A group of environmental activists have reportedly halted logging operations in the West (Wellington) kunanyi Range, near Hobart.
28-year-old Grassroots Action Network Tasmania member Hughie has suspended himself from a 9-metre structure tied to logging vehicles, preventing any work from being carried out.
The group is demanding an end to ecosystem destruction and an alternative pathway forward for Tasmania based on truth-telling, justice and belonging.
“I am here because I have a profound love for and connection with this island and a deep hope that we can find another way forward,” Hughie said.
“We are not only part of these ecosystems but also rely on them to survive.”
“As long as we continue to desecrate this island and send it as plunder overseas in ships, we can never truly belong.”
The action is part of 20 days of protests called by Pakana Elder Uncle Jim Everett in the lead-up to Australia Day.
They say the West (Wellington) kunanyi Range has been heavily logged in recent decades and is now a mix of clearfells, plantations and native forests.
“Lutruwita has already lost the vast majority of its old forests to native forest logging,” the group said.
“This pillaging of the environment is creating severe consequences that affect us all, irrevocably damaging water catchments, destroying biodiversity, ruining carbon stocks and making communities more vulnerable to fire.”
The group says the main product from native forest logging is woodchips for export, which they say results in “community conflict and the desecration of sacred ecosystems.”
“Of course, this devastation of Lutruwita’s ecosystems has not come about by chance, but is the result of structures that rule over us all,” they said.
“Capitalism and colonialism violently control every aspect of our lives.”
The activists plan to continue defending the forests throughout the summer and will hold a Forest Fest on January 19 near Lonnavale.
