Ta Ann’s mill on the Southwood site in Tasmania’s Huon Valley
Eighteen people are today conducting a non-violent protest at the Huon Ta Ann mill. Today community members are reaffirming their protest about the controversial source of timber for Ta Ann, after revelations that plantation based sources have been deemed unsuitable by the company.
Four local mothers have attached themselves to parts of the mill site, inside the mill and on the entrance gate. They will remain at the Ta Ann mill until they are removed. Community members are demonstrating against Ta Ann selling Tasmanian forest destruction.
“Ta Ann sabotaged their future in Tasmania by adopting an unacceptable and disingenuous business model from the outset. They misled their Japanese and UK corporate customers with false claims they were supplying plantation and regrowth timber. Whilst receiving timber from the unsustainable logging of Tasmania’s unique and ancient forests,” Huon Valley Environment Centre’s spokesperson Jenny Weber said.
“The Huon Valley Environment Centre exposed the company twelve months ago with translations of Japanese customer company advertisements that claim the Tasmanian product is environmentally friendly and plantation grown, when the stark contrast is timber delivered to Ta Ann’s mills since 2006 is from old growth ecosystems and endangered species habitat,” Jenny Weber said.
“The fact is that the company continues to be the key driver of ongoing logging in the high conservation value and world heritage value forests in Tasmania[1]. Plantation sources have now been deemed unsuitable for Ta Ann’s mills ensuring the company will be a hindrance to achieving an urgently needed, complete transition away from a socially unacceptable and failed native forest logging model.” Jenny Weber said.
Documents released on January 13 regarding the scheduling for logging in contentious high conservation value coupes refer explicitly to the contract to supply Ta Ann, and state that: “Peeler billets is the limiting log product in the South and North West[1],” (Ta Ann Tasmania has mills in the south and north-west.) They outline that: “Peeler Billets for Ta Ann is an important driver for the harvest schedule”[1].
“Ta Ann has failed to insist on being supplied from outside of these forests. Instead they have embarked on a public relations campaign threatening once again to leave Tasmania, a tactic to try and extract favourable treatment,” Jenny Weber said
“The only positive solution for the Tasmanian timber industry is real downstream processing totally based on plantation sources. Ta Ann is a disreputable company, whose parent company in Sarawak is under a dark cloud of environmental and social atrocities. Their practice of processing timber from high conservation value forests and selling it in the market as sourced from plantations and regrowth forests from environmentally friendly sources is indicative of this company’s untrustworthy corporate practices and business model that brings great shame to Tasmania,” Jenny Weber said.
“The current informal peace talks between environment and industry groups could result in a controversial green tick to Ta Ann whilst allowing them to continue to receive timber from clear felling of high conservation value forests. It is no wonder that the company claims their future is dependent on the peace talks providing such a certificate of environmental endorsement,” Jenny Weber said.
“Huon Valley Environment Centre is advocating for an ethical future for our communities, with economies based on businesses that promote conservation of native ecology and an end to native forest logging. We will not be intimidated or blackmailed, by CFMEU, the Premier or the Liberals, into ceasing our protests about Tasmania’s controversial forestry industry. We will not be scapegoated by Ta Ann threatening to leave the state and blaming conservationists when it is they who sabotaged themselves by lying to their customers and selling a product based on environmental destruction,” Huon Valley Environment Centre’s Jenny Weber said.
[1] [1] Report of Independent Expert Schedulers12th October 2011 p7, Supplementary Report November 2011, Rescheduling Work – January and February 2012, Report requested by The Australian Government.
• Update:
Protest continues while three conservationists arrested at Ta Ann timber mill in Tasmania
This morning at 6:30am eighteen people entered the Ta Ann mill in the Huon Valley in Tasmania, three people have been arrested. And two conservationists remain attached to a conveyor belt in the mill site.
“Huon Valley Environment Centre’s protest today is to highlight the ongoing loss of world heritage value and endangered species habitat for Ta Ann. Ta Ann are the key driver for the ongoing logging of high conservation value forests in Tasmania. The recent announcement by Ta Ann that they may leave the state is a tactic to extract favourable treatment. At a time when they have sabotaged their own future by misleading the corporate customers,” Huon Valley Environment Centre’s Jenny Weber said.
• Update, Update:
Ta Ann Timber Mill Protest finishes with 5 arrests
Eighteen people have participated in a non violent protest, five people have been arrested, after four women locked on to the entrance gate and the conveyor belt at the mill site.
“Huon Valley Environment Centre have today highlight that Ta Ann has sabotaged their future in Tasmania by adopting an unacceptable model from the outset. They misled their Japanese and UK corporate customers with false claims they were supplying plantation and regrowth timber. Whilst receiving timber from the unsustainable logging of Tasmania’s unique and ancient forests. The only positive solution for the Tasmanian timber industry is real downstream processing totally based on plantation sources,” Jenny Weber said.
