The Rape of Tasmania
Elizabeth Cage
I recently read this year-old article about the destruction of old-growth forests in Tasmania by novellist Richard Flanagan (Gould's Book of Fish) and thought Oregonians involved in environmental issues might find it an interesting look at a similar fight in a similar place on the other side of the world.
The Rape of Tasmania
By RICHARD FLANAGAN
The written history of corruption in Tasmania goes like this ...
In 1989, Eddie Rouse, Tasmanian media magnate and chairman of the Tasmanian logging company Gunns, became concerned that the election of a Labor-Green government with a one-seat majority might affect his logging profits.
Rouse attempted to bribe a Labor member, Jim Cox, to cross the floor, thereby bringing down the government and clearing the way for Robin Gray and the Liberal Party to resume power.
Cox went to the police, the plot was exposed, a royal commission and Rouse's fall from grace and imprisonment ensued.
But what of the unwritten history?
Fourteen years after the bribery scandal, an ageing Tasmanian forester called Bill Manning, subpoenaed to testify in front of a Senate committee investigating the Tasmanian forestry industry, began slowly and methodically to unravel a tale of an environmental catastrophe on a vast, almost incomprehensible, scale; of industry connivance and government complicity. In any other state, such evidence would threaten to bring down the government of the day.
His detailed, carefully presented evidence suggested that the forestry industry was not only systematically destroying globally unique forests, but poisoning the very fabric of Tasmanian politics and life.
Manning is no greenie hardliner. He is a man who has worked for 30 years in the Tasmanian forests, who believes the forests ought to be logged, but logged so that they remain for the future. Yet he alleged to the Senate committee that forestry management had been corrupted. At the hearing, he painted a picture of the illegal destruction of public forests on a scale so vast that it was transforming the landscape of Tasmania. Branding what was happening in Tasmania "an ecological disaster", Manning talked of how an "accelerated and unaccountable logging industry" was destroying wholesale native forests, "which are unique in the world for their flora and fauna".
Read the complete article here: http://home.iprimus.com.au/ltuffin/flanaganrape.html
ADDENDUM: Since this article was published about a year ago then Tasmanian Premier Jim Bacon was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer and died some months later (a heavy life-long smoker on announcing his illness he noted he had no one but himself to blame, strongly urged kids not to take it up and current smokers to quit -- it was heart felt and effective. The government run smokers quit-line had a huge increase in calls from people wanting to quit in the wake of Bacon's announcement. At his side at the time was his wife Honey, yes, Honey Bacon.) The deputy premier in this article, Paul Lennon, has since become premier. During our federal election last October, the Labor Party belatedly announced a forest policy which was just progressive enough to upset the Tasmanian status quo. When the sitting Liberal Prime Minister John Howard visited the state he was greeted warmly by some Labor leadership and rank-and-file. Public demonstrations of regional differences within the party is very, very rare here and just not a done thing. A couple of Tasmanian Labor members of Parliament lost their seats in the election. The rift continues ... one of many within the Labor Party at present.
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Jan 26, '05
See more about the vandalism in Tasmania and the bent government behind it. http://www.Discover-Tasmania.com http://www.NEWS-TASMANIA.com http://www.BusinessTasmania.com http://McGunns.com
Jan 26, '05
The biggest recent development in this story is that Gunns have taken out a 6 million dollar SLAPP* lawsuit against 20 forest activists from Senator and Greens Leader Bob Brown, down to people who just happened to be involved in some of the protest actions.
As is common, the lawsuit is somewhat indirect, based on things like interference with contract, and health and safety regulations.
Jan 27, '05
I personally visited the STYX valley old growth logging coupes in tasmania in December (SX13C) with my family - it is every bit as bad as people say - actually it is worse -I am well aware of these issues but have never seen it first hand before - we literally cried . PLEASE DO ALL YOU CAN TO HELP -this is world level destruction
They are woodchipping COOL temperate (rarest) rainforest in the tarkine area - see www.tnc.org or search on tarkine in google --you wont find 'Tarkine' in any tourism tasmania maps!! -the invisible 350,000 hectares in the north east near shipton.
