By Paul Oosting - GetUp!
It’s little known outside of Tasmania. A place of sweeping beaches, temperate rainforest, sand dunes and pristine river systems; along with more than 60 species of threatened, rare or endangered animals – including a certain famous devil, the world’s largest freshwater crustacean and Australia’s largest eagle. It’s the Tarkine Rainforest: a living, breathing relic of Earth’s original super continent, Gondwanaland, and the second largest intact stretch of rainforest in the world. But if we’re not vocal, it will soon be home to some of Tasmania’s newest open cut mines.
So remarkable is this place, that you would think it out of the question that we could willingly destroy or damage it in any way. Yet, Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke has not even visited the area. Meanwhile, the mining companies want in and the Tassie State government is turning the pressure up on Minister Burke to look the other way. Tell Tony Burke not to buckle, and ask him to visit the Tarkine before it’s too late. We’ve made a video to help pique Tony's interest and spread the word.
For the last several years, politicians have been granting the Tarkine emergency heritage status in order to keep the mining and logging companies at bay while they consider whether to permanently protect this valuable region. Earlier this year the Australia Heritage Council made a clear recommendation: protect the Tarkine. But Tony Burke has let its emergency heritage status expire, and has yet to decide what he’ll do next.
Tony Burke has a reputation for being a hands-on politician who likes to visit places and get information on the ground before making decisions. That’s why we have a chopper and a team of experts standing by, ready to take him straight into the heart of the rainforest for an insider’s tour he’ll never forget. But we need public pressure to make it happen. Invite Tony to visit the Tarkine now, and show community support for protecting this priceless yet little-known expanse of pristine nature from destruction.
www.getup.org.au/visit-the-tarkine
The mines propsed in the Tarkine rainforest are enormous – one of the three mines planned for development in the next 18 months would be the equivalent of 420 Melbourne Cricket Grounds’ wide and twice as deep as the tallest point on Sydney Harbour Bridge.
It’s simply unacceptable. Watch the video, and invite the Environment Minister to see for himself why we must protect this place before it's too late. When we hand-deliver your invitation signed by thousands of Australians, we'll also present him with a giant airplane ticket and 'National Park Pass' -- www.getup.org.au/visit-the-tarkine.
Thanks,
Paul Oosting - for the GetUp team
PS - Do you live near the Tarkine? Would you like to personally volunteer to give the Minister a tour of the area? Let us know by replying to info@getup.org.au.
