A group of Bob Brown Foundation forest defenders has established a protest to save the Swift parrot today in the southern forests of Tasmania. Critically endangered Swift parrots have been consistently observed breeding by the species experts in these forests.
“Logging of nesting habitat for the Swift parrot is the main driver pushing the species to extinction: it must end,” BBF Campaigns Manager Jenny Weber said.
“The Albanese and Rockcliff governments are failing in their responsibility and driving the species towards extinction by destroying its last remaining habitats: so it is the public which is standing between the parrot’s survival and the governments-authorized chainsaws,” Jenny Weber said.
“We are appealing to the Prime Minister and to the Tasmanian Premier to uphold international law and the intent of both national and state laws by protecting the last Swift parrot nesting forests in Tasmania. Destroying the forest for woodchip exports is unconscionable in this age of climate and extinction crisis,” Dr Lisa Searle, BBF Campaign Organiser said.
Michael Montgomery (41) is in a tree platform suspended 20m off the ground defending the Swift parrot habitat. Anne-Louise Hill (30) Darren Harvey (56) and Celeste Bartel (33) have attached themselves to the logging machines.
“Forestry Tasmania needs to move the loggers out of these native forests today. They attempted to appear to back down from plans to log native forests at Mount Tongatabu. However, a short distance away, on the other side of the mountain, large-scale logging in critical swift parrot habitat is underway and needs to end,” Jenny Weber said.