15 members of the community based direct action group Code Green have today staged a dramatic protest outside the state labour conference in Launceston. Two activists scaled 12m high flagpoles outside the Country Club Casino and unfurled a banner calling for the immediate placement of 572 000 ha of high conservation value native forest into formal reserves.
“The current Heads of Agreement deal does nothing to ensure the formal protection of Tasmania’s unique native forests and only delivers a short term band-aid for a failed forest industry,”* Code Green spokesperson Ali Alishah said.
“The deal for 430 000ha of informal reserves falls well short of the assured protection of 572 000ha of native forest identified by signatories to the Statement of Principles Agreement,”* Mr Alishah said.
“Industrial scale logging is still free to continue in irreplaceable tracts of native forest critical to Tasmania’s future.”
The protest comes on the same day as hundreds of people are expected to attend a rally outside parliament house in Hobart encouraging Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Premier Lara Giddings to ensure the protection of these forests in the announcement of the finalised inter-governmental agreement this weekend.
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update: Two protesters arrested outside state labour conference
Two protesters arrested outside state labour conference
Two protesters from environmental group CODE GREEN have been arrested and charged with trespass after unfurling a banner at Launceston’s Country Club Casio. The protesters, one local female aged 19 and one local male aged 19, were released on bail from the Launceston police station this afternoon.
They have been bailed to appear on October 11th in the Launceston Magistrates Court. Their bail conditions restrict them from being within 300m of Launceston Country Club Casino.
The CODE GREEN demonstration which was held outside the state labour conference was calling for the immediate placement of 572 000 ha of high conservation value native forest into formal reserves.
"The current Heads of Agreement deal does nothing to ensure the formal protection of Tasmania’s unique native forests and only delivers a short term band-aid for a failed forest industry," *Code Green spokesperson Ali Alishah said.
"The deal for 430 000ha of informal reserves falls well short of the assured protection of 572 000ha of native forest identified by signatories to the Statement of Principles Agreement,"* Mr Alishah said.
“Industrial scale logging is still free to continue in irreplaceable tracts of native forest critical to Tasmania’s future.”