Conservative Sportsmen turn against Bush
Hunting and Fishing Conservation ~V~ Resource Development
on Public Lands is a Growing Issue.
As things stand now, this place is doomed. Late last month,
the [Bush] administration announced it would exempt the
Tongass National Forest from the roadless rule, set in place
by former president Bill Clinton, which protected 58 million
acres of public land nationwide. Former timber lobbyist
Mark Rey, now undersecretary of Agriculture, spearheaded
the rollback. Fifty industrial clear-cutting operations
in untouched areas of the Tongass are set to move forward...
The "right thing" as far as the Northern Sportsmen
are concerned is protecting the Tongass against the damage
wreaked by clear-cutting and the encroachment of road into
some of the nations largest remaining chunks of Wilderness......
"We want to make this an election issue".....
USA
TODAY..... A Subscription Article |
Greens critical
of tree line
January 30, 2004
Labor's attempts at a clean and green image took a battering
yesterday as environmental leaders criticised the party
for not moving fast enough to protect Tasmania's old growth
forests. Protesters with banners urging the party to change
its policy on forestry greeted Mark Latham as he entered
the conference. At the end of the first day the party recommended
no change to the regional forestry agreements negotiated
between state and federal governments. Although the spokesman
on the environment, Kelvin Thomson, began his speech with
an anecdote about visiting Tasmania's forests, he named
climate change, not logging, as the biggest threat to their
long-term future. "I visited Tasmania last week, and
I saw thousands of dead trees in the Midlands," Mr
Thomson said. "The principal reason they died is from
moisture stress, caused by the lower rainfall and higher
temperatures which constitute the changing climate of Tasmania's
Midlands.".......
SYDNEY
MORNING HERALD...
------------
Logging in Tasmania, a climate change issue.
....The clearance of mature forests (sometimes called ‘old
growth forests’) is a form of land clearance that contributes
to greenhouse. This has been drawn to the attention of the
Prime Minister by the Wentworth Group of distinguished scientists.
It has also been drawn to the attention of the governments
of the world in the recent report of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) prepared by 300 world scientists,
some of whom are members of Doctors for the Environment
Australia. This clearance releases carbon dioxide not replaced
by replanting and destroys ecological communities that will
be resistant to climate change. There are additional health
impacts in terms of loss of biodiversity.....
DOCTORS
FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, AUSTRALIA...
Recognizing Forests' Role
in Climate Change
The world's forests provide many important benefits: Home
to more than half of all species living on land, forests
also help slow global warming by storing and sequestering
carbon. Forests are sources of wood products. They help
regulate local and regional rainfall. And forests are crucial
sources of food, medicine, clean drinking water, and immense
recreational, aesthetic, and spiritual benefits for millions
of people......
UNION
OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS... |
NEWS TASMANIA COMMENT ON THE COMPONENT
OF OLD GROWTH FORESTS THAT ARE WOODCHIPPED - 29 January
2004
ACCORDING to Forestry
Tasmania (a Tasmanian Government Business Enterprise)
in its annual report 2002-2003, 16,900 hectares of Native
Forest were harvested that year. Of this figure according
to Bob Gordon of Forestry Tasmania (Financial Times 9 Jan
04), there is included a component of 1,500 hectares of
Old Growth Forests. Up to date facts and figures other than
what they want you to hear, are difficult or virtually impossible
to obtain from Forestry Tasmania and they are exempt from
Freedom of Information laws due to the mafia like secrecy
installed by the Tasmanian Government which does nothing
to dispel the beliefs and perception of distrust and corruption.
It is believed the Forestry Tasmania definition of an "Old
Growth Forest" is a forest that has not seen an axe,
chainsaw or fire for at least 100 years, which perhaps explains
the reason for the large amount of unnatural forest fires
that Tasmania has and apparently ignores the fact that a
natural wildfire can be an intrinsic component of an Old
Growth Forest at some time in its life. The wash up here
is, if any sort of fire happens to Old Growth...
it becomes outside the Forestry Tasmania definition of Old
Growth Forest.
Also outside the Forestry Tasmania definition,
is the type of "Styx Valley" Old Growth, as is
has been selectively logged for generations. Because of
this established activity, which most people have no problem
with, Forestry Tasmania now claims a right to clearfell,
burn and poison, thus setting the precedent which is often
referred to as vandalism.
If the above Forestry Tasmania definition is accurate, what
legislation gives Forestry Tasmania the right to put such
a biased and onerous definition to the phrase, "Old
Growth Forest"? As soon as its disturbed, which is
the very thing vandals do, it's not high conservation Old
Growth anymore.
ACCORDING to The Wilderness Society (at
this page) there it is currently 22,000 hectares of
Native Forest being logged every year in Tasmania of which
9,000 hectares is the Old Growth Forest component.
ACCORDING to The Wilderness Society (at
this page) the vast majority of so-called Forestry Tasmania's
'Mixed-age Native Forests' are, in fact, Old Growth Forests.
ACCORDING to a FIAT (Forest Industry Association
of Tasmania) and Federal Forest Minister Ian Macdonald's
quotations in the media (The
Age, The
Mercury, The
Examiner):
~ 80 per cent of woodchips is from Mixed Age Forest &
Old Growth Forests;
~ 20 per cent is from plantations.
AS USUAL, Tasmanian Premier Jim Bacon refused through
a spokesman to be approached for comment. Perhaps if it
were possible, he could be asked how he sees: the distinction
between the Forestry Tasmania definition of Old Growth and
the Wilderness Society definition; OR the distinction between
Mixed Age Forests and Old Growth Forests; OR why a 400 year
Old Growth tree is no longer Old Growth if another tree
within "X" number of metres or kilometres is selectively
logged; but of course when things are not going too good...
he hides.
WHICHEVER figure one takes (Forestry Tasmania or
Wilderness Society or FIAT/Minister Macdonald), it is a
fact that the forest industry is chipping away at the remaining
13% (or whatever figure it may be) of what is left of Old
Growth Forest in Tasmania in comparison to what was there
pre-European settlement, much of that being converted to
plantation already.
