Tarkine campaign escalates

By Ben Courtice

HOBART -- More than 150 people marched through the city streets to Parliament House on May 9 to protest against the road construction through the Tarkine wilderness and the arrests of protesters on Parliament House lawns on May 5.

After occupying the lawns with tents, tree-sits and banners for over a month, activists from the Tarkine Tigers group were told by police to leave or face arrest at sunset on May 5. This followed a demonstration outside parliament on May 2 which received prominent media coverage.

Four activists were arrested, while four others climbed trees and refused to come down, escaping arrest. Bail conditions for those arrested included that they were not to return to the grounds of Parliament House.

The May 9 rally was led by a procession of protesters dressed in black, carrying a coffin filled with woodchips. Marchers chanted slogans such as “Jobs not woodchips” and “Stop the road, save the Tarkine”.

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