9:12 a.m.
Jan 27, '05
The opening to this post makes it sound like the novelist Richard Flanagan is destroying old growth forests in Tasmania.
It did catch my eye.
Jan 27, '05
The Tarkine National Coalition website is at: http://www.Tarkine.org
Jan 27, '05
I have a house on the edge of the Tarkine so know it well. It is a political boundary, the name proposed originally by Bob Brown, the Australian Greens leader. The word comes from one band of an aboriginal tribe once living in the north-west. It is a natural(but not legislative) northerly extension of the World Heritage area that covers much of the south west of Tasmania and contains the type of rainforest vegetation that people come to film dinosaur programs through. It is awesomely beautiful and largely forgotten or disregarded by man until quite recently. A certain woodchipping company noted here that is hand in glove with the state government would like nothing more than to see it raized to the ground, firebombed, 1080'ed and replaced with uniform plantation. Anyone who has an affinity with nature and sees this vandalism firsthand is stricken with deep sadness that people would destroy it for a few dollars. This is a cool temperate rainforest of international size and significance under real threat. Many ordinary Tasmanians are at their wits end as to how to stop this as those in power in the state consider only logging interests. They are now relying on Federal government intervention and international pressure.
What can you do? Become a Tarkine National Coalition or Wilderness Society member http://www.tarkine.org/what_to_do/index.htm
Donate to those being sued by Gunns, http://www.wilderness.org.au/campaigns/forests/gunns_sues_TWS/
Email the prime minister of Australia, or send him a letter, http://www.pm.gov.au/email.cfm
Email or write to those who turn a blind eye. Ken Bacon, Paul Lennon. http://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/ha/halist.htm
Tell people about it.
Here is a page that has a map and details of a self-drive tour around the area. http://www.wilderness.org.au/campaigns/forests/tasmania/tarkine/tark_self/
Jan 30, '05
Hi, I live in the North West of Tassie not far from the Tarkine.
Click the 'forestry' link on the left hand side. You can then download a copy of my recent submission to the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation referral unit.
The sub describes the multitude of ways the environment (and Tasmanians) are being poisoned.
Jan 30, '05
It seems by what Elizabeth Cage wrote, Oregon and Tasmania may have similar forestry problems. I wonder if Oregonians are suffering the same dramatic rise of cancer in the community as Tasmania is experiencing. See the Tasmanian problem here: http://www.NEWS-TASMANIA.com
Jan 30, '05
I'm sure someone more knowledgable than I could speak to Janet's comment but from my memories of living in Oregon there's no way anyone was using Napalm to burn off clear-cuts -- which I'd guess is related to cancer in Tasmania.
By the way I find it really weird that just about everyone who has commented on this posting has been Tasmanian or someone campaigning around this issue. I guess the activists troll the web looking for opportunities to futher the cause?
Jan 31, '05
Actvists Elizabeth?
Well if standing up for ones rights to have clean uncontaminated drinking water instead of having toxins flow into it is being an activist, then so be it.
What would you do in the same circumstances Elizabeth?
And moaning about Tasmanians contributing to an internet forum that has a Tasmanian newspaper article as its subject?
What did you expect?
Feb 1, '05
Whoa there, Tony. I don't know why you thought my question was critical. Being an activist is a good thing, I respect activists and would describe myself as activist about certain issues. I didn't expect that on a blog by and intended for Oregonians that so many Tasmanians would comment on my post and wondered how that happened. I wouldn't have posted this message in the first place if I thought wood chipping old-growth forests was a good idea and that the activists fighting the same were bad.
Feb 3, '05
Further to the comment by Brenda above, the web address of her submission to the government is at
http://www.members.iinet.com.au/~rkildar1/forestryIndex.html
<h2>It is more than a little disturbing and catalogues many abuses injurous to native flora, fauna and the health of people on the island.</h2>