Tarkine campaign steps up

Tarkine campaign gathers strengthBy Ben Courtice HOBART An extraordinary meeting of the state Liberal government's house committee looks set to ban protests from the grounds of Parliament House. This follows a vigil and rally to save the Tarkine wilderness on October 18. The Tarkine Tigers set up camp on the Parliament lawns after a 300-strong rally organised by the Wilderness Society (TWS) was called as part of the ongoing campaign to save the Tarkine wilderness in the state's north west. While the greatest threat to the area is the construction of the road, TWS campaigner Geoff Law said that the forestry industry is now looming as an equally serious threat. Aboriginal activist Jim Everett said that while he welcomed the handing back of several sacred sites, this was tokenism given that the Groom government was allowing other areas such as the Tarkine traditionally Aboriginal land to be destroyed. Tasmanian Green Party leader Peg Putt told the rally that the government had begun work on a road through a world heritage area in the Snowy Mountains, south of Hobart. Meanwhile, 40 protesters blockaded work on October 14 on the Tarkine road. Three activists were arrested, and one, who had chained himself to a machine, narrowly escaped being hurt when the driver started it and swung him around in the air before letting him down. urther actions are planned across Australia for October 26. The Tarkine Tigers can be contacted at Tarkine House on 341 103.