Wharf protest first of many

BY ALEX BAINBRIDGE

HOBART — The state Labor government has ignored the January 1 deadline — imposed on it by the Tasmania Together consultation process — for ending clear-felling in some forests classified as "high conservation value". Many activists are planning protest actions over the coming months in order to pressure the government to change policy.

The first protest occurred on January 15, when activists occupied Triabunna's Spring Bay Wharf in protest against the loading of woodchips onto a cargo ship. Seven activists chained themselves to a woodchip-loading tower, with some climbing to a height of 30 metres, in order to delay loading of the ship.

Protesters declared the action to be an outstanding success despite the arrest and charging of the seven activists. Representatives of woodchip company Gunn's Ltd have claimed that the hold-up has cost the company "tens of thousands of dollars".

The action has been warmly received in many quarters. A letter to the editor of the January 18 Mercury by Shelly Winters strikes a familiar chord:

"Congratulations to those who highlight the farce that is Gunns Ltd... How can a company that is the largest logger and woodchipper of old-growth forests in the southern hemisphere ... expect us ... to feel anything but elated when people manage to hit them where it hurts, in the hip pocket...".

From Green Left Weekly, January 22, 2003.

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From GLW issue 522