THEYRE KILLING OUR TREES!~!!!!

[Salviador]

This is from a wilderness society ally. Look up the addresses of your mps in the paper and give them a call, hell know any newpaper editors? call them too!!!!!!!

At 6am today the activist camp and pirate ship in the world heritage value

Lower Weld Valley, Tasmania was raided by 60 police and special services and

the area declared an exclusion zone, the first move by Gunns to log old

growth in the area.

No arrests have currently been made but the activists were caught off guard

and only one tree sitter and two lockons have been successful. Activists

climb trees and chain themselves to equipment in these situations in order

to give people on the ground time to generate publicity and public dissent.

The Lower Weld Valley adjoins the South West National Park, listed by the UN

as a world heritage area. It needs to be saved for a multitude of reasons

but mainly as a buffer zone to protect the area already listed by the UN.

Without a buffer zone in place many species of flora and fauna will be

decimated as they no longer have the protection of thousands of hectares of

forest. The heritage area will be at great risk of uncontrollable fire when

Gunns napalm bomb what it has clearfelled in the Weld Valley.

After the Styx valley of giants was saved in the last federal election,

Gunns napalmed an adjoining forest and the fire burned out of control for

three months, destroying ALL that people around the nation protested to

save. The public were then left uninformed.

With 64 football fields A DAY clearfelled in Tasmania by Gunns we cannot

afford to lose any more old growth.

Scientists estimate some trees in the valley are over 900 years old. These

regnans, bluegums, myrtle and sassafras amongst many others can never be

replaced once gone.

Entomology research has taken place in the valley and academics at the

University of Tasmania have rediscovered previously thought extinct species,

endangered species and also have discovered new species.

However, Gunns are exempt from the endangered species act which prohibits

the wilful destruction of their habitat.

Tasmania's forests need your help today. This area will not be saved without

the condemnation of the nation.

Call your federal member and register your protest at the destruction of

Tasmania's old growth, specifically the Weld Valley which is about to,

hopefully, garner the attention of the nation. For there is no chance of

saving it if not.

We will not get the media we urgently require without your help though so

please take two minutes from your day to take some action.

If you can, make it down to Tasmania and show your support for the activists

over the coming days and week. Flights from Melbourne for this weekend

currently cost around $160 for the wilderness experience of your lifetime.

All your efforts are appreciated.

[mescalito]

Analogue plant sources

[Anodyne]

However, Gunns are exempt from the endangered species act which prohibits

the wilful destruction of their habitat.

How did they manage that?

[nabraxas]

Gunns are also exempt from the Freedom of Information act. Some folks have developed serious illness after being exposed to the weed killer Gunns sprays by plane. Efforts to find out exactly what these folks have been contaminated w/& thereby get proper treatment & possibly compensation have been totally thwarted by this exemption.

How did they manage that?

It has to be noted that support for native forest logging has been the career path for many union officials into the Tasmanian Trades and Labour Council, the TTLC, into the ACTU and into the parliaments.

Equally, retired politicians have made their way into the boardrooms of the very companies from which their parties accepted donations while they were in office.

This cosy club of old-boy networks and chambers of commerce and the swinging doors of politics and boardrooms, with ready access and political appointments to the Forestry Corporation of Tasmania, the forest practices boards and advisory committees, add up to huge political support for the native forest logging industry long after it has ceased to be significant in either financial or employment terms.

While it may puzzle outsiders that the Labor Party in Tasmania is even more gung-ho in its support for logging native forests than the Liberals, a quick look at the politics of the 1990s in Tasmania and the current Labor government tells the story.

Nine out of 15 of the current Bacon government’s members were part of the 1989 Labor-Green Accord. They chose handing the forests over to the logging companies through resource security legislation in 1991 rather than remaining in office, and they put the fortunes of the export woodchipping company Gunns, with Robin Gray amongst those at its helm, before the public interest as expressed through Tasmania Together’s outcome.

from a speech by Bob Brown, more here.

[Μορφέας]

this 'GUNNS' person sounds evil, not happy

[wisemonkey]

How did they manage that?

Throughout the country logging is performed under regional forest agreements(RFA). In most states RFAs exempt logging practices from environmental impact statements and biodiversity legislation. Victoria is also still logging significant amounts of old-growth with around 8,000 hectares of old-growth and water catchment forest logged in 04/05. Sadly, very little has been further protected by the ALP as the CFMEU threatened a 'Jihad' (they used this word) on the Bracks government. Not only does this destroy our biodiversity but contributes massively to climate change & destroys water supplies. It is very important to let your MPs know that you are not ok with this.

If you want to know more about logging in Australia check out:

www.wilderness.org.au

Also if you want to buy paper that does not come from native forest the only real choice is 'Evolve'. Reflex or any paper from Australian Paper(including their 'recycled' papers) comes from logging Victoria's native forests.

BTW Australia has sufficient plantation supplies to supply ALL of our timber/paper/woodchip needs.

[hairyplant]

Speaking of gunns... went to bunnings yesterday to grab some hard wood for a shade cloth hanging project I have going atm... and low and behold, the only stuff available was Tasmanian ash, with a nice Gunns sticker on it. This is a busy section of Bunnings, and i was surrounded by people who were probably unaware that they were just about to decorate their houses with our old growth forests... I on the other hand went for the plastic option... but FFS! I almost

[gomaos]

police state... police country...

australia is very fast beoming "nazi-australia" in line with "nazi-america" and "slavery-china"