January 8, 2008
A 23-year-old woman involved in a forestry protest in Tasmania’s south has been plucked by a crane from her forest perch, arrested and charged.
A Tasmanian police search and rescue squad arrived at the protest site in a remote forest in the state’s south about 10am (AEDT) Tuesday to break up a four-day activist vigil.
The woman was sitting atop a 10-metre tall tree trunk which had been concreted into the middle of a major access road.
She has been charged with trespassing, obstructing police, and disobeying directions, Inspector Mark Mewis of Kingston Police said.
She will be bailed to appear in court at a later date.
Two protesters remain sitting in trees at the Weld Valley site, which activists say is under threat from logging.
Police continue to negotiate with the protesters while cables which had connected the tree-borne activists to the road below have been removed.
Huon Valley Environment Centre activists say about 1,000 hectares of untouched “wilderness” could be logged, with plans by Forestry Tasmania to build a bridge across the Weld River to access the area for the first time.
Spokeswoman Jenny Weber said Forestry Tasmania had indicated it planned to start building the bridge before Christmas, and although work has yet to start, it could begin any day.
About a dozen people were at the protest when it got underway on Saturday.
Six people left on Monday after a Forestry Tasmania helicopter hovered over the area and another woman left on Tuesday morning.
The conservation group says the North Weld wilderness includes some of the best examples of ancient forests in Tasmania.
Forestry Tasmania said vast areas of the Weld were already protected.
It said 88 per cent of the valley was protected, with only 12 per cent of the area, in forests outside these zones, available for logging.
It said the designated forestry area would be logged for special timbers to be used for crafts and design, an important industry for the state.
Forestry Tasmania spokesman David Tuck said the protesters had been told repeatedly to leave.
“They have been told for four days to clear out,” he told AAP.
Mr Tuck said protesters wore balaclavas and hurled insults at Forestry Tasmania workers.
The activists were trespassing and had vandalised gates, he said.
“The incredible irony is that they’ve cut down trees in order to construct a tree-sit and put the forest in danger by having a campfire in peak bushfire season,” he said.
http://news.smh.com.au/woman-arrested-at-tas-forestry-protest/20080108–1ksf.html
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JAN 9 2007 — Tasmania Police have confirmed that three anti-forestry protesters were arrested in the Weld Valley, south of Hobart, yesterday.
Police and emergency workers used a crane to forcibly remove a 23 year old woman from a blockade yesterday afternoon.
She has been charged with trespass, causing injury to property, obstructing police and disobeying police directions.
A 29 year old woman and a 26 year old man were arrested last night and charged with trespass.
All three are from Lucaston, in Tasmania’s south. They will appear in the Hobart Magistrates Court in February.
source abc