Anti-logging protester in high rise stunt to stop operation in East Orara State Forest, Coffs Harbour

A middle-aged man has suspended himself high in a tree in a bid to thwart logging operations at a Coffs Harbour state forest – and activists warn he’s in for the long haul.

Protesters at the entrance to Orara East State Forest near Coffs Harbour on June 6. Picture: Supplied

Forestry Corporation workers have been sent home for the day and police efforts frustrated after a man suspended himself high in a tree at Orara East State Forest near Coffs Harbour.

The 55-year-old, unnamed for now but not unnoticed, managed to hoist himself through an intricate series of ropes to a position 30 metres above ground on Tuesday morning.

A screenshot of the video of a protester in a tree in Orara East State Forest near Coffs Harbour on June 6, 2023.

The Bellingen Activist Network (BAN) has described the protester as a ‘forest defender’, who aims to halt logging at a site fingered for inclusion in the Great Koala National Park.

“He’s got snacks and supplies, a sleeping bag and books, so he’s in for the long haul,” BAN spokesman Tom Howell said.

Mr Howell confirmed: “Police have been unable to get him down and they’ve (Forestry) sent the workers home for the day.”

Mr Howell said the man set up an aerial camp at the only entrance to the forest, blocking all trucks, vehicles and workers from accessing the site.

The protester issued a statement about his stunt: “I’m taking this action today, because the NSW government has failed us.

“It’s devastating and irresponsible to bring these giant machines into these fragile ecosystems, crushing the understorey, and taking the trees that koalas and other endangered species rely on for their survival.”

The recently elected NSW Labor government has given in-principle support to the creation of a Great Koala National Park on the Mid-North Coast – from Nambucca to Coffs – despite the local state seats of Oxley and Coffs Harbour being retained by The Nationals, which opposes the concept.

A protest sign hangs below a makeshift camp set 30 metres above the ground in the Orara East state forest near Coffs Harbour. Picture: Supplied

A small group of ‘concerned citizens’ have also taken sentry at the forest entrance bearing placards.

“An immediate, absolute end to all destructive logging practices in NSW is the only rational option for protecting habitat forests like Orara East SF and for slowing the extinction crisis of the east coast’s threatened species,” a group spokesperson said.

An elaborate network of ropes has blocked the entrance to Orara East state forest near Coffs Harbour on June 6,2023. Picture: Supplied

BAN claims more than 17 per cent of state forests within the boundary of the proposed Great Koala National Park are on the chopping block in the next year.

Forestry Corporation, in a statement issued on May 24, moved to address speculation about its logging operations in the region.

“There has been no increase in timber harvesting operations on the North Coast,” a spokesperson said.

“An annual plan of operations is published on our website and the volume of timber from these operations is well within the independently verified level which can be sustainably harvested and regrown.

“The conditions designed to protect koalas and their habitat were developed by expert scientific panels based on the needs of the species and peer-reviewed scientific research continually demonstrates that koalas occupy forests where timber harvesting takes place at the same rate as unharvested forests.”

Originally published as Anti-logging protester in high rise stunt to stop operation in East Orara State Forest, Coffs Harbour