In the Northern Rivers’ largest forest protest of recent years, nearly 1500 attended Lismore’s rally for Native Forests, despite the heavy rain showers and soaring heat on Sunday.
The colourful and creative event featured a disco flashmob, a choir, livestream footage of a greater glider den, performers including Nidala Barker, Olivia Roseberry and Terri Nicholson and speakers including Uncle Gilbert, Mandy Nolan and Dailan Pugh.
Over 1000 attendees marched through the streets, pausing at the offices of State Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin and Federal MP for Page Kevin Hogan to remember how our representatives have failed to protect native forests.
President of the North East Forest Alliance, Dailan Pugh, expressed concern about the impact of logging on the koala populations in local forests, including Cherry Tree State Forest which was one of very few that escaped the 2019-20 bush fires.
“From my surveys in Cherry Tree State Forest I found koalas to be widespread due to a density of 18 preferred feed trees per hectare,” Mr Pugh said. “These are trees over 30cm diameter and 90 years old of small-fruited grey gum, tallowwood and forest red gum.”
“The NSW Forestry Corporation are allowed to log some 80% of these preferred feed trees, which across the 737 ha proposed for logging totals over 10,000 mature feed trees, the loss of which will have a massive impact on this koala population for the next century.”
Across 14 locations nationwide, over 15,000 people marched in the streets on Sunday as the Bob Brown Foundation mobilised its largest-ever annual call for an end to native forest logging and mining.
“Thousands of good-hearted people voted with their feet today to end native forest logging. C’mon Albo, listen to Australians and act to save the forests.
“End putting taxpayers’ money into this evil and unnecessary industry.”
“Polls show that voters of every political persuasion want to save what is left of Australia’s native forests. The voice for forests is getting louder every day, every month, every year,” Bob Brown said.
Jenny Weber, Bob Brown Foundation’s campaigns director, said, “Today, we mobilised 15,000 people across this nation in solidarity for forest protection. We marched in Hobart, the capital city of a state that logs critically endangered Swift Parrot breeding habitat.
We marched in Western Australia, in Perth and Margaret River, where the mining companies Alcoa and South32 want to continue clearing forests even though Bauxite mining is now the leading cause of deforestation in the state’s southwest.
“In Queensland, we marched to Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt’s office, as he stands with the logging and mining industries to keep clearing forests. In six locations across NSW, we marched, including in regional towns on the frontline of logging destruction and in the capital city of Sydney.
“Forests are one of the planet’s most powerful tools against the climate and biodiversity crises. We are living in a time where logging and mining native forests endangers people’s lives by making bushfires more severe, exacerbating the heating of the planet and removing habitat for endangered species. It’s well past time for native forest destruction to end.
Native forests produce oxygen, store carbon, produce water and bring rain, and they are critical habitat for countless rare and threatened species, our national forest estate must be securely protected,” Jenny Weber said.
In NSW, where the Forestry Corporation is illegally logging native forests right across the state, former magistrate David Heilpern spoke at the Bellingen march: “Apart from a March for our forests, this is also a gathering for victims of crime. We know who the criminals are: Forestry Corporation, and we know who the victims are: ancient trees, animals, riparian zones. But also us: the residents of NSW who waste our resources on these criminals and these crimes.”
In Adelaide, the prominent Australian band Ocean Alley was represented by band member Mitch Galbraith: “Together, we stand up for those that can’t, our unique and valuable flora and fauna, and together, our voice is loud and will be heard. Forests have been here long before my ancestors arrived here, and they belong to the people and culture that were here long before them.
“Native forests are rare, special, and deserve our respect. How dare we denigrate this great land and the culture and people that it has nurtured for tens of thousands of years? Irresponsible and ignorant governments keep failing us.”
