Coroner & Legal
Rebuked, Rebuffed, Reviled!
*Pic: Florentine by Bob Brown
World Heritage Committee rebukes Australia by rejecting request to axe Tasmania’s forests
• Abbott Government needs to accept decision and conduct Aboriginal heritage study.
• Decision sends message to Tasmanian Govt that logging iconic forests is unacceptable.
• Tasmanian Govt must deliver forest reserves to protect environment & timber industry.
The World Heritage Committee today delivered a strong rebuke to the Australian Government by rejecting its request to delist Tasmania’s new World Heritage forests so they could be logged, environment groups and Aboriginal Tasmanians said today.
The World Heritage Committee’s decision also sends a clear message to the Tasmanian state government, which wants to log other iconic forests, such as the Blue Tier, Tarkine, Bruny Island, Tasman, Reedy Marsh and the North-East Highlands.
“Tasmania’s forests are some of the most spectacular on Earth, home to the tallest flowering trees on the planet, centuries-old trees almost 100 metres high, ancient rock art and endangered animal species including the internationally renowned Tasmanian Devil,” said Australian Conservation Foundation campaigner Jess Abrahams. “These forests are the Southern Hemisphere’s equivalent of the Californian Redwoods.
Speaking from the World Heritage Committee’s 38th General Assembly in Doha, Wilderness Society Tasmania Campaign Manager Vica Bayley said: “The Australian Government must now accept the World Heritage Committee’s decision and get on with the job of protecting our spectacular forests and engage with the Tasmanian Aboriginal community to fund and rigorously complete the requested cultural heritage assessments.
“Rolling back protection of forests is not only environmental vandalism, but is also threatening Tasmania’s timber industry just as it’s trying to stabilise after decades of conflict and its recent collapse.
“The Tasmanian Government still wants to roll back protections and log other iconic forests, such as the Blue Tier, Tarkine, Bruny Island, Tasman, Reedy Marsh and the North-East Highlands. These forests were protected under the Tasmanian Forest Agreement, the landmark peace deal struck between conservationists, the timber industry and workers that delivered certainty for the timber industry and ended decades of conflict.”
Also in Doha, Environment Tasmania spokesperson Dr Phill Pullinger said: “The World Heritage Committee’s decision is a great relief for the wild forests of the Great Western Tiers, Weld Valley, Butlers Gorge and the Upper Florentine Valley, but much of Tasmania’s natural heritage remains at risk, with the Tasmanian Government aiming to turn vast areas of protected forest into logging zones.
“The World Heritage Committee’s decision sends a clear message that the international community holds Tasmania’s forests in the highest regard, and it is a message we hope the Tasmanian government listens to by delivering the remaining 400,000 hectares of forest reserves agreed under the Tasmanian Forest Agreement.”
Tasmanian Aboriginal community representatives, who partnered with environment groups in Doha to oppose the Abbott Government proposal, shared celebrations of the outcome and the clear call on the Federal Government to work with them to study and document the Aboriginal heritage values in the World Heritage Area.
“We can return home in celebration and assure our Elders that Tasmanian Aboriginal Heritage and culture is important to the world,” said Pakana man and Aboriginal community elder Rocky Sainty from Doha. “As custodians, we have felt the weight of responsibility to protect the burial places of our ancestors, some of the oldest rock art in the world and our magnificent forests, from the Australian Government’s irresponsible proposal.”
Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre Secretary Ruth Langford added: “It is now our job is to ensure that the Australian Government honours the request of the World Heritage Committee to undertake an extensive Cultural Assessment in negotiation with our people.”
Wilderness Society Tasmanian Campaign Manager Vica Bayley
Environment Tasmania spokesperson Dr Phill Pullinger
Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre Secretary Ruth Langford
• Christine Milne: Common sense prevails on Tassie forests
• Peg Putt: World Heritage forests not yet safe, but their outstanding universal values confirmed “Being so out of step with the rest of the world, which values such unique environmental and cultural treasures, is not going to help the reputation of Tasmanian wood products in the markets.”
Garry Stannus, in Comments: Tue June 24 2014: The day the World Heritage Committee said ‘No!’ to the vandals. These vandals had lied to us in Tasmania about the true reason (wanting to log) for applying to remove these 74,000 hectares from the World Heritage Area. Senators Abetz and Colbeck will be remembered for a campaign of misinformation that has grown over years, till it reached its shameful peak with this attempt to have WHA areas delisted. They lied to Australians and they lied to the world. Their anti-world heritage lies failed, but their intentions remain – there is yet a raft of anti-forest intent confronting those who would stand in their way: attempts federally to stifle Markets for Change, changes to the state Defamation Act wherein we’ll be hit with SLAPP-style lawsuits for speaking out against corrupt companies, on-the-spot fines ($10,000 individuals, $100,000 for groups) followed by mandatory jail sentences for standing in a forest holding a sign. It was a great mistake for the electorate to choose Abbott’s and Hodgman’s illiberal governments. What a malevolent bunch they are…
• Andrew Wilkie: Time to nail down government respect for UNESCO decision
• ABC AM: All over in 10 minutes
Phil na Champassak, in Comments: … Political expedience works at home, but taking it to the international arena is fraught with danger. Little consideration was made regarding the implications of what was being sought by Canberra in an international context, because the Abbott government was only focused on the internal politics without understanding what the principle of such an action through an inter-governmental body would mean for other nations. It’s no surprise that the Australian Government has been roundly rebuffed, indeed rebuked, through this misguided attempt to export our domestic politics in an international arena. The case was dismissed inside ten minutes, no other country came to our defence, and Portugal summed up the majority view that Australia’s submission was ‘feeble’. Through this clumsy ineptness, Australia is the laughing stock of the world.
• BogusFiasco, in Comments: Erich – Julie, can we revoke Alec Marr’s passport? Julie – Is he a terrorist? Erich – Worse than that, he’s a Greenie! Julie – Has he been to Iraq? Erich – My Top Secret Dirt Unit tells me ‘No’. Julie – Syria? Erich – No. Julie – Is he a Muslim? Erich – No, he’s a fucking Greenie! Julie – Well, that’s not against the law. Erich – Well, it fucking will be!
• Kim Booth: Double Win for WHA Forests- but scrutiny on Liberals will continue
• Marketing 101: #21 – even stranger still when you see at the same time the Tas Govt seeks to revoke & open up WH to logging, its embarking on a goal of branding Tas as the premier environmental tourism destination in the world.. (reported in TT a few days ago: A logic puzzle if ever there was one! here )