March in March for Forests rally to Hobart’s parliament lawns draws thousands
A state government minister has slammed thousands of protesters as ‘woke’ and ‘out of touch’ as thousands took to the streets of Hobart chanting ‘end native forest logging’.
Tasmania
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An estimated 5000 people descended on Hobart’s Parliament Lawns calling for an end to native forest logging in the March in March for Forests rally.
Co-ordinated by the Bob Brown Foundation, the rally welcomed thousands of protesters from across the state including members of the state and federal Greens and Independents.
In his address on Sunday, federal Greens Senator Nick McKim said the rally was a “statement of power”.
“We had 2000 people down at Verona Sands, and out of Hobart last weekend we had 2000 people at Dodges Ferry,” he said.
“Whether it’s in our forests, as the swift parrots are being logged into extinction, in our waterways which are covered in sludge and slime from industrial salmon corporations, in Macquarie Harbour where for countless millennia the (Maugean skate) has survived and is being pushed into extinction by corporate profiteering …. you have come in droves again and we will stand firm with you in parliament.”
Senator McKim said the turnout sent a strong message to the federal government that environmental matters, including salmon-farming, would be high-order issues at the upcoming federal election.
The rally takes place ahead of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s plan to fast-track legislation to protect salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour through parliament next Tuesday.
If successful, the bill would end a review into whether its expansion was properly approved under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC).
In an emotionally-charged speech, Wilderness Society Tasmania campaigns manager Alice Hardinge called out federal environment minister Tanya Plibersek for failing to meet her “legally obligated” condition of creating recovery plans for protected species.
Addressing hundreds of young families, Ms Hardinge emphasised the importance of “active hope”.
“In this day and age with a climate crisis, it can feel very lonely,” she said.
“You can feel this sense of doom sink into your hearts.
“We don’t know what the future holds but I believe that the best antidote to despair is action.”
The sentiment was shared by protester Abigail Hanhart, who attended the rally with her two children aged 2 and 5.
Ms Hanhart said she was fuelled by “frustration”.
“Just about a lack of listening to science and responsible resource management,” she said.
“All the science is there but they’re just going for profits.”
On bringing her children to the rally, Ms Hanhart said: “it was important to stand up for the environment around us so they have forests to go play in when they’re older as well”.
Housing Minister Felix Ellis branded the protesters as “woke activists” who were “out of touch with the thinking of everyday Tasmanians”.
“Tasmanians love Tasmanian timbers, they love it for building their homes and for the craftsmanship that comes with these incredible special species that we have here in Tasmania,” Mr Ellis said.
“These woke activists would put all of that risks but more of that, but more than that they put at risk the jobs of thousands of Tasmanians by shutting down the sustainable native forest industry.”
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