Bob Brown Foundation continues its Mount Lindsay rainforest defence.

Drill rigs have been shut down on the slopes of Mount Lindsay in takayna/Tarkine as Bob Brown Foundation enters its seventh day of protest actions in the World Heritage value rainforest.

Protester Annette Levis has padlocked herself to a drill rig on the Mount Lindsay site, preventing Venture Minerals from planned drilling.

“I am here because I feel passionate about the rainforest, and once it’s gone it cannot be replaced. Once you see this forest you will be amazed and shocked that anyone would consider removing it for such short term gains," said Ms Levis.

“We have shut down the destruction at Mount Lindsay for the seventh time in the past five weeks because Venture Minerals is not listening. Australia’s largest remaining temperate rainforest is not their sandbox to dig and spoil”, said Bob Brown Foundation takayna/Tarkine Campaigner Scott Jordan.

“Mount Lindsay is home to Tasmanian Devil, Spotted tailed Quoll and Masked Owl, while the company’s adjacent exploration plans risk remnant stands of Huon Pine on the Wilson River. We will continue to stand in between Venture and these rainforests until they surrender their mine lease and abandon this fool’s project”

Drilling on Venture Mineral’s mine lease has been halted for the fifth day this month as Bob Brown Foundation has prevented the deployment of two drill rigs. A protester was arrested yesterday after courageously locking onto the drill rig yesterday and two have returned to halt drilling today in the remote takayna/Tarkine rainforest.

Environmental Science student Lola Jackson (21) and artist Iona Marsden Sweeney (22) have walked into the ancient remote rainforests and are preventing the drilling for a new tin and tungsten mine.

Also this morning, Midnight Oil has released their new song and video, Tarkine, from their forthcoming album Resist.

“The wild, ancient and threatened takayna/Tarkine has just been immortalised by one of Australia’s greatest bands. From our Tarkine in Motion environmental arts project, Launceston artist Darryl Rogers partnered with Jim Moginie from Midnight Oil in a Mona Foma installation. It was from this collaboration that Jim Moginie was inspired to write a dedication to Tasmania’s Tarkine. Midnight Oil has captured the urgency the Tarkine faces from logging and mining.

We will continue to resist the destruction of one of the last wild places on Earth, knowing that Midnight Oil has just given that place, its ancient rainforests and all the wildlife, a new international platform,” Jenny Weber, Bob Brown Foundation Campaign Manager said.

“I am here to help protect the invaluable and magnificent takayna/Tarkine from unnecessary, irreversible and endlessly damaging mining activity”, said Lola Jackson.

“I am here to protect Earth’s wildness. The wild places of this magnificent Earth are shrinking and they must be left,” said Iona Marsden-Sweeny.

Venture Minerals is attempting to raise capital to progress their proposed mine at Mount Lindsay within National and World Heritage value rainforest in takayna/Tarkine.

“Investors should hear loud and clear that this project faces significant community opposition. Tasmanians will not accept the destruction of ancient, carbon rich rainforest in a climate and biodiversity crisis”, said Bob Brown Foundation takayna/Tarkine Campaigner Scott Jordan.

“Our Foundation will continue to stand up for the forests, the wildlife and planet Earth”.

Midnight Oil song

The Bob Brown Foundation says that Premier Peter Gutwein has come up with a plan for shooting feral deer in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area which is aimless and the worst of all worlds.

“Far from being a scientifically based cull, the Gutwein plan is to turn part of the World Heritage Area into a recreational shooting zone. Shooters will be chosen by lottery. This is a shocking outcome from years of genuine public input to the government and with all parties - environmentalists, shooters and farmers - agreed that the World Heritage Area should be rid of deer altogether through a properly designated program using professional culling,” Bob Brown said.

The Central Plateau component of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, including the Great Western Tiers and Tumbledown Creek area north and east of Lake Arthur, and the Mother Lords Plains and other areas adjacent the Great Lake, are being tuned into a permanent shooting gallery. The biggest concession to public safety for bushwalkers in the area is that shooters should wear hi-viz vests or hats. This plan could spread the destructive deer faster, rather than eliminate them from this fragile highland environment,” he said.