• HUON RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT GROUP
HUON VALLEY COMMUNITY CALLS FOR AN END TO JOB DESTROYING CAMPAIGNS
The Huon Resource Development Group has condemned a protest by a radical green political group at the regrowth processing centre at Southwood in the Huon Valley.
“The 18 protesters do no not speak for the community.” said George Harris, President of the Huon Resource Development Group.
“The community supports the timber industry that has been part of the fabric of the Huon for almost 200 years.
We are proud of how our forests are managed, and how they are showcased at tourist icons such as the Airwalk.”
The Huon Valley community supports value adding to our natural resources through sawmilling, traditional boat building and the woodcraft industry as well as through new products and processes like engineered timber and rotary peeled veneer such as that produced by Ta Ann Tasmania.”
“We want to send a clear message that the real community, the majority of Tasmanians, are horrified by the lies of the protesters and the damage they are causing to international markets and our reputation.”
“Instead of wanting to destroy jobs, the real community want to support timber workers and their families.”
“The vast majority community has welcomed Ta Ann Tasmania into the Huon Valley and wants to see this very good company have a long and profitable future in Tasmania.” Mr Harris concluded.
• Jenny Weber: Environment group rejects Tasmanian Premier’s false assertions and calls for apology
Huon Valley Environment Centre has this afternoon rejected the Tasmanian Premier’s baseless assertions that their organisation is bankrolled by rich businessmen. The organisation is calling on the Premier to retract her statement and apologise for devaluing the tireless volunteer efforts of community members and dismissing valid concerns about Tasmania’s ecological and economic future.
“Our organisation would like to affirm that we operate on a very small budget. Countless hours of volunteer work in the form of independent art and music exhibitions, fundraisers and small donations from everyday people are the source of our funding. We are all volunteers and are driven by a commitment to environmental protection.” Huon Valley Environment Centre’s Jenny Weber.
“The assertions by the Premier that our organisation is funded by wealthy businessmen are baseless and completely false. Unfortunately, it appears the Premier has been taken in by misleading propaganda fueled by the forestry industry,” Jenny Weber said.
“Of course we welcome any support for the important work that we undertake in the effort to protect Tasmania’s irreplaceable native forests,” Jenny Weber said.
• SENATOR THE HON RICHARD COLBECK
Senator for Tasmania
Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries and Forestry
Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Innovation, Industry and Science
M E D I A R E L E A S E
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Ta Ann: Protesters happy playing with the lives of 160 working Tasmanians
Environmentalists have clearly signalled today they are comfortable playing with the lives of 160 workers and $80 million in Tasmanian investment.
“If you weren’t aware of green tactics, the first protest at Smithton’s Ta Ann mill could be written off as horribly ill-conceived,” Coalition Forestry Senator Richard Colbeck said.
“But there’s no defence today. This new action is reckless, insensitive and just plain dumb.
“As we said yesterday, this has been part of a strategic, co-ordinated effort by the environmental movement nationally to wreck and destroy.”
Senator Colbeck was responding to news 18 protesters, including children, were attempting to disrupt operations at Ta Ann’s Judbury Mill in southern Tasmania.
It follows an announcement that Ta Ann is trading on a knife-edge, has no future without a forest deal in Tasmania and will make a decision about its operations within a fortnight.
It also coincides with police investigations of a fire set outside Ta Ann’s Hobart headquarters this week which caused $10,000 damage.
“The greens have lost any claim to the high ground of so-called ‘peaceful protests’,” Senator Colbeck said.
“Where is the peace in the forests we were promised?
“We’ve been calling this process a sham from the start, but it has gone well past that now.”
• PREMIER: PROVE ENVIRO GROUP FUNDING CLAIMS OR APOLOGISE
Kim Booth MP
Greens Forestry Spokesperson
Thursday, 15 November 2012
The Tasmanian Greens today called on the Premier to provide proof for her claim that the Huon Valley Environment Centre was “bankrolled” by wealthy businesspeople, or provide a retraction and an apology.
Greens Forestry spokesperson Kim Booth MP said that the Premier appeared to have fallen into the trap of unquestioningly repeating the propaganda of forest industry lobbyists.
“Unlike forest industry groups, environmental organisations run on volunteer labour and must rely on the generosity of the community to survive,” Mr Booth said.
“The Premier should be smart enough to see through this type of industry propaganda, which is designed to distract from legitimate concerns many people have about current industry practices.”
“Specifically, we note the public rebuttal of the HVEC to the Premier’s claim, as an organisation that relies on volunteers who work tirelessly to raise money through donations from everyday Tasmanians who care about environmental protection.”
“Ms Giddings’ claims are reminiscent of her previous allegations of tree spiking, for which she was unable to provide any proof and for which there has never been any evidence in Tasmania.”
“The Premier should either provide some factual evidence to back her claims, or offer the Huon Valley Environment Centre a full public apology.”
“The Premier has an obligation to all Tasmanians to show leadership and not promote fear and division.”
