150 Tasmanian tourism brands and operators demand end to native forest logging

More than 150 of the state’s leading tourism brands and operators have written to the government, saying forestry damages the state’s brand. LATEST >>

SOME of Tasmania’s leading tourism industry figures have written to the state government calling for an end to the logging of native forests in the state.

Major outdoor brands including Patagonia and Paddy Pallin plus a host of nature-based operators have signed an open letter to Premier Peter Gutwein, Tourism Minister Sarah Courtney and Environment Minister Roger Jaensch.

They want the state’s forests preserved to help fight climate change.

“The tourism industry in Tasmania us built upon the clean, green and clever brand,” they wrote.

Ciara Smart from the Tasmanian Wilderness Guides Association speaks to the media as a group of tourism operators deliver a letter to the government calling for an end of native forest logging in Tasmania on Tuesday, November 9, 2021.

“This brand is being undermined by the ongoing logging of our native forests that hold flagship tourism experiences such as the Blue Tier, Blue Derby, Ben Lomond, The Styx Valley of the Giants, Maydena, the Weld/Tahune Forests and the takanya/Tarkine.”

Ciara Smart from the Tasmanian Wilderness Guides Association said Derby was an example of a town which has built a great future based on nature-based experiences.

“We’re putting this all at risk with potentially logging these forests around Blue Derby, which is so off-brand with what Tasmania is trying to do with its tourism,” she said.

“We’re marketing everything around ‘Come Down for Air’, ‘Wild Tasmania; and yet we’re looking at logging these high conservation value forests around a world class tourism destination. Would this happen in Europe?

“It’s just extraordinary what’s on the cards here and as a guides’ association, we’re quite worried that we’re going to ruin the opportunity for further employment in our industry.”

Greens leader Cassy O’Connor tabled the letter in state parliament during Question Time on Tuesday.

Greens leader Labor leader Rebecca White speaks to the media on Parliament Lawns in Hobart on Tuesday, November 9, 2021.

Premier Peter Gutwein told parliament he believed that Tasmania could have both tourism and a sustainable foresty industry.

“We engage in sustainable forestry in Tasmania, sustainable harvesting,” he said.

“I think it is well understood that in this state we plant more trees than what we take, we plant more trees and what we take.

“I would make the point that I believe very firmly that forestry, sustainable forestry and tourism can coexist, and that there are examples, I think world-leading examples of where that occurs right here in this state.”

Tasmanian Forest Products Association CEO Nick Steel said tourism operators were happy enough to use Tasmanian timber in their businesses.

“I challenge anyone to find a Tasmanian tourist attractions or icon that does not showcase native Tasmanian Timbers to portray a natural Tasmanian brand,” he said.

“Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre, Pump House Point, Wall in the Wilderness, The Abt Railway, Three Capes Huts, Derby’s Floating Sauna, more hotels, wineries, cafes and restaurants than I could even mention proudly showcase Tasmanian timber”.

“Our tourism businesses don’t just use timber, they drape themselves in Tasmanian timber and then yell it from the rooftops to promote what we have.”

Swift action: Bird enthusiasts disrupt logging operation

Work screeched to a halt on Tuesday morning when bird lovers disrupted a logging operation in the Lonnavale Forests, about an hour southwest of Hobart.

Activists from Grassroots Action Network Tasmania, Forestry Watch, and the Wilderness Society blocked roads in the forest, which they say is home to the endangered Swift Parrot.

Forestry Watch’s Annie Ford said their activists had spent weeks staking out Lonnavale gathering video and photographic evidence of the vanishingly rare bird.

SWIFT ACTION: Environmentalists disrupt logging at Lonnavale forest. Picture: Supplied

Ms Ford said the Swift Parrot was already at the brink of extinction, and that this logging would push them even further towards its demise.

“This will not only interfere with the recovery of this species, it will actively contribute to its extinction,” she said.

“Forestry Tasmania are ignoring expert advice from their own specialists. The expert advice is that we need to end logging of Swift Parrot habitat in the Lonnavale forests.”

The group launched a petition on Tuesday, demanding Guy Barnett to declare the area as a protected Swift Parrot breeding area.

However, Mr Barnett said the government had already set aside large areas of protected forest for the Swift Parrot to reside in.

“We’ve already reserved upwards of 10,000 hectares. We have a million dollars set aside for further measures to ensure further protection of the Swift Parrot,” Mr Barnett said.

SWIFT ACTION: Hugh Nicklason, Tom Allen, Annie Ford are attempting to stop logging at Lonnavale Forest in order to save the endangered Swift Parrot. Picture: Kenji Sato

“Managing our native forest responsibility and sustainability is a top priority, that’s what we do in Tasmania, and we will continue to do that. “

However, Wilderness Society’s Tom Allen said the government’s actions did not go nearly far enough to protect the remaining population, which are estimated to be in the hundreds.

“The government’s proposing to protect a tiny proportion of Swift Parrot habitat and leave the rest vulnerable to logging,” Mr Allen said.

“What we need to see is all swift parrot habitat protected which would see a small reduction of overall logging quota of Forestry Tasmania.”

Bird enthusiast Hannah Nichols, who is one of the protesters up at Lonnavale, said she was there to protest the government’s “weak” protection laws.

“If we want our kids to see and experience them like we have, we need to act swiftly,” Ms Nichols said.

“Otherwise, we will be talking about the Swift Parrot as we talk about the Tasmanian Tiger within the next decade.”

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