The Tasmanian Government argument for logging Old Growth
Forests is that it provides sawmill timber, and gives this
as a predominant reason that Old Growth Forests must be
cut down as the plantation timber is inadequate or immature.
Well the writer of this article and many others, have seen
log truck after log truck after log truck after log truck
after log truck carting huge Old Growth Forest logs on Tasmania's
roads that have been purposely and illegally split to make
them unsuitable as sawmill timber.
Thus they are not on their way to the sawmill or some sort
of value adding as they are purportedly cut down for, but
on their way to the chipper instead.
These beautiful old trees which are home to a vast range
of wildlife from eagles to possums, are being clearfelled
under the scam of sawmill timber purposes, when they are
really cut down for woodchips in order to make the land
available for the land baron plantations and gain the benefit
of vastly lower royalties payable for woodchip timber over
sawmill timber thus defrauding the Tasmania community out
of the Old Growth Forest resource and the true value of
the royalties as
well as limiting supply of timber to the market thus hiking
the cost of timber products for the benefit of the timber
barons to the detriment of consumers.
Tasmanians should not be marching
to Parliament House or Forestry Tasmania, they should be
marching to the Police station.
Here are some of the current stories touching on the subject:
THE
AUSTRALIAN...
THE
MELBOURNE AGE...
LAUNCESTON
EXAMINER 29 Jan 04...
THE
MERCURY 29 Jan 04...
THE
MERCURY 30 Jan 04...
THE
WILDERNESS SOCIETY...
LAUNCESTON
EXAMINER 31 Jan 04...
• AND MORE
ON THE SCAM HERE...(UPDATED 1 Feb 04) |
NOTICE
To the person or persons that are forging email addresses
belonging to this website and my private email address for
the purpose of sending emails with viruses attached to specific
targets and government institutions such as Forestry Tasmania
to make it look like they originate from myself or Discover
Tasmania for obvious discreditation purposes, the Tasmania
Police have been informed and are investigating.
Signed - Gordon Craven |
End Tas logging,
poll says
January 28, 2004
THE federal government must end logging in Tasmania's old-growth
forests or risk a repeat of the Franklin Dam dispute which
sparked the fall of the Fraser government, Australian Greens
Senator Bob Brown warned today.....
THE
AUSTRALIAN... |
NINE OUT OF TEN
AUSTRALIANS WANT TASMANIA’S OLD-GROWTH FORESTS PROTECTED
Wednesday 28th January 2004
Doctors
for Forests today released the results of a nationally
conducted poll, performed by respected market research company
“Newspoll”. On January 16-18, 1200 respondents
over the age of 18 from around Australia (700 from capital
cities, 500 from regional areas) were asked the following
question: Regarding Tasmania’s forests…Last
year more than five million tonnes of woodchips, largely
from Tasmania’s old-growth forests, were exported.
Are you in favour or against the Federal Government protecting
Tasmania’s remaining old-growth forests from wood chipping?
The results are as follows:....
TO
THE POLL PAGE...
-------------------------
Previous 60 Minutes Poll - November
19, 2000 - Charles Wooley
Should the trees in the Valley of the Giants be woodchipped?
YES > 48 | NO > 764
HERE...
|
Poll supports logging
intervention
January 28, 2004
A POLL that found strong support for federal intervention
to protect against Tasmanian old growth forests coincides
with logging emerging as an election issue. An opinion poll
commissioned by Doctors
for Forests found 85.5 per cent
of 1200 respondents agreed the federal government should
protect Tasmanian old growth forests from wood chipping.
.....
THE
AUSTRALIAN... |
The 85 per cent
Poll at:
DAILY
TELEGRAPH...
BRISBANE
COURIER MAIL...
NEWS.com.au...
|
Greens list Tasmania's
forests as election issue
28 January 2004
.... The green lobby group, Doctors
for Forests, will today release the findings of a Newspoll
survey showing more than 85 per cent
of those surveyed agree that the Federal Government should
protect the Tasmanian forests from woodchipping.
.....
ABC
ONLINE... |
Bacon's Unintelligent Island
27 January 2004
.....“Jim Bacon was all over the Bio-informatics concept
when it was a good news story yet not a single government
representative has commented on the apparent collapse of
the Intelligent Island program.” “Since the mid
1980s the Greens have advanced the concept of a clean, green
and clever Tasmania, but unfortunately it appears that not
only is the Bacon government not clean and green but it
is also a long way from being clever.”......
TASMANIAN
GREENS...
BACKGROUND
FROM THE MERCURY... |
The Tasmanian
Government's Rort of Tourism Operators
Gordon Craven (author of this website) and his family opened
up a waterfront tourism accommodation business at Orford
in 1993 which included building Tasmania's first RACT 5
star holiday unit in 1995 [HERE].
We soon learned that the Tasmanian Government's tourism
department marketed Tasmania with taxpayer's money for the
main players only, and the little guy did not get a share
of that pie unless some serious sucking up was performed.
Accordingly, in 6 years of operation we received zero reservations
from the Government's booking services and zero editorial
of any worth from their in-house spin merchants despite
offering 5 star waterfront value at a 3 star price.
Things seem not to have changed despite the current Government
heralded tourism boom....
Tourism operators fear narrow marketing
focus
27 January 2004
TOURISM operators say they cannot cash in on Tasmania's
visitor boom because they are being left off the map. A
mix of tourism industry identities say the promotional concentration
on a few favourites is having
a crippling impact. Trowunna Wildlife Park operator Androo
Kelly said the strategy to promote icons was costing businesses
such as his. Since major drawcards such as Cradle Mountain,
Strahan and Freycinet Peninsula took prominence, his
visitor numbers have dropped, he said, with visitors
not going to the Mole Creek wildlife park in the state's
North. "From 1990, we have been seeing a decline in
numbers," Mr Kelly said. "That has begun to stop
but it has gone this way because the (tourism) strategy
has left us at the end of the trail...... "With the
current philosophy, Tourism Tasmania is spending its $29
million budget with its industry partners who can afford
to advertise with it," Mr Houghton said. "They
just happen to be the big end of town.
.....
HOBART
MERCURY....
