Tasmanian Greens Leader Rosalie Woodruff has called for a halt to logging in the Arthur River forests, saying the endangered Masked Owl is under threat.
In the past month, over 100 people “from all walks of life” have joined protests against the planned logging, Woodruff said.
“This is a precious part of the Tarkine region. In just 10 days, 111 Masked Owls were recorded in the area,” she said.
“Logging is a major threat to the survival of this special bird. The Forest Practices Authority’s technical guidelines identify clearing of its habitat as a main threat to the population.”
Minister for Business, Industry and Resources Eric Abetz responded by saying workers are entitled to a safe place of work and protesters should not be “endangering or inconveniencing” those who earn their living from the forests.
“I would simply put to those from the Green Party in particular, if people objected to what you were doing in this place and therefore chained themselves to your house or to your office door so you could not get access to undertake your work of the day, I am sure you would be the first to complain and you would be entitled to complain,” he said.
“What I would suggest to you is that it is a two-way street in relation to civility and protest within our community.”
He said protests are appropriate but must be “within civil boundaries”.
“If somebody sitting here in this Parliament representing a southern seat somehow believes that she knows better than the experts who make these assessments, then she can be under that delusion,” Abetz said.
He said the Forest Practices Authority “might have a better handle on these things than the Tasmanian Greens”.
“Will I intervene? No, I will not,” he said.
