By Ana Kailis
BRISBANE — On September 1, a picket was held here as part of the National Forest Day of Action. Organised by the Wilderness Society, it marked the beginning of a campaign calling on the federal government immediately to place a moratorium on the logging of old growth and wilderness forests. This moratorium was a key plank of the government's own 1992 National Forest Policy Statement.
The federal government is currently considering the next round of export woodchip licences. In Tasmania several logging companies have applied to have their licences extended.
North Forest Products has submitted an application for 700,000 additional tonnes from a new woodchip mill at Hampshire and has a forthcoming application for 600,000 tonnes from Huon Valley. Gunns Ltd has applied for an additional 300,000 tonnes of woodchips. Extended licences are also under consideration in New South Wales and Western Australia.
For the first time, the federal government is contemplating an export woodchip licence from Queensland.
Virginia Young, Queensland Wilderness Society spokesperson, said, "Even without export woodchipping, Queensland loses more native forest each year than any other state. The majority of logging in Queensland's native forests is in old growth, high conservation value areas. No attempt has yet been made by the Queensland government to protect these areas, let alone to identify and protect remaining wilderness forests."
If approved, the consortium Queensland Hardwood Resources will have access to Queensland forests for the purpose of exporting 140,000 tonnes of woodchips.
The Wilderness Society is supporting a call by the Australian Democrats in federal parliament for a review of the application and is calling on the state government to oppose the extension of export woodchipping to this state.
In Hobart, 300 people met at Parliament House on September 1 for the National day of Forest Action. The protest had a festival atmosphere, with people in animal costumes, streamers and a march which did a circuit of the city. A display of wildlife killed by use of 1080 poison was set up. People from the crowd spoke on the open platform, and a meeting was called for the following Saturday for people who wish to continue the campaign to save the forests.
Anne Pavy reports from Perth that a funeral procession for a karri log wound through the streets of Fremantle on September 1, followed by a rally of 600 people. The events were organised by the Wilderness Society and the West Australian Forest Alliance.
Speakers included Adrian Stevens, non-violence trainer and trade union activist, who talked about the need to show our concern as environmentalists for the timber workers and the terrible working conditions they endure.
A speaker who took part in the blockade of the south-west forests in July told the crowd that since the blockade had concluded, the speed at which logging was occurring had increased dramatically. Many areas of high conservation value had been clear-felled.
Phil Gregory, who has been fasting on the steps of the WA Parliament House since August 29, also spoke, vowing to continue his hunger strike until the federal government enforces a moratorium on logging in old-growth forests.
Elaine Michaels has also been on hunger strike since August 29 outside Parliament House in Canberra, and has brought national media attention to the plight of WA's last remaining wilderness forest.
Kylie Dimler reports from Sydney that two dozen giant koalas joined 200 Sydneysiders at the Opera House steps to demonstrate their anger and concern over continued woodchipping of old-growth forests.
The rally began with the dropping of a giant banner from the Royal Botanic Gardens cliff top, which faces the Opera House and Sydney Harbour. The banner proclaimed, "Save Australian Wilderness Heritage" and was visible to the rally as well tourists visiting Circular Quay, lunchtime joggers and ferry passengers on the harbour.
The Aboriginal liaison officer for the Wilderness Society, Steve Lalor, slammed the federal government for disregarding indigenous people's concerns for the environment, as well ignoring non-Aboriginal people's objections to environmental destruction.
Milo Dunphy of the Total Environment Centre and Trish Caswell of the Australian Conservation Foundation addressed the rally, focusing on the economic and ecological unsustainability of continued woodchipping of trees which often are hundreds of years old. The rally was urged to write letters to Prime Minister Keating and resources minister David Beddall, objecting to any renewal of woodchip export licenses.