FOOTNOTE... interestingly enough the "few
favourites" or "big
end of town" mentioned above are all on the
Board
or Directors or members
of the Government organised Tasmanian
Tourism Council (TCT) which endorses current Government
organised forestry vandalism, SEE
MORE at www.Fair-Trading.com |
1080 Poison
In Tasmania 1080 poison is legally used to kill native,
protected and endangered wildlife. The forestry vandalism
practices are exempted from the animal cruelty laws. In
Idaho USA, ......."the killing of an animal protected
by the Endangered Species Act is punishable by a fine of
up to $100,000 and one year in jail". .....
THE
IDAHO STATESMAN...
MORE
ON 1080.... |
Protests duck ALP policy
January 27, 2004
Duck hunting is legal in Victoria, South Australia, Queensland
and Tasmania, where Environment Minister
Bryan Green is a keen shooter. It was outlawed by
Labor governments in NSW in 1995 and Western Australia in
1990.
THE
AUSTRALIAN...
MORE
ON DUCK SLAUGHTER.... |
Bank giant takes tough environment stand.
Citigroup's new policy includes no loans for logging
in old-growth tropical forests.
NEW YORK - Citigroup, the world's largest financial institution,
announced Thursday that it is adopting a corporate policy
to carefully evaluate requests for project financing that
could adversely affect the environment. It also bans funding
for illegal logging operations and commits Citigroup "to
invest in sustainable forestry and renewable energy".
The initiatives come after four years of anti-Citi demonstrations
by the Rainforest Action Network, a group whose latest campaign
targets Ford Motor for lobbying against higher fuel efficiency
standards for vehicles. .......
MSNBC
NEWS ENVIRONMENT.... NOTE: This
page does not load properly in Mac operating systems.
Citigroup's new policy is online - HERE...
Citigroup pledges to improve on environment
January 26, 2004
NEW YORK - Citigroup Inc., the world's largest financial
services company, said it would now be environmentally friendly
in how it finances projects, especially in the developing
world.
PLANET
ARC... |
Ballast Water giving new meaning to
what's "Natural" in Tasmania.
January 24, 2004 - The shifting tide of our
alien invasion.
Tasmania is home to a growing number of marine aliens and
they are wreaking havoc in our ports. ..... Ports like Hobart,
Strahan, St Helens, Launceston, Burnie and Devonport are
home to scores of creatures, alien to the Tasmanian coastline.
And the aliens are literally taking over. Up to 100 species
of foreign marine life now call the Derwent estuary home.......
SUNDAY
TASMANIAN...
• RELATED STORY FROM THE ABC...
Giant kelp forests under threat
....The third force reducing kelp numbers is pollution,
particularly sediments in sewage and run-off from the land.
Fine sediments disrupt the giant kelp's unusual life cycle
by preventing the fertilisation of microscopic male and
female plants on reef surfaces......
ABC
SCIENCE ONLINE... |
New tourist target a sitting duck
January 24, 2004
ROADKILL .....Tasmanians are doing it more efficiently
than anywhere else in the continent. Apart from the stretch
of road between the NSW towns of Walgett and Lightning Ridge,
which one year seemed to have a sort of hedge on either
side of the bitumen composed of stiffened kangaroos and
the occasional flyblown sheep, I haven't been anywhere quite
so comprehensively carpeted with former wildlife. If Jeffrey
Roadkill Tours (planned motto: "If it moves, it's not
on the program") ever gets beyond the mild hallucination
stage, Tasmania's where I'll be launching it. ...... The
allure of a possible roadkill tourism industry has occurred
to others along the way, and some, such as the Tasmanian
and Queensland governments, are admirably ahead of the game.
It's only when you realise this that the visionary nature
of such programs as, say, clearing land as if it's an Olympic
event or obliterating the Styx Forest, becomes apparent.
Take away their annoyingly obscuring habitats and just watch
as those once-elusive beasts get flushed out into the waiting
traffic. It'll be tourism dynamite!
THE
AUSTRALIAN... |
Launceston Water Supply Threatened
22 January 2004
.....Greens Opposition Member for Bass Kim Booth MHA today
said that he was sickened at the wholesale destruction of
Launceston’s water catchment by out of control clearfelling
and plantation establishment. “Launceston City is blessed
with a water supply based on native forests holding and
filtering the water and letting it down over the summer.
These forests are the tanks that both store and purify our
precious water supply,” Mr Booth said. “Minister
Lennon’s obsession with woodchipping is seeing the
destruction of the water catchment with the very real fear
that a dam will have to be built on the St Patricks river
to store water for Launceston.” ......
TASMANIAN
GREENS....
MORE
ON TASMANIA'S WATER.... |
Demonstrating the State of the Union in
Tasmania from TASMANIAN
TIMES
Scott McLean, Secretary of the Tasmanian Branch of the CFMEU
Forest & Forest Products Division ..... pompous accusations
against Jimmy Barnes [MERCURY
ARTICLE] have brought the forestry debate to a new low......
DIRECT
TO THE STORY... |
Big tree hunter's paydirt
January 22, 2004
TEXAN Ronnie Harrison lives in a state with a reputation
for size, but even he was overwhelmed by the sheer
enormity of two trees he found in the top of Tasmania.....
"We have what is the biggest find for the Tarkine,
but there is huge potential to find more," Mr
Harrison, 39, said yesterday.
THE
AUSTRALIAN.... |
Tall-tree hunter finds two Tarkine
monsters
22 January 2004
A BIG tree hunter from Texas revealed yesterday he
had discovered two forest giants in the Tarkine. Ronnie
Harrison, a petrochemical expert, has visited Tasmania
every year for 10 years in his search for the world's
biggest and tallest trees. This summer, he found the
two biggest trees yet located in the Tarkine......
"The Tarkine is Australia's Amazon," he
said in Hobart yesterday...... "Old-growth forests
are gone in Texas," he said. "At best, there
are second and third regrowth forests." Mr Harrison
and another three people on his Tarkine expedition
also came across an unnamed waterfall on an unnamed
creek, which drops 50m. "It was just incredible
in there," he said.
