Two women who grew up in the Manning Valley are currently suspended from trees with ropes connected to, and stopping, logging in Yarratt Forest north of Taree.
Yarratt forest is the only high quality koala habitat in the Taree Forest Management Area that wasn’t severely burnt in the Black Summer fires.
Juliet Lamont, film-maker and activist.
The two women, mother Juliet, and daughter Luca, hope their action will focus attention on the NSW Government’s negligence and lack of concern about koalas, forests and climate change.
‘I grew up in this area in the 70’s and both of my daughters were born here,’ Juliet Lamont said.
‘The magic and power of these forests have deeply shaped our lives and I’m horrified to see their utter destruction as we find ourselves in this global environmental crisis.
‘I’m here with my 24-year-old daughter Luca to call out this madness and say that we all have a human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.’
‘There is a lot of criticism about taking direct action to protect our environment as being RADICAL.
‘Climbing a native tree to stop logging to bring attention to the insanity of destroying our publicly owned state native forests isn’t radical.’
‘Tax payers dollars that subsidise this industry at a loss of $30 million over the last two years, that’s radical.
‘Yarratt Forest is the only forest in the lower Manning Valley that wasn’t burnt in the 2019 fires and the Government’s own experts recommended there be no logging in the Taree area for three years.
‘Instead, the Forestry Corporation went straight in and they have utterly obliterated half of it, and now started on the other half! That’s radical. Destroying endangered koala habitat is radical.’
Couple of Great Australians right there. (if only I was 35 years younger)
Environment heroines in action.
How long until Premier Perrottet sends his goons up there to arrest and jail these women for, “threatening our way of life”.
Logging of the forest that didn’t burn in the tragic 2019 fires is destroying the pockets of habit and seed banks needed for the rest of the forest to recover. This logging must stop now! Thank you to these protestors
Thank goodness these ladies are stopping Forestry corp from logging the precious habitat we have left. I am full of admiration for their bravery. Our own Folks shouldn’t have to do this. Our government is pretty dreadful about this issue. Too many vested interests me thinks…..
Warrior Women are the greatest and on the rise. Thank you so much you WONDERFUL SMART INTELLIGENT CARING WOMEN.
Thanks Juliet and daughter for doing this. Unbelievable outrageous etc. Whilst they fight at great risk to protect prime old koala habitat with consequences ahead for both of them, tokinistic so called koala “habitat” projects are being invested in all over NSW. These projects in my opinion are unecological and surrounded by the warm fuzzy tokinistic experience that blinds people to the facts that this is the offset and green light for further destruction of hundreds of years old habitat to satisfy the hunger of the “jobs and growth monster”
The end game for this “offsets” rubbish will be, a space in a zoo that holds a stick with a bit of greenery stuck on it as a hapless koala sits perched waiting to be manhandled by throngs of humans taking their selfies with the koala victim.
The current governments intention to ‘protect habitat and endangered species’ Never Was and Never Will be. Only brave people such as Juliet and Luka Lamont will help change the government’s attitude and act appropriately.
Juliet and Luca, you are truly my heroes, thank you for taking action on behalf of so many caring humans, in fact tens of thousands, in NSW alone.
All the very best