At the heart of Tasmania's Southern Forests, wild rivers flow through valleys containing forests which evolved from the ancient continent of Gondwanaland. In the valleys of the Styx, UpperFlorentine, Middle Huon, Weld, and Upper Derwent flourish some of the world's oldest and mostspectacular ecosystems. - Still Wild, Still Threatened Campaign Site
7 May: The Sydney Morning Herald is talking about the "battle on two fronts to remove protesters", and warning of activists leaving booby traps in the forest. Two weeks ago an arson attack destroyed $1.2 million worth of forestry equipment [ Article ]
6 May: Two activists are being charged with assault despite claiming that they were assaulted by a member of forestry Tasmania. [ Upper Florentine newsblog ]
5 May: At 2:30 this afternoon a 26 year old female forest defender was removed from a 45 metre high tree sit by Police Rescue. Police continue to climb trees to remove more tree sits in the area. Logging machinery is expected to arrive tomorrow and stop work protests are expected to take place. [ Media Release ]
4 May: 60 Police have raided camp Florentine this morning to remove road blockades so that logging of the contentious area can begin. An Exclusion Zone has been declared by Forestry Tasmania, to prevent public access to the area. A Hobart man has already been arrested for being in the exclusion zone. More arrests are expected today. [ Report | Video ]
The Wilderness Society has placed an advertisement in Britain's Financial Times warning European banks they will be "pulping their profits'' if they finance the controversial mill proposed for Tasmania's Tamar Valley. The Tasmanian Forest Industries Association has described the society's action as "tantamount to economic sabotage''. Insiders have told GetUp! that the full-page ad in The Australian on Wednesday has scared banks off the Gunns pulp mill and sparked crisis meetings to discuss the ad’s effect.
[ Wilderness Society campaign Site | SydneyIndy: Ad scared banks ]