HOBART
MERCURY..... |
'Tree hunter' hits jackpot in Tasmania
Big Tree Hunter" from Texas has found two giant
specimens in the Tarkine area in Tasmania's north-west.
Ronnie Harrison has been looking for giant trees in
the Tarkine for more than 10 years......."Where
I live out in Texas, if I had just one of those trees
back in Texas I would be a millionaire because I'd
charge $5 admission just to see the tree," he
said.
ABC
ONLINE.... |
• MORE
ON THE BIG TREE HUNTER WITH PICTURES at Discover Tasmania....
• FOREST
LOVERS TRAVEL WORLD in search of record-sized species....
• BUSHWACKING
with a Big-Tree Hunter.... |
|
www.forestrytas.com
FOREST
ISSUES FORUM.... |
Shorter
duck season denied
22 January 2004
TASMANIA will not follow Victoria's move to shorten its
duck season and reduce bag limits. The stance was announced
yesterday by Primary Industries, Water and Environment Minister
Bryan Green. The Greens called on Mr Green to follow Victoria's
lead, saying the minister's relationship with the shooting
lobby produced a bad outcome for ducks.
HOBART
MERCURY..... |
|
|
NSW 'model' in forest policy
21 January 2004
PREMIER Jim Bacon should take a leaf out of the book of
his counterpart Bob Carr on old-growth forests, a NSW Greens
MP said. Ian Cohen has been visiting the Styx Valley and
Tarkine this week, and says Tasmania could learn from the
New South Wales approach. ,,,,,,,, "I want to highlight
what is happening in Tasmania's forests," he said.
"I will be comparing Tasmania with a successful Labor
Government in New South Wales which recognises conservation
issues." .....
HOBART
MERCURY.... |
Jamming the Spirit
Woodchipping The Spirit Of Tasmania. The well trumpeted
launch of the "Spirit of Tasmania" Ferry
between Sydney and Hobart copped a major culture jam
by anti-logging activists. ...... VIEW THE COMMENTS...
SYDNEY
INDYMEDIA - WEBCAST NEWS.... |
 |
|
Protest actions draw attention to logging
practices
.... Adam Burling from the Huon Environment Centre told
GLW that in the last 12 months there has been an escalation
of logging in the Weld forests. Logging operations are beginning
to move deep into areas never before disturbed by European
settlers. .....
GREEN
LEFT WEEKLY.... |
NSW MP visits Styx tree-sit
19 January 2004
THE developers of the Global
Earth Station protest site in the Styx Valley have won
the admiration of New South Wales Greens MP Ian Cohen. At
the weekend, Mr Cohen climbed 65m into the 83m-high protest
tree dubbed Gandalf's Staff. ....
HOBART
MERCURY... |
NEW GLOBAL FORUM - Earth Talk @ the Eco-Portal
- LINK
LAUNCH - 18 January 2004 - SOME SUBJECTS:
Environmental Sustainability • General Sustainability
• Discussion of strategies for achieving the basis
for global ecological sustainability in our lifetimes •
Climate • General Climate Protection • Climate
as well as other atmospheric concerns including air pollution
and ozone layer loss • Carbon Tax • Consideration
of a green tax as a means to address climate change - including
Forests.org's proposed "Lincoln Plan" • Forests
•
General Forest Conservation > Nippon
Paper's Response re: Tasmania Woodchipping •
Free-wheeling discussion of how to conserve, protect and
restore forests everywhere • Forest Certification •
Engagement of the pros and cons of green certification of
industrial forest logging versus community forestry •
General Water Conservation • Miscellaneous Progressive
Political Activism.
TO
THE FORUM... |
BUSH BASH - [TERMINATOR
IIII - Tasmania Style]
18 January 2004
TASMANIA'S forestry industry has promised to take the fight
up to conservationsists in a fiery national debate. The
industry will wage a multi-media attack to counter last
week's high-profile Spirit of Tasmania III protest. The
counter-attack comes as the Tasmanian forestry debate assumes
national proportions. Television crews and newspaper reporters
are making regular trips to Tasmania to cover the debate,
including the ABC's Four Corners program, The Sunday Telegraph
and The
Financial Review [subscription]. The
Sunday Telegraph last week ran an editorial calling for
an end to clearfelling of Tasmania's ancient forests.
"Clearfelling in Tasmania has become an international
news story, and the damage to Australia's reputation as
a clean, environmentally responsible nation is serious,"
it said. An
article in The Bulletin by author Richard Flanagan has
ignited a passionate national letter writing campaign. .......
HOBART
MERCURY... |
The leatherwood sting
18 January 2004
CLEARFELLING of native forests has cut the heart out of
the commercial leatherwood honey industry in southern and
north-western Tasmania, says the Tasmanian Beekeepers Association.
The beekeepers say the leatherwood industry has been reduced
to little more than a hobby in the south. "It's simple,
forestry has clearfelled the leatherwood trees, they're
gone," Beekeepers Association president Julian Wolfhagen
said. "If it keeps going at this rate the commercial
industry will be gone." ......
HOBART
MERCURY... |
Where have all the flowers gone?
18 January 2004
BEEKEEPER Robbie Charles can remember when he and his father
used to run 800 hives within 20 kilometres of their home.
That memory goes back 20 years. Today, Mr Charles says,
he has to drive at least 2-1/2 hours with his hives to find
enough leatherwood trees for his bees. "They've logged
the guts out of it around here," he reckons. .....
HOBART
MERCURY... |
Cold Chisel campaign cuts across
the grain
16 January 2004
..... Jimmy Barnes described the tall trees he saw
in the Styx as unbelievable and breathtaking. "Until
you actually stand at the base of one of these trees
you don't get a real feel for exactly how special
it is. These trees have a life of their own, a spirit
of their own," he said. Barnes said he had nothing
against timber workers or their industry because "everybody's
got to make a living". But he said there was
enough fast-growing plantation forest in the state
to sustain the industry without chopping down old-growth
trees for woodchips. "It's not about condemning
them for the work they've done in the past. Things
change, times change and people have to move with
it," .....
