Howard attracts protesters in Hobart
By Matt Bloor
HOBART -- The signing of Tasmania's Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) was delayed yet again after unresolved discussions between PM John Howard and Premier Tony Rundle in Launceston on October 7.
Outside the meeting, Howard was met by Greens Senator Bob Brown and 80 Wilderness Society protesters, with a plea to save Tasmania's World Heritage and National Estate forests from logging and woodchipping.
The PM dodged allegations that National Heritage Trust money will go straight to the logging industry as compensation for the forests “locked up” by the RFA. After the meeting, Howard told protesters that the RFA will be environmentally responsible, while at the same time promising “resource security” to the logging industry.
The Wilderness Society is preparing for a disastrous RFA in which much of Tasmania's old growth, tall eucalypt and rainforests will be opened up to unlimited woodchipping. The decision will likely be accompanied by a propaganda campaign by the logging industry and government to sell the RFA as a win for the environment.
On October 8, angered by the government's decision to allow uranium mining at Jabiluka, a 100-strong crowd organised by the Wilderness Society greeted Howard in Hobart. Protesters chanted “Howard is a coward!” and “No way RFA!” after he slipped through a side door to avoid them.
Amnesty International, Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation, the Hobart East Timor Committee, Resistance and the Democratic Socialist Party were represented in the crowd, with banners and placards taking up issues such as Aboriginal rights and the government's refugee policy.
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