Activists storm forestry office
By Nick Fredman
LISMORE — Seventy activists from the North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) occupied the Casino office of State Forests on October 20 to highlight the Carr Labor government's failure to put forward an adequate reserve system for the protection of old-growth forests.
The action follows the breakdown of negotiations around a regional forest agreement (RFA) for the north-east forests, which were meant to find a compromise between conservationists, industry, unions and Aboriginal groups.
State Forests' proposal was "a mirror image of the industry position", NEFA's Sue Higginson told Green Left Weekly. It sought to exempt State Forests and the timber industry "from regulatory controls such as species protection and water protection".
Contrary to Carr's election commitment to save all high conservation value, old-growth forests, the state government position gives industry access to 90% of loggable areas in NSW, including significant amounts of old growth, Higginson said.
The RFA process has been worthwhile, according to Higginson, because part of the process has been the systematic collection of data about disputed forest areas.
"Carr's going to come and say, 'Here are 52 new national parks'", Higginson added. "He can say what he likes, but the data is there to show him up."
The activists hung banners from the office's windows, sent phone and fax messages to the state government and then left peacefully when police were called.
NEFA has put forward an alternative model for the timber industry. The "Public Interest Plan", proposed by conservation groups in the RFA negotiations, calls for adding 100,000 hectares of national parks over the next 10 years.
It also calls for sustainable timber and forest industries, including timber plantations and the use of forests for tourism, education, nurseries and food production.
Higginson stressed that conservation groups would be "back to the forests" for blockades if any further old-growth areas were threatened.