HOBART
MERCURY... |
| GREENPEACE
WEBLOG |
| HOW
TO GET TO THE GLOBAL RESCUE STATION |
| GREENPEACE
PRESS RELEASE |
|
Working class man sings for the Styx
16 January 2004
AUSTRALIAN rock legend Jimmy Barnes will today join the
growing ranks of celebrities lending their voice to calls
for an end to logging in the Styx Valley.
Barnes will take a day out of his tour with band Cold Chisel
to visit the Styx and the tree top protesters there. ....
Barnes is one of a number of Australian entertainers who
have been to the Styx recently. The John Butler Trio performed
a concert there last month and Olivia Newton-John and Paul
Kelly visited last year.
HOBART
MERCURY... |
Rape of Tasmania - More Feedback -
(QUICKLINK
to RAPE at BULLETIN MAGAZINE... )
• FEEDBACK
LETTERS TO THE BULLETIN... |
Protest planner aims to live here
15 January 2004
THE mastermind of Tuesday's spectacular anti-logging protest
on board the Spirit of Tasmania III may be one passenger
some in the state won't welcome so warmly. Neal Funnell,
a Sydney law student, said yesterday he loved Tasmania and
one day hoped to come to the state to live..... "(Premier)
Jim Bacon's response is typical," he said. "He
can't seem to face the reality that forestry
practices in Tasmania are sabotaging Tasmanian tourism.....
HOBART
MERCURY... |
More green action to greet ferry
January 14, 2004 - 2:05PM
The maiden voyage of the Sydney-to-Hobart ferry will again
be marred by environmental action when it arrives in Devonport.
Tarkine National Coalition spokesman Dr Peter Pullinger
said members of the group would greet the Spirit of Tasmania
III with a banner reading: "Welcome to Tasmania, home
of the Tarkine". ....... "The Tarkine has been
sleeping in the north-west of the state for 60 million years,
waiting for these adventurers to come and discover it."
....
MELBOURNE
AGE... |
| Information from
an Extremely Credible Source that the Southwood Veneer
Mill Lacks Viability |
14 January 2004
"Just to let you know, whilst working with KPMG
(Tas) we did a feasibility study for the much-touted
veneer mill, the vital value adding component of Southwood
[SOUTHWOOD
INFO HERE]. Our analysis indicated (based on the
inputs/variables provided by the proponents) that,
all things being equal, (including the low proposed
log sale price from Forestry Tasmania to the proponents),
the mill became unviable once the $A reached about
US$0.60. This analysis was done at a time when the
$A was about US58c. Shortly afterwards it went over
the 60c mark -
Needless to say, I am still waiting for the joint
announcement from Mr Lennon and his dodgy Korean businessmen
friends that it is a dud." |
Opportunity for the Federal Government
to save Tasmania's forests from power furnaces
..... The Review does however provide the Federal
Government with the opportunity to stop the Tasmanian
Government from burning its ancient forests for electricity
generation. Tasmania is the only state still proposing
to burn ancient forests in the guise of renewable
energy. By accepting the option put forward in the
report to rule out burning so called native forest
'waste' for power, the Federal Government could take
a major step towards reducing the abuse of Tasmania's
ancient forests by the Bacon Labor Government. Energy
from burning native forests has been ruled out by
every mainland state because it would provide a devastating
new market for woodchips and place remaining old growth
forests and homes for endangered flora and fauna under
even greater threat. .....
WILDERNESS
SOCIETY.... |
|
| Why are supporters names withheld?
SEE FEEDBACK |
| The Spirit of Tasmania III ... |
Greens upstage ferry's debut voyage
January 14, 2004
DESPITE tight security, four environmental protesters
managed to board the Spirit of Tasmania III and unfurl
a banner across its hull as the vessel departed Sydney
Harbour on its maiden voyage to Devonport yesterday.
The men, from a protest group Sydneysiders for Tassie
Tourism, boarded the ship as paying passengers. The
banner was attached to the top balcony of the ship
adjacent to its name and said "Woodchipping the"
so that, combined with the ship's name, it read "Woodchipping
the Spirit of Tasmania". .....
THE
AUSTRALIAN... |
Tassie dazzler gets surprise first
entry in log book & PICTURE
January 14, 2004
For the Tasmanian Premier, Jim Bacon, who was on the
ferry, it was an embarrassing start for a venture
he has hailed a boon for tourism in his state and
NSW..... "The reality is that forestry is cutting
off Tasmanian tourism at the knees," said Mr
Funnell, who said the protesters
were applauded by crew members and passengers. "They
were yelling support and waving at us."
.....
SYDNEY
MORNING HERALD... |
Protesters hijack Spirit launch
& PICTURE
FOUR men were arrested after unfurling a massive protest
banner from aboard the Spirit of Tasmania III as the
imposing vessel made its maiden voyage to the Apple
Isle from Sydney today. The banner was protested the
logging of Tasmania's forests. The incident occurred
shortly after Tasmanian Premier Jim Bacon assured
the public of the strict security measures in place
aboard the interstate ferry and its sister ships.
Mr Bacon, who would make the 20-hour voyage from Sydney
to Devonport with 550 others, said all cars and campervans
would have been carefully checked and all passengers
screened before the ship set sail. "The security
firstly is very strict," Mr Bacon said. .....
NEWS.COM.AU... |
Ferry fury
January 14, 2004
ANTI-logging protesters hijacked the maiden voyage
of the new Sydney-to-Tasmania ferry yesterday with
an audacious stunt that left Premier Jim Bacon fuming........
Tasmania's increasingly important tourism industry
is being threatened by Australia's most voracious
logging and woodchipping operations.". ...
HOBART
MERCURY... |
Daring demos create impact
January 14, 2004
DARING and provocative protests have become par for
the course in the ongoing anti-logging debate. Less
than two months ago Premier Jim Bacon was confronted
by a lone Japanese protester when he opened a photographic
exhibition at the Australian Embassy in Tokyo.
