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A forest contractor this morning removed his work crew from a coupe in the southern forest to avoid conflict with a small group of activists.
Forestry Tasmania's General Manager Corporate Relations and Tourism Ken Jeffreys said the work crew was re-deployed when the tripod erected by a group of six was found this morning.
Mr Jeffreys said there had been not one illegal protest in the summer leading up to the election, but two have been held in the space of a fortnight since the poll.
"People have a right to protest, provided those protests are legal and safe,” he said.
"The Wilderness Society regularly applies for permission to hold protest events in state forests and these other groups should follow suit. All we need to know is where and when, and that the groups have the appropriate insurances and will indemnify Forestry Tasmania should anything go wrong.
" Application forms for events, (including lawful protests) on State forest can be downloaded from forestrytas.com.au/publications click here
Mr Jeffreys said Forestry Tasmania's management of production forest near World Heritage Areas was praised by an expert committee of UNESCO in 2008.
"The report found there was an appropriate balance between conservation and timber production and concluded that: “The threats to these forests from production forestry activities are well managed and there is no need for the boundary of the property to be changed.”
The report clearly states that since the WHA was expanded: “ the logging practices in the adjoining areas of the TWWHA have gone through extensive reviews, accreditations and are assessed as meeting international standards. The logging practices emulate, up to a point, these natural processes.”
For more information on the UNESCO report click here
ENDS
1 April, 2010
