Conservationist stops woodchip truck

A conservationist has chained herself to a log truck on Gordon River road in the Upper Florentine this afternoon. The truck is carrying pulp logs from the old growth forest coupe FO44A to the Gunns-owned Triabunna chip mill.

The road is blocked to truck traffic however cars can still get through. The blockade has prevented three gravel trucks from carrying out work on the controversial road into wilderness forest. 

 

"The timber on the back of this truck was once a part of 400 and 500 year old trees that were mature long before the world had even heard of Australia. These are some of the last temperate tall forests in the world that should be regarded as a national treasure. Instead Premier Bartlett is sanctioning their destruction for low grade paper products for the Asian market," said spokesperson Ed Hill.

 

"Forestry Tasmania claims yesterday that coupe FO44A in the Upper Florentine has a "very high volume" of sawlogs are utterly ridiculous. Last January Forestry Tasmania publicly conceded that 80 to 90% of the timber in the coupe would be woodchipped. How can anyone believe Ken Jefferey's out right lies regarding saw log volume when Forestry Tasmania have already admitted that the vast majority of the coupe will be chipped. The fact of the matter is that the forest is so ancient that there simply aren't many saw logs in their to start with. Most trees are very old, hollow, twisted and unsuitable for milling. Forestry's pathetic lies over saw log volume are an attempt to convince a very sceptical public of the legitimacy of the operation which is clearly woodchip driven," Ed Hill said.

 

"We are already seeing the start of a massive down turn in the woodchip market, with ports drowning under woodchip stockpiles and mills being forced to close periodically. Why then does the Labor government insist on decimating these last pristine areas that will be thrown on the chip heap and attempted to be sold in an increasingly stagnant market?"

"This is a last ditch effort by Forestry Tasmania under the guidance of Gunns and with the financial backing of the Bartlett government to systematically destroy these final areas before a senate inquiry recommends changes to the regional forest agreement to not be exempt from the Environment Protection Biodiversity and Conservation Act," concluded spokesperson Ed Hill.