MORE
FROM HOBART MERCURY... |
HIJACKED
January 14, 2004
GREEN activists yesterday hijacked the Sydney launch
of Spirit of Tasmania 3, scoring a huge publicity
coup. Four NSW men abseiled from the deck to hang
a banner reading "woodchipping the" above
the painted "Spirit of Tasmania" on the
side of the vessel, in what Premier Jim Bacon labelled
a "stupid and reckless stunt". "These
boys are paying passengers and were prepared to risk
arrest because of their concern about the forests,"
Wilderness Society Tasmanian campaigner Felicity Wade
said from shore after the incident. "Desperate
times call for desperate measures and they were prepared
to risk arrests because we're losing those forests
every day." The protesters were escorted from
the vessel by Sydney police and fined $1500 each.
THE
ADVOCATE... |
Protester rejects claim ferry stunt
was dangerous
January 14, 2004
One of the anti-logging protesters who disrupted the
maiden voyage of the Spirit of Tasmania 3 from Sydney
yesterday says no harm was caused by the incident.
Four people abseiled down the side of the passenger
ship and unfurled an anti-logging banner. They were
later each fined $1,500. The owner of the Spirit of
Tasmania 3 says the "stunt" placed at risk
the safety of passengers and crew. A spokesman for
Sydneysiders for Tassie
Tourism Neil Purnell says that is untrue
as the protesters are trained abseilers. ......
"We were receiving quite
a lot of support from not only the passengers on the
boat, but the crew of the boat as well, and the police
were nothing but friendly." ......
ABC
ONLINE.... |
Spirit of Tasmania security breach
AAP 14jan04
FOUR men were arrested after unfurling a massive protest
banner from aboard the Spirit of Tasmania III as the
imposing vessel made its maiden voyage to the Apple
Isle from Sydney yesterday. The incident occurred
shortly after Tasmanian Premier Jim Bacon assured
the public of the strict security measures in place
aboard the interstate ferry and its sister ships.
.....
HERALD
SUN... |
Woodchips fly as Spirit of Tasmania
sails
January 14, 2004
SYDNEY entered a new era of passenger travel yesterday
as the Spirit of Tasmania III left the Harbour on
its maiden voyage to Devonport. Around 550 travellers
went aboard for the inaugural trip – but four
of them had more than pleasure planned.As passengers
lined the upper deck of the ship as it sailed beneath
the Harbour Bridge accompanied by a flotilla of vessels,
four men clambered overboard and hung a protest banner:
"Woodchipping is the spirit of Tasmania."
The protesters were arrested and taken back to port
to be charged under the Navigation Act......Author
Bryce Courtenay and Tasmania Premier Jim Bacon were
among the passengers. ......"I'm going down to
do some research in Tasmania and to have a look at
the big trees," Mr Courtenay said.......
DAILY
TELEGRAPH... |
| AND Discover the Spirit - Endorsing
Tasmania's Forest Practices Vandalism - FROM
DISCOVER TASMANIA |
|
And The Great Tasmanian Scam Continues!!
LETTER FROM PREMIER
OF TASMANIA TO NIPPON PAPER INDUSTRIES (PDF) =
NOTICE
BY NIPPON
AND..... THE
SCAM CONTINUES |
Battle for the ancient giants
January 11, 2004
THE loss of some of the world's largest trees has ignited
a battle of Franklin Dam proportions in the Tasmanian wilderness.
The clearfelling of giant regnans eucalypts in the Styx
Valley north of Hobart is to become a national issue, with
ALP leader Mark Latham about to get involved......
SUNDAY
TELEGRAPH.... |
| Thinking of buying a property
in Tasmania ? Here's a trilogy... |
1 - A clean and green dream destroyed
11 January 2004
"IT'S a magical fairyland at night," says
Zainab Clark about her new home. She is in love with
her country cottage up a gravel road in a secluded
valley near Cygnet. Mrs Clark moved from New South
Wales to her new Tasmanian home with husband Geoff
and their two young children, Latifa, 11, and Nadira,
7, in June. But after only
six months she wants out. Tomorrow Gunns
Ltd contractors plan to start clearfelling the bush
that creates an idyllic backdrop to the Clarks' rural
scene. .....
SUNDAY
TASMANIAN...... |
2 - Logging to start right next
door
11 January 2004
THE Clark family can do little to stop logging beginning
tomorrow on a neighbouring property near Cygnet, the
Environmental Defenders Office says. "If the
land is declared a [private timber reserve] it's totally
up to the Forest Practices Board whether anything
is done. Essentially the
resident has no rights." Mr Mackey
said the Forest Practices Code was open-ended in many
areas. Crucial points, such as requirements to keep
logging machinery out of streams, were qualified with
"where feasible and practical". This meant
that where loggers had apparently breached the Forest
Practices Code, there was an escape clause to avoid
prosecution. He said it was prudent for new home buyers
to request forest practice plans for neighbouring
properties before they bought. .....
SUNDAY
TASMANIAN.... |
3 - Forced to fight the damage
11 January 2004
IN rural settings across the state, Tasmanians are
being forced to fight the clearfelling of properties
next door. Gardener Gay Klok has fought the logging
of a property next to her home at Middleton, south
of Hobart. Mrs Klok says logging and use of herbicides
and pesticides have harmed her garden, which has featured
in national and international publications. Middleton
organic farmer Stuart Young fought to protect his
chicken farm from the effects of logging next door
to his property. ......
SUNDAY
TASMANIAN.... |
AND from TASMANIAN
TIMES A Cry From The Heart ... our nightmare
The local newspaper reported on our contamination
experience. But the story downplayed the dangers that
were presented to our community by the presence of
Simazine in our drinking water. The article failed
to mention that the contamination was picked up by
accident. It failed to say that the levels were over
three times that accepted by the World Health Organisation.
No reference was made to the fact that no-one knew
what the ORIGINAL levels of contamination were. Nor
did the paper highlight the refusal of the Department
of Environment to extend the monitoring of drinking
water to the rest of the region nor test for the entire
range of pesticides that could also be present in
our rainwater tanks. .....
DIRECT
TO THE STORY..... |
|
Clash over Tassie titans
11 January 2004
THE loss of some of the world's big trees has ignited a
battle of Franklin River proportions at the fringe of the
Tasmanian wilderness. Clear-felling of stands of giant mountain
ash (eucalypts regnans) in the Styx Valley, 90 minutes'
drive northwest of Hobart, has become a major controversy
in Tasmania. And it seems set to spread to a national issue,
with ALP leader Mark Latham promising to join the fray......
