MEDIA RELEASE
28th April 2008.
Huon Valley Environment Centre

Activists Blockade Old Growth Forest, Target ALP Forest Policy

This morning, 20 community members halted logging operations in old growth forest in the Little Denison Valley, 35 kilometres west of Huonville. An activist is suspended in a tree-sit 30 metres above the ground, blocking road access to the forest, while another is attached to logging machinery.

"Yesterday, 60 community members attended a protest in this forest. The local community is determined to stop this logging operation. People are sick and tired of seeing these last remaining areas of forests destroyed to line the pockets of Gunns Limited and Japanese paper companies," said Huon Valley Environment Centre Spokesperson Warrick Jordan.

"It became apparent long ago that our State Government would rather help out their mates at Gunns Limited than listen to the wishes of Tasmanian communities. Federal Labor has succumbed to the same malaise," Warrick Jordan said

"Kevin Rudd, Peter Garrett, Julie Collins, Duncan Kerr – all have confirmed the unequivocal support of the federal ALP for the Regional Forest Agreement and the woodchipping status quo. It appears the mantra of federal Labor is 'All the way with RFA' ," Warrick Jordan said.

"It may seem an easy option to cosy up to the woodchippers rather than listen to the legitimate concerns of the community. What is certain, however, is that community opposition to the barbaric acts occurring in our forests will continue," Warrick Jordan said.

"To claim greenie points on climate change while simultaneously encouraging the degradation of invaluable carbon sinks is pure hypocrisy. If the ALP wants environmental credibility, the first step is the protection of Tasmania's last remaining tall eucalypt old growth forests," Warrick Jordan said.