Protests against forest agreement
By Tony Iltis
HOBART — The signing of the Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) on November 8 provoked a week of angry protests by environmentalists.
The RFA gives $70 million to the logging industry; accelerates logging in the southern forests, the Great Western Tiers and the Tarkine; and increases national park lands only from 20% to 21% of the state.
The agreement was signed by John Howard and Premier Tony Rundle in the town of Perth, near Launceston. A peaceful picket of about 50 environmentalists outside was attacked by police.
On November 13, protesters hung a banner stating "RFA — Rundle's Forest Atrocity" from the roof of Parliament House, prompting hysteria among Liberal and Labor politicians and the media over the "security breach".
The Tasmanian Greens are considering putting a motion of no-confidence in the government over the agreement, but did not support two such motions from the ALP.
While Labor has used the issue to score points against the government and the Greens, its own position has swung wildly between supporting the RFA, opposing it because it allows too much logging and opposing it for not allowing enough logging.
The Wilderness Society will continue to organise actions against the RFA which will also be a major focus of Everyone for a Nuclear Free Future's march and rally on November 28.
ENuFF activist and Resistance member Kylie Moon pointed to the hypocrisy of the Howard government's promotion of uranium as an alternative to greenhouse gas-producing energy sources while supporting the fire-clearing of Tasmania's forests.