Native Forest Logging
Ms Cate Faehrmann: Tasmania's forests are incredible. Many of us have visited Tassie, often with the sole purpose of experiencing those forests.
They are incredibly biodiverse and are also some of the most carbon-dense forests on the planet. But on Sunday 3,000 people marched through the streets of Hobart, calling for an end to the destruction of those forests. Just like our forests in New South Wales, Tassie's ancient forests are being logged like there is no tomorrow. Images are flooding social media of massive, ancient trees being logged—some so big that only one trunk can fit on the back of a logging truck. The majority of these ancient, massive trees are being woodchipped in the face of literal climate collapse. Emissions from native forest logging in Tasmania have been estimated at 4.65 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year, making it the highest emitting sector of the Tasmanian economy. They are being woodchipped in the face of an extinction crisis.
The logging industry—hand in glove with the Tasmanian Government—is decimating the ancient Styx Valley, the valley of the giants, but not without enormous community resistance. In recent weeks Bob Brown and nine other forest defenders have been arrested in the Styx Valley. They are there to protect the habitat of the swift parrot, many other species and the forests themselves. In 2015 the International Union for Conservation of Nature listed the swift parrot as critically endangered and recommended that all public lands that support swift parrots be placed under secure and permanent conservation management. But no action has been taken. The Federal environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek, has committed to no new extinctions, but she has committed nothing when it comes to protecting habitat. There is an election this weekend in Tasmania. Not only are the Liberals bringing forward a policy of extending native forest logging contracts to 2040; the Labor Party is matching it—completely ignoring the fact that most Labor voters want native forests protected. Bob Brown has said:
This is 2024. The world is in the twin crises of global heating and the mass extinction of birds, animals and plants. The best way— the only way— to solve both is to protect native forests.
This weekend we are going to match Hobart. On Sunday 24 March there will be rallies at 11.00 a.m. at Sydney Town Hall and in Bellingen, Bega, Lismore and Newcastle. I urge people to visit marchforforests.org and join us in the fight this Sunday to save our forests and our planet.