Worksafe bans forest protests in Tasmania by Bob Brown Foundation

A foundation has been banned from “forest protest activity throughout the State of Tasmania”.

Bob Brown Foundation supporters camped in rainforests at Que River in a bid to stop logging by Sustainable Timbers Tasmania. Picture: BOB BROWN FOUNDATION

WORKSAFE has banned “forest protest activity throughout the State of Tasmania” by the Bob Brown Foundation.

According to an official notice addressed to Bob Brown Foundation CEO Steven Chaffer, the ban will apply until such time as the foundation has satisfied the Work Health and Safety Regulator that it is managing risks to workers and others.

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In the letter, Worksafe Tasmania chief executive Mark Cocker said failure to comply with the notice could incur maximum penalties ranging from $100,000 to $500,000.

Mr Cocker said the foundation was “without reasonable excuse engaging … in conduct that exposes a person(s) to the risk of death or serious injury”.

Bob Brown said the move would do “President Putin’s Moscow proud”.

Bob Brown. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

“This edict would have prevented all environmental protest in Tasmania since and including the Franklin River blockade in 1982-83,” he said.

“It snubs the High Court finding, after the forest protests at Lapoinya, that peaceful protest is part of a representative democracy.”

The foundation has 14 days to lodge an application with the Magistrates’ Court of Tasmania Administrative Appeals Division.