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The Weekly Freak Show for the week ending 4/18

by V-Man (vman [at] baymoon.com)
Underreoprted Headlines, UC AFT teachers fight for a fair contract, and Matt Stembridge discusses opposition to the National Missile Defense, aka Star Wars 30:27
Listen now:
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by proffr@fuckmicrosoft.com
this is happening in unique endangered forest in aust.
STATE POLITICS



Safety move halts logging in Otways

By STEPHEN CAUCHI
Thursday 19 April 2001

The State Government was forced to halt logging in the Otway Ranges yesterday "in the interests of public safety", sparking calls from the timber industry and unions for harsher penalties against protesting conservationists.

But logging is scheduled to resume today, renewing the battle between protesters and police and departmental officers.

As the standoff at Ciancio Creek entered its 13th day, Environment Minister Sherryl Garbutt said a 24-hour moratorium was imposed to cool the situation.

"What we're saying is we want to lower the temperature a little bit in the interests of public safety," she said on radio. "We want things to cool down. And I'm asking the protesters as well to name any alternative coupes where we could get this timber."

Asked by The Age whether the moratorium would be extended or how the situation would be dealt with, Ms Garbutt would say only that all options would be assessed.

About 40 protesters have wired trees in the forest with hundreds of metres of heavy cable to thwart logging and further arrests.

Ten of the group have taken up positions in trees, with their platforms joined to other trees by an intricate pattern of cables.

Otway Ranges Environment Network spokesman Simon Birrell said that with the cables in place, any trees felled would bring down the protesters on the platforms.

"They are all down there wired up and ready to go," Mr Birrell said. "They have wired the forest. They have put cables through the trees to stop them being felled. The cables are attached to tree-sit platforms." The protesters were also using large pieces of steel to lock themselves to the trees, forcing arresting police to use cutting equipment to remove them. There have been 18 arrests, including at least six at the logging site on Tuesday.

But Timber Communities of Australia spokeswoman Kirsten Gentle said the regional forestry agreement allowed for 30 per cent of the Otways to be logged and the protesters were holding the industry to ransom.

"We need to bring in harsher penalties," she said. "These people are not backing off."

Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union secretary Jane Calvert said timber workers were fed up with disruption and harassment from the "pretty bloody rude" protesters. "The law has got to be tested on this," she said.

Mr Birrell said there were no alternative coupes that could be logged and instead urged that sawmillers and loggers be compensated by the government. But the timber industry has rejected compensation.

He said the protesters would continue their sit-in for as long as necessary. He said forecast rain could also hamper any logging.

- with AAP
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