Join us on Wednesday 15^th February 2012 to stand up for our forests, support Miranda Gibson’s inspiring action and get logging out of our native forests forever.

Sometimes the actions of one person can inspire thousands of others.

As you read this, Tasmanian forest activist Miranda Gibson has been living on a platform 60m high in the tall trees of Tasmania’s western wilderness for over 6 weeks. Miranda has vowed to remain where she is until Tasmania’s forests receive protection. If you haven’t already heard about Miranda’s inspiring action, you can follow her blog at http://observertree.org

Tasmania’s forests were promised protection by the Australian Government last year. However, logging continues as rapidly as ever. Malaysian timber giant Ta Ann has played a key role in ensuring these forests remain unprotected. Despite labeling some of its products as éco ply’, Ta Ann continues to receive timber from old growth forests in Tasmania, rejecting timber from plantations. The timber is exported and sold in Japan, China and Europe. To read more about Ta Ann and its forest-destroying activities, check out this great report by the Huon Valley Environment Centre http://bit.ly/mRlUbs

The campaign had a major success last month with one of Ta Ann’s customers UK company International Plywood cancelling its wood contract after hearing about Tasmanian forest destruction. Now it’s time to call on Ta Ann’s major international customers, based in Japan, to follow suit and stop buying wood from our precious native forests.  The recent success shows that change is possible. These companies hold the key to forest protection in Tasmania.

 We need your help to send a clear message to Ta Ann and its customers that Australia and the global community will not accept native forest destruction!   

Take a stand for our spectacular forests and join us right across Australia on Wednesday 15^th February 2012 to take part in a massive 24 hours of action that is happening around the world from 14 – 15 February.*
 
It’s easy to take part in this global 24 hours of action! There are two things you can do:

1.      (The simple option)

All you need to do is gather a few friends, paint a banner, photograph yourselves with it and email us the photo. We also have posters and fliers we can send you with a bit more information about the campaign and things people can do to help.

2. (If you can do something a bit more technical)

Get hold of a good projector and project some of Miranda’s footage of the forest (which we can send you) onto a wall in a prominent location – the bigger the image the better! If logging has started we will send you footage of logging, if not we will have other images of the forest and the species that live in it. We are really excited about this aspect of the action as we think it will communicate the forest destruction to passers-by in a very powerful way.

We’re really keen to raise as much awareness as possible about this huge action, so if you could help us with spreading the word, that would be ace!
 
Please contact us right away on observertree2011@gmail.com if you would like to take part in the action, put posters up in your area, or help us with promotion, and we will send you more action details via our super sonic electro carrier pigeon.
 
* Because of differences in time zones, the action will be held over 14 & 15 February (Weds 15^th Feb in Australia). Contact us at observertree2011@gmail.com for more info.

Click here for more information on the No Harvey Norman campaign

Sunday August 14th, 2011

Come out to camp and visit the crew who are holding the blockade this winter.
Bring a picnic lunch, raincoat and sturdy shoes.
Come and enjoy a day in the spectacular forests of the Upper Florentine Valley.

Gordon River Road, 20kms west of Maydena, on the way towards Lake Pedder.

 See you there!

 (poster attached below, please feel free to distribute)

The Greens and a coalition of Tasmania's forest campaign groups have
agreed to hold a rally for the urgent protection of Tasmania's
572,000ha of recognized high-conservation value forests.

*  Parliament House Lawns, Hobart
*  10:30am (sharp) to 11:15am
*  Saturday 6th August 2011

This will be a celebration of the forests as well as a call for
action. Please bring banners, hand-outs etc, See you there!

MEDIA RELEASE: 23-07-2011
Conservationists shut down Harvey Norman outlet in Nowra

This morning 12 conservationists have shut down the Harvey Norman store in Nowra. The company is being targeted for selling furniture and flooring made from native forest timbers.
One activist has climbed atop a lamp post in the store’s carpark and is suspended by cables that are attached to structures blocking access to the store. A coalition of grassroots conservation groups from across Australia have come together to take part in today’s action. These groups include South East Forest Rescue, Still Wild Still Threatened, Chip Stop and Friends of Five Forests.

“Recent research has shown clearly that Harvey Norman are implicated in the industrial scale destruction of irreplaceable forests across Australia” said Miranda Gibson, spokesperson for the coalition.
“Pristine forests are being destroyed every day in Australia, threatening endangered species, degrading water catchments and contributing to climate change. This wood is then being shipped overseas to China and brought back to Australia to be sold as furniture in Harvey Norman stores."

“Within kilometers of this furniture store the pristine forests of the south east coast are being decimated at an alarming rate. Habitat areas for koalas, yellow-belly gliders and powerful owls are being lost. It’s time for retailers to take responsibility and bring an end to native forest logging in this country” said Lisa Stone from South East Forest Rescue.

“We are calling on Harvey Norman to stop sourcing timber from native forest, and start using alternatives such as plantation and recycled timber” said Ms Gibson.

For more information on Harvey Norman campaign: www.noharveyno.net, www.thelaststand.org.au, www.marketsforchange.org

WATCH THE VIDEO

Click here to find out about other recent actions around the country. 

July 25th 2011
Protesters abseil from Parliament House Canberra in a call for real forest protection.

Two conservationists have abseiled from the roof of Parliament House in Canberra, in response to yesterday’s announcement by the Labor Government on a Tasmanian forest agreement.

