HOBART — Environmentalists paid $20,000 for an airport advertising campaign that was terminated in less than 24 hours amid allegations of political censorship.

On November 1, the Wilderness Society, supported by Planet Ark and the World Wide Fund for Nature, put up a four-metre billboard in the Qantas terminal at Sydney airport, only to have it removed before the end of the day.

The billboard said “Visit Tasmania before 2003” with images of the Styx forest both before and after logging.

Qantas directed the advertising company to remove the poster and to discontinue plans to erect a similar billboard at Melbourne airport. The airline says that the advertisement had not passed its approval process, but ABC radio on November 2 reported that pressure from the Tasmanian government was responsible for the billboard's removal.

The Wilderness Society and the Greens have accused the Tasmanian government of “dictatorial censorship”.

“This high handed censorship of a valid point of view held by most Tasmanians will seriously damage our state's reputation, already injured by the woodchip industry's fire bombs, 1080 poisoning and log trucks”, said Greens Senator Bob Brown.

Brown also said, “A study shows that the Styx Valley alone, as a tourist Mecca, could employ as many people as woodchipping the whole of Tasmania”.

Tasmanian Premier Jim Bacon has denied that there was any pressure from his government and Qantas said that its employee had been misquoted. Bacon strongly supported the removal of the billboards in media interviews after the event, however, arguing that it “told lies about Tasmania”.

However, Wilderness Society campaigner Geoff Law said on November 3 that the society had “been informed by two sources that there was involvement from the highest levels of the government”.

From Green Left Weekly, November 13, 2002.
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