Jim McIlroy, Brisbane
"Can you imagine being sued for trying to protect something irreplaceable?" That was theme of a public meeting of 150 people held in the Powerhouse on August 30.
The meeting launched a national tour sponsored by the Wilderness Society to publicise the defence campaign against a $6.8 million lawsuit brought by Tasmanian-based timber company Gunns Ltd. Gunns, Australia's largest woodchip exporter, is suing 17 individuals and three organisations active in the struggle to protect Tasmania's old-growth forests.
According to a campaign brochure, "Gunns Ltd is claiming damages through media statements, and what they claim is unlawful lobbying of shareholders, customers and governments and disruptions to its logging operations. This is a landmark case which may forever change the face of free speech in Australia."
Wilderness Society national campaign director Alec Marr described as "Defendant number one", told the Brisbane meeting that "the effect of this lawsuit on community groups is devastating.
"The Wilderness Society is an organisation that is willing to take a stand. Gunns have bought into confrontation, [but] we are in the final stages of winning the Tasmanian forests campaign. This is a desperate attempt by Gunns to keep hold of the agenda."
Marr welcomed the turn-out to the meeting as the start of a national campaign to "make sure our civil liberties are protected. The environment movement will come out of this case stronger than ever", he said.
"It's a sin to log old-growth forests", theologian and historian Paul Collins told the meeting. "Destruction of the environment is unethical. It is removing a vital resource needed for future generations.
"But environmentalists are very tough. They won't give up. These people will succeed", he concluded.
The campaign brochure urges people to "ensure that Australians can continue to stand up for the future they believe in, without fear of being dragged to court. Write to your local state and federal members of Parliament urging them to introduce laws which protect participation in public debate, and discourage law suits which can stifle free speech ... The costs for those defending our forests is enormous. Please help the defendants to defend the forests, and free speech, by donating generously."
Donations are be payable to: Friends of the Forests and Free Speech Inc., GPO Box 716, Hobart 7001. For more information, visit <http://www.treedomfighters.org.au>.
From Green Left Weekly, September 7, 2005.
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