6 February 2023 – Two more women were arrested today after chaining themselves to gates leading into the largest saw-mill in NSW to stop logging work and draw attention to the felling of native timber trees in NSW’s state forests.
The two women are the latest in a growing list of concerned citizens, prepared to engage in civil disobedience to draw attention to the escalating crisis in the region’s forests.
The protests come as the NSW Greens release their plan to Save The Koala for the NSW elections next month.
Award-winning artist Suey McEnnally locked herself to the main gates of Pentarch’s Heron’s Creek sawmill near Kew on the Mid-north Coast. It is the largest native forest sawmill in NSW.
Environmental scientist, born and raised in the Manning Valley, Ella Baker, attached herself to the back gate of the sawmill.
Ella Baker, who recently graduated as an environmental scientist said:
“The environmental systems on which we rely as human beings are collapsing. Greta Thunberg was recently arrested for standing in front of the bulldozers working to expand a coal mine, while we are in a climate emergency. I’m here today blocking access to the log trucks because we are also in a biodiversity emergency and I feel a sense of desperation and urgency.
“We are 6 weeks out from the NSW election and neither major party has a policy to halt the decline of the unique and wondrous animals and plants that depend on healthy old forests.
“I’d be disappointed in myself if I didn’t take this opportunity to stand up for forests. They are worth more to the community left standing. I’m proud to do my part to get that message out,”
Ella Baker said.
Suey McEnnally is a NSW based artist renowned for her large, luminous, light filled landscape paintings.
McEnnally, who was arrested in 1993 trying to protect old growth forest near her home on the Bulga Plateau said
“I’ve lived in this area 40 years and want to do whatever I can to see the native forests protected. Forests that sustain wildlife, that clean the air and water.
Forests that create those gorgeous moist mists and rain clouds that hang in the trees and rise from the valleys some mornings.
“Most of my work as an artist has been inspired and animated by the extraordinary beauty and wonder of this landscape and my desire to share it and if at all possible to raise awareness of it.”
“Unless we are completely blind and deaf, we all know what’s happening to the earth: climate change, fire, drought and flood. My protest is to say please let’s keep the bits that remain, after all, there are so many alternatives.
This morning my TV told me that last year was the biggest profit of gas and oil in 115 years for one of the huge multinationals. Really people?? and I thought we were supposed to be getting on with saving the earth for future generations”
Suey McEnnally
Suey McEnnally is a winner of the National Paddington Art Prize for Australian landscape, finalist in the Sulman and Dobell prizes at the Australian Gallery of NSW. Winner of the Eco and Hunters Hill art prizes. People’s choice winner in the Redlands Westpac and Paddington art prizes. Represented in the Blake and Country Energy art prizes and the Salon Des Refuses (or Lounge room of losers in Aussie translation) from the Wynne Prize for landscape.
|
|
Strict bail conditions
The strict bail conditions given to the two women include:
“Not publish any writing or information to incite others to commit offences.”
“Not go near or associate with any person involved in protesting”
As State election nears forest protestors halt logging operations again – raising the stakes to end public native forest logging in NSW
Concerned members of the community up and down the North Coast of NSW have taken to the forest front lines and stopped logging and timber operations in 2 locations this morning.
Logging and timber operations at Doubleduke State Forest, South of Lismore and Pencharts Herons Creek Timber Mill near Port Macquarie have been stopped by peaceful protestors.
This follows protests in recent weeks that saw logging and timber operations at Bulga State Forest, Yarratt State Forest and Pencharts Herons Creek Timber Mill near Taree all stopped. In Doubleduke State Forest a Lismore local, an engineer, is in a tree sit 25m above industrial logging machinery rendering it inoperable.
Greens MP and spokesperson for the Environment Sue Higginson this morning joined her local community at Doubleduke State Forest in support of their peaceful, direct action which has stopped the logging of the forest.
Greens MP Sue Higginson said
“enough is enough, we must stop destroying these sensitive forest environments now. The community and political pressure is mounting, the Government needs to hear the call of these wonderful members of the community who put their lives on hold to protect these forests and our futures.
“Doubleduke State Forest was significantly affected by the Black Summer 2019-2020 fires and has not had time to recover. Like all of our public native forests, it is a biodiversity stronghold. This forest needs to be protected to be given a chance to recover and regenerate, not destroyed by industrial logging. I can’t believe I am standing in a public native forest that survived the deadly Black Summer fires and now the Government is literally destroying it.
“Doubleduke State Forest is home to our most iconic, precious and rare native animals that are now on the brink of extinction like coastal emus, koalas, greater gliders, yellow-bellied gliders, powerful owls, barking owls, brush-tailed phascogales, and spotted-tailed quolls. These animals need a healthy forest environment to survive into the future.
“What many people do not yet realise is we also need healthy forest environments to survive. As the climate crisis worsens, we must escalate our efforts to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. If we end logging our public native forests, it will massively reduce our emissions and will draw down and store carbon emissions.
If we are going to have any chance of lessening the most dangerous impacts of climate change, we must take this climate action now. We know that mature forests store more carbon than younger regrowing forests. Protecting our public native forests is key to our safer climate future.
“The Government knows logging of our public native forests is coming to an end, like in Western Australia and Victoria.
By not acting now the Government is ignoring the science and communities, fuelling the climate and extinction crises, and running those left in the native forest hardwood industry over the cliff. The future of the timber industry is in sustainably managed plantations, all our high-end use timber, such as for construction, comes from plantations,
“The absurdity is that destroying our public native forests is costing taxpayers. Logging our public native forests cost NSW taxpayers $28 million dollars over the past 2 years. Yet the softwood plantation division earned $47 million.
“I’m calling on the Government to stop this nonsense and announce their plan to transition out of the unprofitable and harmful logging of native forests and into a 100% sustainable plantation industry model that will benefit communities and the environment”
Sue Higginson said.
