Thousands of people have attended rival rallies organised by conservationists and the forest industry in Tasmania.
About 10,000 people turned out for the Wilderness Society’s March 13 rally in Hobart to protest against old growth logging practices. Three days later the forest industry organised a pro-logging convoy of more than 200 log trucks in Launceston.
The events were held to coincide with the visit of federal opposition leader Mark Latham, who met forestry industry groups and toured the Styx forest at the invitation of Australian Greens senator Bob Brown.
Mr Latham’s tour was the first such visit by the leader of a major political party in two decades.
Conservationists have conducted a long campaign against clearfelling in Tasmania’s old-growth forests, claiming there is an unhealthy relationship between the state Labour government, Forestry Tasmania and timber company Gunns Ltd.
