Argy-bargy over Tarkine logging shift

LOGGING protesters have taken to the streets of Hobart, as the Government and environmentalists present differing versions of events in the Tarkine.

Around 150 people turned out to a peaceful protest outside the Henry Jones Art Hotel, where Premier Peter Gutwein addressed a business luncheon.

Jenny Weber from the Bob Brown Foundation called on the Premier to declare a moratorium on logging in all native forests in Tasmania.

“Right now he is contributing to the change in the climate,” she said.

The Bob Brown Foundation claimed a major victory in the Tarkine on Monday when Sustainable Timbers Tasmania (STT) informed them it would pull out of a contested logging coupe by the end of the week.

Protesters have been occupying the coupe near the Pieman River.

However STT said it had already decided to cease harvesting because it had gathered enough timber to meet customer requirements.

STT said the continued presence of protesters was simply hampering efforts to rehabilitate the area.

The foundation reported yesterday police had arrived to remove protesters, resulting in four arrests.

Resources Minister Guy Barnett said the foundation’s claims to have won the day in the Tarkine were “absolute rubbish”. “The Bob Brown Foundation merely took advantage of correspondence they received from Sustainable Timber Tasmania confirming harvesting activity had finished for the summer,” Mr Barnett said.

“It is extraordinary the BBF would seek to deliberately hamper these important rehabilitation efforts from being done in a safe and efficient manner.

“The protests against specialty timber harvesting reek of a political stunt, as it was Bob Brown himself who is on the public record supporting these operations, in land agreed to be set aside by all political parties, including Labor and the Greens.”

Greens leader Cassy O’Connor said the presence of activists in the Tarkine was clearly making a big impact on planned logging operations in the region.

“While the Liberals and STT would never admit protesters are influencing their decision making, the evidence on the ground says otherwise.”