Tarkine/takayna rainforest defence enters fifth day

Tasmanian police have arrived in the contentious Meunna forest this morning as protests continue. The community campaign to defend remnant rainforest from logging at Meunna on the northern edge of takayna has entered its fifth day as local farmer Cabe McKenzie locks on to logging machinery.

23 citizens have been issued move-on orders by Tasmania police so far this week, as protests have been held to call for protection of the native forests.

‘I am standing here with my community for my local forest, and for all native forests,’ said Mr McKenzie. ‘They are irreplaceable and the senseless destruction must stop.’

The Bob Brown Foundation says it’s supporting local efforts to defend these forests.

‘We are seeing something special here at Meunna,’ said Bob Brown Foundation takayna/Tarkine campaigner Scott Jordan. ‘Local people, everyday people, stepping out of their comfort zone to defend something that none of us can bear to lose.

‘Cabe McKenzie is a farmer who cares about his community, and cares about his local forests. And he is not alone. He and the growing band of locals here are champions for a planet amid a biodiversity crisis and a climate emergency.

‘This community is not backing down,’ said Mr Jordan.

‘The phone is running hot at Meunna as more and more people call to join the defence of these forests. Tasmania’s Logging Minister should listen to his constituents.

‘It’s time for Tasmania to end native forest logging for the benefits to the local communities, economy environment, wildlife, and climate,’ said Scott Jordan.