Protect Tasmania's Native Forests
Sixty-seven prominent Australians have signed an open letter congratulating the Victorian government for ending native forest logging and calling on the Tasmanian Premier to follow suit and protect Tasmania's native forests.
Signatories include: Independent federal MPs Zali Steggall and Zoe Daniel, Olympic legend Ian Thorpe, renowned authors Tim Winton and Richard Flanagan, renowned actors Claudia Karvan, Essie Davis and Miriam Margolyes, former federal Greens leaders Bob Brown, Richard Di Natale and Christine Milne, Violent Femmes bassist and MONA music director Brian Ritchie, Lime Cordiale lead singer Oliver Liembach and 2017 Australian of the Year Tim Flannery.
Australia Institute research shows ending native forest logging is not just good environmental policy, but good economic policy.
Add your name to the open letter >
To Premier Jeremy Rockliff
Victoria ending native forest logging is a win for its economy, communities, climate and wildlife.
It’s time for lutruwita/Tasmania to follow suit and protect our native forests.
Successive Tasmanian Governments have provided over $1 billion in subsidies to the Tasmanian Forestry industry over the past 20 years. This money could be invested elsewhere, for nurses, for teachers and for new homes.
The majority of Tasmania’s native forests end up as woodchips and waste. It is not essential for housing. We use plantation-based pine for housing frames. Australia remains the only developed nation on WWF’s list of global deforestations fronts. Aotearoa/New Zealand stopped logging its native forests in 2002 and today has a thriving plantation forestry industry.
Now is the time to protect Tasmania’s irreplaceable native forests and support native forestry workers to move to sustainable industries.
Let this be the year Tasmania protects its magnificent, globally significant forests.