A protester who locked herself onto logging machinery in a Western Australian forest for seven hours may be forced to pay thousands of dollars in compensation, police say. Source: ABC News
Margaret River woman Mira Clohessy locked herself onto the equipment at Mowen Forest in the South West early Tuesday morning using a custom-made thumb lock contraption.
The woman was protesting against the logging of a 1600 hectare swathe of native jarrah and karri trees.
It is the third time in a month a protester has hampered logging operations at Mowen.
A fortnight ago, the State Government rejected a crowd funded offer of $90,000 to effectively “buy” the forest’s protection. The sum included donations from high-profile locals including musician John Butler, comedian and author Ben Elton and chef Ian Parmenter.
The Save Mowen Forest group said $90,000 was the profit the Government was set to make from logging the area. But the group’s spokeswoman, Jess Beckerling, said protesters had turned back to on-the-ground action to save the trees.
“More and more people are willing to make these sorts of sacrifices to protect the forest,” Ms Beckerling said.
“The official channels are failing us so we are going to use every method that we can peacefully and passionately to protect these forests.”
South West District Police Inspector Geoff Stewart said it took longer than usual to detach Ms Clohessy because she had weaved herself in and around mechanical parts.
“It took us longer because of her placement. We had to get a mechanic in; parts of the machine had to be taken apart,” Inspector Stewart said.
He said while the protester caused a nuisance, the presence of the group was generally a peaceful one.
Ms Clohessy was charged with being a nuisance on Conservation and Land Management (CALM) land and will face court at a later date.
Inspector Stewart warned compensation would be sought for time lost by the Forest Products Commission.
The FPC has sought compensation from other protesters charged with the same offence in recent times, with amounts ranging from $1,240 to $11,900.
