Warrick Jordan, Ula Majewski MR
The Huon Valley Environment Centre has today launched a legal fighting fund to assist the 13 forest activists who are being sued for shutting down the Triabunna woodchip mill last month. The fund has been launched on the Centre’s website at www.huon.org.
And, what the Greens say …
MEDIA RELEASE
Thursday 8th January 2008
TRIABUNNA 13 LAUNCH LEGAL FIGHTING FUND
The Huon Valley Environment Centre has today launched a legal fighting fund to assist the 13 forest activists who are being sued for shutting down the Triabunna woodchip mill last month. The fund has been launched on the Centre’s website at www.huon.org.
“The Huon Valley Environment Centre is a defendant in the Gunns 20 case, and has first hand knowledge of the difficulties involved in fighting such a case with limited resources. We are happy
to do whatever we can to assist those who stand up for Tasmania’s wild places,” Huon Valley Environment Centre spokesperson Jenny Weber said.
“As defendants in this case we have every confidence that the Tasmanian and Australian people will be happy to help those who put themselves and their futures on the line to defend ancient
forests,” Triabunna 13 defendant and Huon Valley Environment Centre spokesperson Warrick Jordan said.
“The Gunns20 and Weld Angel cases have comprehensively demonstrated that ordinary Tasmanians are willing to donate to peaceful forest activists, and in the light of the looming pulp mill I imagine many will be wishing to support those taking their concerns to those who are causing the problem – Gunns Limited,” Warrick Jordan said.
“The defendants took action in order to highlight the immense amount of carbon released from the logging of old growth forest, the pitiful nature of the Australian Government’s emissions reductions
targets, and the ongoing, Gunns-driven assault on the remaining wild areas of the Southern Forests,” Triabunna 13 defendant and Still Wild Still Threatened spokesperson Ula Majewski said.
“Legitimate, peaceful protest is an essential part of our democratic society, and we expect a flood of support for the Triabunna 13 in the coming months,” Ula Majewski said.
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GUNNS HYPOCRITES ON TRIABUNNA PROTEST
Should Stop Using Contractors As Pawns and Pay Them Living Wages
Kim Booth MP
Acting Greens Leader
Thursday, 8 January 2009
www.tas.greens.org.au
The Tasmanian Greens today described Gunns’ decision to sue forest defenders for their protest at Triabunna as hypocritical and a cynical abuse of forest contractors who are facing financial ruin because of the harsh and oppressive contracts that Gunns require them to work under, rather than any losses caused by the protest delay.
Acting Greens Leader Kim Booth said that Gunns should address the issue of their own exploitation of forest contractors rather than blaming a few hours delay on one day of the year for the desperate financial plight that contractors find themselves in.
“Gunns are getting fat off the backs of forest contractors and their families who face financial ruin as a result of harsh and oppressive contracts that provide no guarantee of income sufficient to meet the massive repayments for the equipment they need,” said Mr Booth.
“Paul Cooke and Associates reported on the plight of the contractors in 2005, citing imminent bankruptcy for 30 percent of the industry due to overcapacity and the lack of an income guarantee.”
“The situation has now worsened and has again been documented, however the silence has been deafening from Gunns, the Tasmanian Forest Contractors Association, and industry front group so-called Timber Communities Australia.”
“Gunns regularly reduces quotas with no concern for the contractors or their families and cynically maintains over-capacity in the industry to force down contract rates.”
“Gunns is again cynically manipulating forest contractors for its own commercial greed and it is way past time that they started paying living wages to their contractors and stopped sending them into contentious coupes that the world is now saying should not be logged.”
“Rather than wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars on court cases designed to suppress protest action against Gunns’ logging of high conservation value forests, the company should simply pay the contractors for the delay and negotiate contracts that allow a living wage, not to mention funding an exit package for the excess contractors who face financial ruin through no fault of their own.”
“Gunns treat their workers like they treat the environment and once again the Tasmanian community is seeing Gunns blaming environmental defenders and using the contractors as pawns, while the fat cats in the suits walk away with the money,” said Mr Booth.
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