The close relationship of TWS, ACF and Ta Ann

Controversially The Wilderness Society and Australian Conservation are right now in Japan with Ta Ann employees, securing the company’s markets.

This act of endorsement by these environment groups is despite the forests being unprotected and continued logging of the proposed reserves.

The legislation they believe will protect them is still delayed in the Legislative Council. There is no guarantee it will pass at all, and a high likelihood that if it is approved it will be with significant changes that water down or ditch conservation elements.

In August 2012 it was revealed that The Wilderness Society and Australian Conservation Foundation had covertly written to the Japanese customers of Ta Ann.

This controversial letter urged them to keep buying the product of Tasmaniaa forest destruction despite there being no forest agreement at all.

The close relationship between these environment groups and Ta Ann was exposed in this letter, as the properties of the pdf show that the author is Greg Hickey, a Senior Manager at Ta Ann Tasmania.

This means the letter was compiled by Ta Ann who applied the logos of the environment groups and the signatures of their National Director and CEO, then sent it to customers on their behalf.

Download letter:
Ta_Ann_Letter_-_20_August_2012_(1).PDF

• Earlier:

Environment groups selling Tasmanian Forest Destruction to Sarawak timber giant customers

Press Conference with Jenny Weber, spokesperson for Huon Valley Environment Centre
Today (Fri) at Parliament Lawns at 2:30pm

The Wilderness Society today announced they would be travelling to Japan in the coming week accompanied by staff of the controversial Sarawak timber company Ta Ann, to lobby customers and secure this timber company’s international markets.

Huon Valley Environment Centre’s Jenny Weber said, “Our forest advocacy organisation does not support the visit by The Wilderness Society to Japan to meet with Japanese customers of Ta Ann. This misguided delegation to Japan by The Wilderness Society is being undertaken without a stick of forest being protected in Tasmania and without any certainty that the Legislative Council will install industry reforms to move forestry in Tasmania away from a reliance on native forest destruction.”

“Logging is still happening inside the proposed reserves and no new reserves have been created yet. Ta Ann’s Tasmanian product is still coming from proposed reserves where the forests have extraordinarily unique conservation values. This is not acceptable to the market.” Jenny Weber said.

“Environment groups providing environmental credentials for an industry who continues to provide a controversial wood product is not ok, while forests remain unprotected and logging continues unabated, this endorsement is putting the cart before the horse. The logical and reasonable approach in anyone’s book would be to provide a green tick to forestry in Tasmania once its practices have actually changed. This cannot happen while native forest is clear felled, biodiversity is lost and Sarawak timber mafias are driving the destruction,” Jenny Weber said.

“Our campaign has been to inform the Japanese customers of their controversial wood supply by Ta Ann and request Ta Ann and their Japanese customers to cease receiving timber from the destruction of Tasmania’s forests,” Jenny Weber said.

“Our opposition to this tour of environment groups endorsing Ta Ann, is about companies being rewarded for a legacy of environmental destruction and human rights violations overseas before there are any changes made by the company to halt their controversial practices,” Jenny Weber said.

Jenny Weber
Huon Valley Environment Centre
www.huon.org
www.nativeforest.net

Legislative Council Select Committee on the Tasmanian Forests Agreement Bill 2012:

• Read the submissions, from Simon Grove to John Hawkins: HERE

• Watch the proceedings: HERE