Goolengook - International Attention"The Goolengook forest issue has
now put Victorian forest issues on an international stage, with intense
interest starting to emerge in Europe and the United States. We have
been networking with international groups about these matters for the
past few weeks. Many people are deeply distressed by
what they've been hearing. They are especially alarmed when they learn
that timber products sourcd from Victoria are coming largely from old
growth forests. This morning our office received a call from an
investor from New York concerned about the logging in Goolengook.
Victoria's reputation is suffering through the destruction of these old
growth forests"
From New Zealand
To:
Steve Bracks, Premier of the State of Victoria, Australia We, the undersigned New Zealand members of the global Gondwana network, call for an end to the logging of internationally significant forests in East Gippsland and Weld Valley. They should be protected for future generations of global citizens. The old growth forest at Goolengook, Victoria, is one of the very last remaining unlogged catchments, outside of reserves, on the east coast of Australia. The Weld Valley, Tasmania, contains some of the tallest forests in the Southern Hemisphere. Both forests have been defended by environmentalist's blockades. The Goolengook area has been in the international eye since the Victorian State Government cynically began forestry operations there on World Environment Day, 1997. A non-violent blockade has continued for five years and international onlookers are concerned about the harsh treatment of peaceful protesters by police and DNRE staff - especially in light of on-going criminal cases stemming from violent acts on protesters in recent years. Both Goolengook and the Weld Valley are home to threatened species which are supposedly protected by Australian law. It is an intolerable situation where one arm of the Australian and State government is overseeing the protection of the flora and fauna of these forests, while another is degrading or eliminating them. The international Gondwana Project aims to 're-connect' the great southern forests of the ancestral continent of Gondwana. A start has already been made with a 'sister park' proposal for two biodiversity hotspots - Chile's Coastal Range and New Zealand's Kahurangi National Park. We see this as having huge potential for education and tourism. The current exploitative forest operations in Tasmania and Victoria are directly degrading precious ecosystems that are of international significance and are prime examples of our Gondwana ecological heritage. We call on the Federal and State Governments to cease these highly destructive logging practices and give protection to the forests of East Gippsland and the Weld Valley.
Signed: |