HERALD
SUN.... |
A new tourist spot
....Large-scale woodchipping continues in Tasmania. The
old growth native forests are regarded by the forest industry
as a natural resource. The industry's only conception of
value-adding is composting a greenie.....
MORE.... |
Gunns and Greenies - FINANCIAL
REVIEW
9 January 2004
They've tried protests and blockades with little success.
Now Tasmania's conservationists hope the power of song may
hold the key to preserving old growth forests. Annabel Day
reports on the battle for hearts, minds and trees. .....The
Australian Financial Review made several attempts by phone
and email to speak to Gunns, but calls and emails were not
returned......
TO THE ARTICLE two page feature
- FINANCIAL
REVIEW SUBSCRIPTION |
| RICHARD FLANAGAN ON THE RAPE OF
TASMANIA (is back in the news) |
| QUICKLINK
to RAPE at BULLETIN MAGAZINE... |
Rape Feedback
at CRIKEY.......
• Greg Barns, Living in Tasmania is like living
in Israel;
• Kate Carnell now of NAFI
has her say too [and trots out the old bullshit];
[CRIKEY
on KATE]
• Sally from Sydney [with recent first hand experience]
challenges the Carnell view;
• Barns should take a walk in the forest with
Bob. |
MORE
FROM CRIKEY...
• An economic argument to keep the trees in Tassie;
• Ex-pollies ignore any annoying facts on Tassie
logging;
• Logging vs Israel: How low can Barns go? |
| Previous Bulletin Article (13 Aug 03) on El Grande
history and showing a natural cycle of a healthy Old
Growth Forest HERE... |
Rape Feedback at
SAUER-THOMPSON.com
January 09, 2004
Native Forests: The logging debate continues. Over
at Crikey.com.au Greg Barnes has continued the recent
round debate on logging Australia's old growth native
forests. It is good to see Crikey offering its site
for the debate, given the limited space devoted to
the issue in the corporate media. If you recall, the
recent round of the debate was kicked off by Richard
Flanagan writing on the rape of Tasmania in The Bulletin.
Flanagan argued that woodchipping in the island-state
has been likened to an ecological catastrophe. The
article was mentioned at public opinion here. The
argument was continued by Chistopher Bantick in The
Age mentioned here at public opinion. . ... |
Rape Feedback from
FRANK STRIE
For Greg Barns it, (the issue) continues to be still
all about trees and trees again.
No matter how often one points this out to him, (see
under letters on www.tasmaniantimes.com.
Barns ignores to see the forests, the creeks, the
ecosystems, he ignores the serious debate about good
water quality and quantity, clean air and the great
loss of opportunities due to resource destruction.
He simply will not recognise that forests (not only
trees) are the issue, in reality, the logging debate
is much wider than just a fight about big old growth
and tall trees, just between the Wilderness Society
and Forestry Tasmania and it's Industry lobby. |
Crikey.......
Says:
NEWSLETTER 9 January 2004 Item 5. THE FIN JOINS TASSIE
FOREST FIGHT
While Greg Barns and Kate Carnell may criticise Richard
Flanagan for over simplifying a complex issue, or
not bothering to get the facts straight, the fate
of Tasmania's forests is not a topic to be easily
dismissed. Carnell's defiant rebuttal of Flanagan
"opinion" piece in the Bulletin has already
received some strong opposition from "Sally in
Sydney" and other subscribers.
Read the responses here: http://www.crikey.com.au/columnists/2004/01/07-0001.html
And the forest industry may rail against their portrayal
in stories such as Flanagan's, but it's not as if
they go out of their way to make it easy for writers
or reporters. Today's FIN
REVIEW [subsciption]
has a two page feature, "Gunns and greenies at
loggerheads over old growths" on the issue, which
illustrates a growing media interest. Annabel Day
writes, "The Australian Financial Review made
several attempts by phone and email to speak to Gunns,
but calls and emails were not returned."
This is the same company which spent more than $10,000
flying five mainland business journalists to Tasmania
12 months ago for an all expenses paid junket that
yielded some positive stories. With Latham about to
join Bob Brown in the Tasmanian forests, it looks
like the Gunns cowboys are battening down the hatches
for a while. It's all slaughter and no talkies. |
|
Labor's forest plan would breach RFA:
Minister
9 January 2004
The Federal Government says any Opposition plans to phase
out clear-felling in old growth forests would be in breach
of the Regional Forest Agreement (RFA). The issue is expected
to be on the agenda at the Labor Party's National Conference
at the end of the month. Labor has already indicated that
it will unveil a wide-ranging environmental platform at
the conference.
Now it appears that phasing out clear-felling in Tasmania's
old growth forests will also be on the agenda. .....
ABC
ONLINE... |
Forestry switch risk.
9 January 2004
Forestry Minister Ian McDonald has warned the ALP's proposed
policy switch on clear-felling in old-growth forests will
"sell out workers" to win favour with the Greens.
As Tasmania's wilderness emerges as a key election issue,
Labor leader Mark Latham is preparing to unveil policies
to phase out clear-felling in old-growth forests, but still
guarantee jobs. .....
THE
AUSTRALIAN.... |
Tasmania: The Last Stand of Industrial
Forestry?
BY : Dr. GEOFF COUSER
.....A Review of Logging Around The Country - important
to note that all of these changes have occurred under state
LABOR governments. Whilst the situation around the country
is still not perfect, this provides an example of how the
Tasmanian ALP is becoming increasingly isolated amongst
their state Labor colleagues......
MORE... |
Greens clarify their position on Old Growth
Logging.
9 January 2004
Senator Brown issued a media release yesterday clarifying
the position ....
"The Greens want an immediate end to woodchipping and
clear-felling - that is, industrial-scale logging - in Tasmania's
old-growth forests," he said. The Greens' policy provided
protection for all high conservation-value forests and allowed
for the sourcing of specialist woods for craft, furniture
and boat-building in areas outside such forests. "But
woodchipping which exports more than 90 per cent of Tasmania's
forests to Japan has got to go," he said.
