Chris Degan, a 75 year old member of the Knitting Nannas, was arrested earlier today for trying to save koala habitat.
She attached herself to the giant tree cutting machine that has been logging koala shelter and food trees, in a last ditch effort to stop it doing more damage in an area known to be a koala corridor connecting the Bowraville Nature Reserve and the Ganay Nature Reserve.
‘Koalas have been moving through these forests for millions of years,’ said Ms Degan. ‘The logging industry is telling people that koalas and logging live happily side by side; that you can cut down most of the trees that koalas use as part of their home range and the koalas will live happily ever after.
‘Well that’s a fairy tale, one with a very sad ending.’
Promises but no protection
‘I’ve been sitting outside the Forestry Corporation every Friday morning for two years with other Nannas. But the continued logging of the forests that Chris Minns promised would be protected is too much,’ said Chris Degan.
‘I feel that the strongest thing I can do is to break the law in defence of the environment, because the NSW government is providing it no defence.
‘I spent my working life in the public service. I’ve carried out environmental assessments for the Commonwealth Department of Environment and Heritage, I’ve worked for the State Pollution Control Commission and I’ve worked for Sydney Water Corporation.
I’ve been close enough to the action to know that governments consistently fail to protect our natural national heritage, and the destruction of this forest is no exception.
‘This forest has been assessed as well and truly worthy of inclusion in the Great Koala National Park. Why is it still being logged?’ she asks. ‘I’m just fed up. That’s why I’m here. I had to at least try.’
Today’s arrest follows a rally in Coffs Harbour on Monday, that saw hundreds meet and march to call on the premier to immediately stop the logging and announce the Great Koala National Park boundaries.
Chris Degan was arrested in the Gladstone State Forest. According to Lyn Orrego, who has volunteered with the Nambucca Valley Conservation Association for more than 30 years and knows the forests well, Gladstone State Forest is part of the Nambucca Beds Shale Formation.
‘What this means is that the area is known to be some of the most erodible land in the region. It is steep, and has a high rainfall. The removal of trees and the pushing through of tracks and roads is totally inappropriate in this forest where there is a history of serious landslips,’ Ms Orrego said.
Smash and grab
Susie Russell, who was the North Coast Environment Council representative on the Community Advisory Panel for the Great Koala National Park (GKNP) said it was outrageous that logging was continuing in the promised park area, in 2025.
‘There is no doubt this forest will be included in the GKNP. You only have to look at the maps to see that this is an important area for koalas,’ she said.
‘This is a last smash and grab operation before the park boundaries are announced. Let’s not forget it’s being done in the context of broken federal environment laws where reform was promised but not delivered and where the statutory reviews required in NSW have not been done.
‘It is morally and ethically wrong and a crime against the future of life on this planet for this forest to be logged in 2025.
‘If Chris Minns can’t work that out, he should ask his kids,’ Ms Russell said.
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