Media Release 10 May 2012 - In Tasmania today, two protesters have been arrested after boarding a veneer vessel at the Hobart wharf, after a peaceful demonstration about Ta Ann loading world heritage value forests as veneer for export.
Both women were arrested for trespass and are being held on remand till they appear in Hobart magistrates court this afternoon at 2pm. Rosie Phillips of Lachlan was arrested for trespass after climbing one of the loading cranes. Rhiannon Curtis from the United Kingdom was arrested with trespass and resist arrest after attaching herself to the gangplank on the vessel.
“Today’s protest was held to demonstrate our opposition to the ongoing logging of Tasmania’s world heritage value forests. Ongoing logging in areas such as the Picton Valley and Butlers Gorge are being driven by the wood supply contract to Ta Ann, these forests are in urgent need for protection before the values are lost,” Huon Valley Environment Centre’s Jenny Weber said.
“Ta Ann is driving the logging of forests that have been verified as having conservation values by the independent experts appointed by the Intergovernmental Agreement.
However, Ta Ann falsely claims that their timber from Tasmania is from plantations, regrowth and environmentally friendly practices. As recent as this week, Malaysian news reports and Australian online industry news, claimed that ‘Ta Ann is producing eco-friendly products for the Japanese market using entirely imported logs from its plantation in Tasmania’,” Jenny Weber said.
