Faulkner refuses to save the Tarkine
By Ben Courtice
HOBART — On May 24, federal environment minister John Faulkner was met by about 20 protesters demanding that he take action to save the Tarkine wilderness.
Faulkner, on his way to address a meeting, left his car to speak with protesters. He condemned the Tarkine road being pushed through by the state Liberal government as "environmental destruction" and "vandalism", adding that this was the opinion of the "Commonwealth government". However, he also made it clear that it would not intervene to stop the road.
Faulkner met with key activists from the Tarkine Tigers, and repeated the federal government's non-intervention position. Faulkner said he had "written a letter" to Premier Ray Groom, to make him aware of the federal government's position.
A disappointed Nellie Degrassi told Green Left Weekly, "What he said was very supportive, but he is taking no action whatsoever.
"We told him that the ALP was losing the youth vote, the vote of the future", Degrassi said. "They've lost the university students' vote over fees, now they're losing the environmental vote as well."
The Tarkine Tigers, a network of independent activists who have been blockading the Tarkine road, recently have organised actions in Hobart, such as sit-in vigils on the Parliament House lawns. The Tigers take their name from the Tasmanian tiger, believed extinct, but rumoured to still live in the Tarkine.
As for the next step in the campaign, one activist suggested "going out to the youth and speaking to students at schools and colleges". Another commented that "getting more high profile personalities involved" was important. They agreed that there was a need to extend the campaign nationally.
While the Wilderness Society (TWS) did hold a national day of action against the Tarkine road on May 19, the Tarkine Tigers have been disappointed at the peak bodies' relative lack of action. "The Tarkine is the biggest issue in Tasmania at the moment. They [TWS] aren't doing much publicity. They aren't doing much direct action. It's hard to know if they're doing anything", commented one Tiger.
The next major event in the campaign is the World Environment Day march and rally on June 3.