“We are on the roof of Parliament House today sending a clear message to Julia Gillard and Tony Burke that urgent action is needed to address the substantial short-falls of yesterdays’ Heads of Agreement announcement” said Miranda Gibson, spokesperson for Still Wild Still Threatened

Yesterday’s announcement falls embarrassingly short of the promised 572,000. What significant areas of pristine native forest will be lost if over 140,000 hectares is removed from the reserve agenda?” said Ms Gibson, spokesperson for Still Wild Still Threatened.
“The current agreement risks further entrenching the outdated and failing logging industry, while placing conservation outcomes secondary. Urgent action is needed from the Labor government to ensure that this opportunity to protect Tasmania’s world class forest is not lost. Over the next two weeks, the details of the agreement will be finalised and we are calling on the government to immediately place the full 572,000 hectares into formal reserves” 

“Hundreds of hectares of pristine forest is being lost everyday and this will continue unless the government takes action to provide immediate formal protection.” said Ms Gibson. “The prioritisation of industry contracts over much-needed environmental outcomes opens up future national parks and World Heritage Areas to be lost to industrial scale logging over the next 12 months, if this agreement is not changed” 

“Gillard and Burke must take action to ensure the Intergovernmental Agreement provides real forest protection through a legislated full reduction in saw log and veneer quotas and full extinguishment of those native forest quotas that are handed back” said Ms Gibson.
“If the Labor government fails to act now to ensure conservation outcomes are prioritised in the Intergovernmental Agreement they will be breaking the commitment they made to Statement of Principles and failing the Tasmanian community” 

Media Update: July 25th 2011

Police remove protesters from the roof of Parliament House Canberra
Two conservationists were removed from the roof of Parliament House in Canberra by Parliamentary security and Australian Federal Police. The two protesters were taken by ACT police but were released without charge.

“Today’s action was taken in response to yesterday’s announcement of a forest agreement. This Heads of Agreement falls far short of the conservation outcomes that are needed in Tasmania. The current agreement offers little protection for our forests and as long as Tasmania’s precious high conservation value forests are falling we will continue to take peaceful protest actions” said Ms Gibson.

Still Wild Still Threatened and the Huon Valley Environment Centre have serious concerns about the so-called forest peace deal. Although the agreement purports to offer protection for high conservation value forests, there are details within the document that contradict this claim.
“The Tasmanian community has been calling for the protection of our precious native forests. We would welcome any agreement that guaranteed the environmental outcomes that are needed for our forests. However, we have serious concerns that logging contracts will be further entrenched and conservation outcomes placed secondary to such contracts. We are asking the government to confirm their commitment to conservation in Tasmania through a full reduction in the saw log quota, below 150,000 m3” said Still Wild Still Threatened spokesperson, Miranda Gibson.
“The Huon Valley Environment Centre and Still Wild Still Threatened have serious concerns that this agreement will lock in native forest logging in Tasmania with no end in sight. How can the Tasmanian community support the locking in of logging contracts with Malaysian company Ta Ann until 2042? Our precious high conservation value forests cannot afford another thirty years of industrial scale destruction” said Huon Valley Environment Centre spokesperson, Jenny Weber.
“The current agreement allows the high conservation value agenda to be reduced to 360,000 – 430,000 hectares. What significant areas of wildlife habitat, water catchments, biodiversity hotspots and pristine ancient forests will be lost if over 170,000 hectares is removed from the original reserve agenda? We are calling on the State and Federal governments to legislatively reduce the saw log quota to enable to full hectares to be protected” said Ms Gibson.
“Tasmania is home to world class ancient forests that both the World Heritage Committee and the IUCN have agreed should be included in a World Heritage Area. We have serious concerns that the current agreement fails to include the nomination of these forests for World Heritage and we are asking the State and Federal government to confirm their commitment to protecting these forests through a nomination process” said Ms Weber.
“We are calling on the State and Federal governments to take into account the conservation outcomes that Tasmania needs, and provide the full legislated protection of all high conservation value forests and a swift transition out of industrial scale native forest logging” said Ms Gibson.

A coalition of environment groups have launched a new advertising
campaign to highlight the bad choices that the State Government is
making in the lead up to the State Budget. The ad is running in prime
time TV slots across southern Tasmania and is augmented by commercial
radio advertising in northern Tasmania.

Watch the ad

This morning the Hobart office of Forestry Tasmania was shut down by 35 conservationists, calling for the protection of Tasmania's native forests. All entrances to the building were blocked by conservationists from 5:00am today. One protestor remains atop a flag-pole on the roof of the building, suspended on a platform which is held by cables strung across the doorways, blocking acess to forestry offices. A banner hangs from the platform reading "Protect Native Forests." A further nine protestors have attached themselves across gates and doorways with chains and locks. A coalition of groups including Still Wild Still Threatened, the Huon Valley Environment Centre and Code Green are taking part in today's peaceful action.

 "Forestry Tasmania has made a complete mockery of the moratorium process, following its own rogue agenda of new roading and increased logging of our irreplaceable high conservation value forests, against the will of the Tasmanain people. This blatant disregard for the moratorium process exemplifies that Forestry Tasmania is accountable to no one" said Miranda Gibson, spokesperson for Still Wild Still Threatened. 

"There is a fundamental conflict of interest when a government business enterprise whose main interests lie in clear-felling and burning our world class forests is given the responsibility of implementing forest conservation. One month on from the moratorium deadline and Forestry Tasmania have still made no progress on transitioning out of high conservation value forests, despite further decreases in the woodchip market due to the temporary closure of Triabunna woodchip mill" said Ms Gibson. 

"The Tasmanian community has had enough. Our forests are too precious to be left in the hands of the incompetent and unaccountable organisation that is Forestry Tasmania. The State Government needs to take responsibility for it's State Forests and no longer hide behind Forestry Tasmania. We are calling on the Giddings Government to abolish Forestry Tasmania and immeditely halt the destruction of our spectacular native forests" said Ms Gibson. 

Watch video

Mercury footage