Vica Bayley: Dark day for Tassie environment this World Environment Day

The likely passage of legislation through the House of Assembly to reverse protection for 400,000ha of high conservation value forests and open up logging in longstanding Reserves and Conservation Areas marks a dark day for Tasmania on the 2014 World Environment Day.

Celebrated each year since 1973 to raise awareness about the need to take positive action to protect nature, World Environment Day is a symbol of global unity around environmental sustainability, education and reform. But Tasmania is taking backward steps, ignoring ground breaking consensus and reversing important protections for nature.

“While Tasmania wants to be a clean, eco-friendly beacon to the rest of the world, the reality is that steps like reversing forest protection and opening up existing reserves to logging demonstrate we’re not only lagging behind the rest of the world, but going backwards,” said Vica Bayley, spokesperson for the Wilderness Society.

“This legislation is a symbol for all things bad in the way we treat the environment,” said Mr Bayley. “It is driven by politics, has little community support, makes no economic sense and will lead to bad outcomes for nature.”

The Wilderness Society will be celebrating World Environment Day in Launceston tonight with a public forum touching on some of the critical recent and present environmental issues facing Tasmania.

Speakers include wilderness photographer Rob Blakers, Pulp the Mill campaigner Anne Leyton-Bennett, Environment Defenders Office Principle Lawyer Jess Feehely and State Secretary of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre Ruth Langford.

The event will commence at 6.30 pm at the Tramshed Function Centre, Tram Room 29 Inveresk Railyard.
Vica Bayley, The Wilderness Society