MEDIA RELEASE

Tuesday 20 July 2010

Florentine Defenders Vow to Keep Fighting Forestry Tasmania’s ‘Mysterious’ Exclusion Zone

Today the ‘Mother’s Day’ Upper Florentine defenders continued their battle in the Magistrate Court, when their long running case came up for Mention. 

The forest defenders today vowed to continue their fight with Forestry Tasmania over the mysterious exclusion zone that the conservationists ‘apparently’ entered when arrested in the Upper Florentine on Mother’s Day last year.

Although the Magistrate last month dismissed the forests defenders ’abuse of process’ argument, she was highly critical in her reasoning of the apparent lack of communication between Forestry Tasmania management and forestry and police personnel on the ground, who knew nothing about a new supposed exclusion zone.

The trespass charges were expected to have been withdrawn by Tasmania Police due to Forestry Tasmania’s more than 200-metre-wide bungle in defining its own exclusion zone, which was examined in a test case regarding this same matter against Ellendale resident Lynda Blyth that was dropped on 21st September last year.

“This whole business stinks, and we are not letting up on getting to the bottom of this sordid affair,” said Andrew Nicholson, one of the defenders.

“It appears that Forestry Tasmania will continue to refuse to explain, or to produce, the mysterious map, and to hide behind a drawn-out legal process in an attempt to exhaust the defenders.”

The conservationists, mostly middle-aged Derwent Valley and Central Highlands residents, are among the 22 people who were all arrested in the Upper Florentine forest on Mother’s Day this year. The arrests took place during a rally at which more than 200 people voiced their dissent against the destruction of the World Heritage quality values of the Upper Florentine forests. 

The Upper Florentine valley is virtually surrounded by Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area and is largely untouched by industrial logging. The forest contains large areas of old growth forest that has been shown to be amongst the most carbon dense in the world, as well as caves containing evidence of Aboriginal occupation stretching back around 30 000 years.

Faces of the Florentine will continue to encourage fellow Tasmanians to visit the Upper Florentine forest to judge the situation for themselves.

Next court appearance is another Mention on Monday 2nd August at 10am.