Activists have stormed Ta Ann Tasmania’s Smithton veneer mill for the second day in succession, as the Bob Brown Foundation intensifies its week\u2011long \u201cForest Resistance Tour\u201d across Tasmania. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So far, more than 100 participants are involved in coordinated actions at multiple sites, with the foundation declaring that \u201cthe resistance is only growing” as the campaign enters its third day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It comes as Treasurer Eric Abetz questioned why activists were targeting operations that use plantation and regrowth timber:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy are the extreme greens campaigning against the use of plantation and regrowth timber?\u201d he said. \u201cHow else are we going to get wood supplies that are renewable and biodegradable?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Protesters, however, claim Ta Ann is logging high\u2011conservation\u2011value native forest \u2013 a claim industry flatly rejects. Ta Ann Tasmania general manager Robert Yong dismissed the allegations, arguing they were \u201cbased on the wrong information\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOnce again, green protestors are disrupting a fully complying, lawful business that adds value to sustainable supplies of hardwood logs, turning them into veneer and plywood products to supply much\u2011needed building materials,\u201d Yong said. He added that Ta Ann was \u201cthe only company to contractually protect the conservation outcomes of the Tasmanian Forest Agreement\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n