On March 24, Sustainable Timber Tasmania’s Hobart offices were occupied by Bob Brown Foundation protesters.
Two protesters were arrested after protesters set up a large pile of forest debris from cleared trees outside the offices in opposition of logging and burning activity. Tasmanian Forest Products Association CEO Nick Steel has his say:
They talk about stopping local forestry. But they don’t talk about where the alternative timber will be sourced from.
They talk about stopping a non-deforestation model of forestry that is the envy of the world, that harvests and regenerates only 0.0012% of Tasmania’s land mass per annum to supply critical construction materials to local manufacturers and mills. But they don’t talk about overseas deforestation and the clearing of millions of hectares of forest that will be made into timber products imported into Australia.
They talk about removing carbon from the atmosphere, but they don’t talk about local forestry producing the most environmentally friendly flooring and dressed hardwood available, supplying the market with a carbon storing, natural product that is far superior for the environment than using concrete slabs covered with carpet, vinyl or tile flooring or aluminium windows.
They talk about solutions for affordable homes but are responsible for putting downward pressure on plantation forestry back when we needed trees in the ground to ensure local supply, forcing us to rely on 25% of our construction timber being imported.
They talk about reducing plastic waste, but they don’t talk about forestry providing the very alternative that they demand – natural, biodegradable paper and cardboard products.
They talk about saving the swift parrot but don’t talk about eradicating the sugar glider, an introduced pest that is responsible for 80% of baby swift parrot deaths per annum.
They talk about respect, mental health and people having the right to feel safe, and then they invade a workplace traumatizing staff, vandalizing floors and impacting surrounding businesses, including a full-time disability support outpatient service that specializes in sensory sensitivity.
They feel so self-righteous that they glorify this behaviour and justify it without consideration for anyone else and they do it to fundraise and maintain their tax-free empire.
And that’s the problem. They don’t talk. They don’t show respect for others, they don’t engage in meaningful debate. They exaggerate their concerns, they show no consideration for any voice that challenges their hypocrisy, they do not provide solutions.
The Bob Brown Foundation has gone too far. Is this the type of behaviour we accept in this day and age?
Nick Steel, CEO, Tasmanian Forest Products Association.
e problem. They don’t talk. They don’t show respect for others, they don’t engage in meaningful debate. They exaggerate their concerns, they show no consideration for any voice that challenges their hypocrisy, they do not provide solutions.
The Bob Brown Foundation has gone too far. Is this the type of behaviour we accept in this day and age?
Nick Steel, CEO, Tasmanian Forest Products Association.