HOBART
MERCURY.... |
2 Stories from ABC Rural - TAS Country
Hour
8 January 2004 |
• PLANTATION WATER - Sally Dakis
Well beyond this summer, water is likely to remain
a major economic and environmental issue in Tasmania.
Ever more so with new water management plans that
are now being drafted for all the states rivers and
streams which guarantee a minimum environmental flow.
Brendon Thompson, the President of the Tasmanian Farmers
and Graziers Association has today put the forest
industry on notice, saying that the burden of water
management will have to be more fully shared between
forestry and agriculture. |
• BEEKEEPERS CALL FOR END TO CLEARFELLING -
Rosemary Grant/Sally Dakis
The Tasmanian Beekeepers Association is also concerned
about the expansion of plantation forestry and the
consequent loss of a diverse flora. President of the
Tasmanian Beekers Association, Julian Woolfhagen,
says the Association's last executive meeting passed
a unanimous motion calling for an end to clear-felling
and burning of native forests. Julian Woolfhagen says
beekeepers are concerned that so much farm land is
being converted to plantation forests as well. |
| ABC
RURAL..... |
|
1080
Poison in Tasmania & 1080 Watch
TASMANIAN CONSERVATION TRUST
Currently around 80 tonnes of carrot bait impregnated with
1080 poison is laid in Tasmania annually to kill wallabies
and possums: enough to kill about half a million creatures
of many different species. Tens
of thousands of animals suffer a protracted and distressing
death simply to maximise profits for forestry
companies and a small percentage of farmers and graziers.
The public has no recourse to stop a 1080 drop in their
neighbourhood despite the fact that many pet dogs are killed
every year by secondary poisoning. Secrecy surrounds the
use of 1080 and its administration by the Tasmanian government.
There is no public record of who uses 1080 or where it is
laid. ....
MORE...... |
THE ARTS - A natural dimension
5 January 2004
"Do you know anything about the Tarkine Rainforest
in Tasmania?" she asks. "I'm going there on Sunday."
The Tarkine [Tarkine.org]
is one of the most significant temperate rainforests in
Australia, if not the world. However, in June last year,
the moratorium that had protected the Tarkine for more than
20 years was lifted. Preparations for logging operations
covering 177,000 square kilometres are under way. .........."Talking
about Tasmania is totally relevant to my work," she
says. "It's not about the technology, it's about using
that particular media to explore the ideas and communicate
the things I want to express."
THE
MELBOURNE AGE..... |
|
Out on a limb
3 January 2004
Adam Shore, Greenpeace activist, is sitting in a tree,
a very tall tree - nearly 85 metres, or roughly the height
of a 25-storey building - in Tasmania's Styx Valley. In
its boughs, 65 metres up, Shore has helped to build a
platform, known officially as the Global Rescue Station.
He has been living here with six other activists since
November and plans to stay for as long as it takes to
protect the forest from logging. If this particular tree
was half a metre taller - 85 metres exactly - it would
qualify for protection. It stands in a part of the forest
that is due to be clear-felled. If this happens, because
of the tree's great size, the logging company would be
unable to load it for woodchipping, so it would be burnt
where it fell on the ground. .......
SYDNEY
MORNING HERALD....
|
Stop logging in the Styx.
2 January 2004
Tasmania harvests its old-growth forests at great cost to
the environment and the island's heritage, says Christopher
Bantick. Tasmania is a desirable holiday destination. The
Hobart waterfront around New Year is the place to be. There
is the internationally renowned food and wine fair, Taste
of Tasmania, not to mention the partying by the crews of
the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. It is Tasmania at its BEST.
But go 70 kilometres west of Hobart and there is ample evidence
of Tasmania at its VERY WORST.
....It is reminiscent of the destruction in northern France
during the barrages of World War I. .....Tasmanian tourism
has as its emblem a thylacine emerging from undergrowth.
The thylacine is extinct. It used to live in old-growth
forests. The connection seems obvious........
MELBOURNE
AGE.... |
It's time for Labor's new leader to see
the (green) light
2 January 2004
.... I have travelled to Tasmania several times over the
past 12 months, seen the cataclysmic destruction of the
State's forests, and spoken with many people on either side
of the fence. Even elderly timber workers in Strahan told
me the woodchipping industry in Tasmania is a national disgrace.
It is as though the woodchippers know their days are numbered
and are destroying as much forest now while they can, in
a desperate last gasp. A smart ALP government would take
this issue - protecting Tasmania's remaining old growth
forests - and make a clear stand on forest protection an
election priority in 2004. It appears that is exactly what
Latham is planning. .......
SYDNEY
MORNING HERALD.... |
Prince intervenes for a lost lake.
1 January 2004
In 1973, the damming of Tasmania's Lake Pedder had become
a significant issue - so much so that Prince Philip was
moved to write to Gough Whitlam offering his thoughts........
"The Tasmanian Government simply does not understand
the point of conservation", he said bluntly ......
MELBOURNE
AGE.... |
Governor of Tasmania Richard Butler,
has "No Recollection".
29 December 2003
....."The aim was to convince the public that
Iraq was a far greater threat than it actually was,"
Mr Ritter said last week. Mr Ritter said he obtained
approval to co-operate from Richard Butler, then executive
chairman of the UN Special Commission on Iraq Disarmament.
Mr Butler, now Governor of Tasmania, said yesterday
that he had no recollection of this. He said he would
not have approved any operations falling outside his
disarmament mandate......
THE
AUSTRALIAN.... |
| THE
UPGRADE.... |
| THE
VENDETTA.... |
|
Tassie
water warning.
28 December 2003
SUPPLIES of fresh water will become a major issue
for Tasmanians, a leading scientist says. Freshwater
systems consultant Peter Davies says increasing demand
on fresh water for domestic and agricultural use could
outstrip resources. "This is a hot issue and
it's going to have to be addressed," Dr Davies
said. Dry areas, like the Tasmanian midlands and East
Coast, would feel the pinch first, he said. "Some
rivers are already stuffed," he said........ |
| | | |
