Thousands mobilise to defend sub-alpine wilderness
By Tony Iltis
KOOPAROONA NIARA, Tasmania — Driving to Kooparoona Niara through the spectacular sub-alpine landscape of the Great Western Tiers reinforces the realisation that making the region's forests the exclusive property of the woodchipping companies is criminal.
On March 22, some 1000 people staged a peaceful picnic and walk on coupe HU307, defying laws that ban access to this formerly public land and allow North Forest Products (NFP) to continue clear felling. More than 60 protesters, including some children, were arrested for trespass.
The ancient King Billy pine rainforest at Kooparoona Niara (also known as Mother Cummings Peak) has never been logged but was handed over to NFP as part of Tasmania's regional forest agreement between the federal Coalition government and the state's Liberal government. A blockade was established four weeks' ago when NFP began operations.
While people from around Tasmania, and Melbourne and Sydney, attended the March 22 action, the high turnout of locals, from Meander and Deloraine, reflects a growing awareness in timber communities that sustainable forestry creates more employment than capital-intensive clear felling and woodchipping.
NFP's Hampshire woodchip mill, the largest in the southern hemisphere, employs just 10 people. Local deputy mayor and sawmill operator Kim Booth has played a significant role in the campaign, reflecting the increasing awareness amongst environmentalists that the employment concerns of local communities must be taken into account. Many protesters wore T-shirts with the messages, "Support the timber industry" and "Stop export woodchipping".
On March 24, in Hobart, more than 500 people attended an emergency rally on Parliament House lawns, to coincide with the opening of parliament. Speakers, including Green state MPs Christine Milne and Peg Putt, and the Wilderness Society's Amanda Sully, condemned the pro-business bias of the forest agreement. They pointed out that Labor had also demanded more forests for the woodchippers, and that large donations from the resource industry kept both major parties subservient.
Anti-uranium activists highlighted the fact that Energy Resources Australia, owner of the Jabiluka and Ranger mine leases, was owned by the same parent company as the NFP, and encouraged people to participate in the April 4 national day of action to stop the Jabiluka mine.
The blockade at Kooparoona Niara is continuing. Rallies are being planned in Launceston and other centres. To get involved, telephone 636 95102, 041 962 8709 or 623 46397