflict and is condemned as deliberately provocative.” said Mr Bayley.

“Sending the bulldozers into highly contentious oldgrowth forests will do nothing to heal community divides over logging and move Tasmania into the 21st century. Moving to protect these forests and reforming the logging industry will.”

The Wilderness Society, which has campaigned for the protection of the forests of the Upper Florentine since 1984, joined other conservation groups in calling for a moratorium on logging in the area. It has called on Premier Bartlett and Prime Minister Rudd to enter into a mediated dialogue with stakeholders, including conservation groups and the logging industry, to resolve the conflict over high-conservation-value logging.