BY JIM McILROY
BRISBANE — Protesters gathered outside Queensland parliament here on April 20 to highlight the threat to the environment posed by large-scale land clearing in the state. An estimated 80% of all land-clearing in Australia takes place in the state. This contributes significantly to the production of greenhouse gases. Australia has one of the worst rates of greenhouse gas emissions per capita in the world.
The demonstrators delivered a statement addressed to Labor Premier Peter Beattie and then marched to the offices of insurance giant AMP in the city, where a list of demands were presented to a representative of the company.
AMP owns Stanbroke Pastoral Company, the largest landholder and cattle producer in the world. AMP/Stanbroke has over 132,000 hectares of tree-clearing permits or applications on their leasehold properties in Queensland. Nearly 9000 hectares of this is old-growth woodlands and forests.
The protesters demanded that AMP place a permanent moratorium on the clearing of old-growth woodlands, and place a moratorium on the clearing of other woodlands until the areas have been properly assessed.