“This is government delinquency. The premier should outline how he sees his lottery for recreational shooters ridding the TWWHA of feral deer. He should also outline the public safety measures for other users of the high plateau and tiers when these lottery shooters move in. As feral deer have already reached across the western lakes of the plateau as far as the Walls of Jerusalem, one of Tasmania’s world-renowned beauty spots, Premier Gutwein should explain what, if anything, his plan will do to solve a problem which is rapidly worsening on his watch.”

Protestors have re-entered rainforest at Mount Lindsay to halt Venture Minerals’ drilling operations in the Meredith Range Regional Reserve in the southern takayna/Tarkine. Bob Brown Foundation is continuing protests calling for the protection of Tasmania’s takayna/Tarkine.

Merridee Rohtlach (27) locked on to a drill rig, silencing Venture Minerals’ assault on the verified National and World Heritage values of the area.

Venture are currently engaged in a capital raising exercise to fund further destruction of ancient rainforest at Mount Lindsay and the Wilson River valley.

“Over the past fourteen years, Venture Minerals’ have roaded and drilled some of the worlds most unique rainforests while peddling promises about boom times. What we know is that they have reaped millions of dollars of taxpayer subsidy for their destruction, while directors and managers have got rich”, said Bob Brown Foundation takayna/Tarkine Campaigner Scott Jordan.

“We are in a climate and biodiversity crisis, and again Venture Minerals is trying to raise funds for a project that will destroy ancient carbon stores and lay waste to habitat for endangered species such as the Tasmanian Devil, Spotted tailed Quoll and Masked Owl, and remnant Huon Pine along the Wilson River valley”.

Today’s action is the fourth time the drill rigs at Mount Lindsay have been halted by Bob Brown Foundation protests in the past month.

“We are back at Mount Lindsay standing up for this special part of the planet and the creatures that rely on it. We will continue to silence the drill rigs. Our message to investors is clear don’t fund Venture Minerals’ destruction of takayna/Tarkine,” Scott Jordan said.

A setback has been dealt to the Chinese state-owned miner MMG’s plans for a toxic tailings dam in the rainforest of the southern takayna/Tarkine as the Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment suspended a decision on their EPBC referral for illegally commenced drilling and roading works.

“In suspending the process the Department has acknowledged that the documentation referred by the company does not meet the standard. We would say the department needs to go further and prosecute MMG for their breach, while the Minister should reject this substandard referral outright”, said Bob Brown Foundation’s takayna/Tarkine Campaigner Scott Jordan.

“Where else in civil society could you break the law, in full sight for two months, and have the Minister rearrange the rules after the crime? This is outrageous. Allowing MMG to prolong this injustice and giving the company a scrutiny-free second chance at retrospective approval compounds the wrong.

MMG should have the grace to apologise to the citizens of Tasmania – particularly those who were charged and arrested preventing the company’s illegality - and withdraw its proposal in favour of the lesser environmentally damaging and jobs positive paste fill option. In the meantime, the rainforests will gain another short reprieve from MMG impending threat," concluded Mr Jordan.

Seventy one people were arrested halting MMG’s illegal works before MMG ceased operations following the threat of Federal Court action by Bob Brown Foundation. Bob Brown Foundation has flagged its intent to revive protest actions on site should work recommence.

In documents obtained by Bob Brown Foundation under Right to Information laws, departmental advice presented to Minister Guy Barnett is in stark contrast to the Minister’s account of the reasons for the unlawful grant and subsequent revoking of a mine lease to Chinese state-owned miner MMG.

In a statement on 7 October 2021, Minister Barnett claimed “A lodging error in the application was then found by the Department and immediate action was taken.”

This statement is at odds with a Ministerial Minute released under a Right to Information request that shows that the application did not meet key requirements of section 78 of the Mineral Resources Development Act and was sought for a purpose not under s78 of the Act.

“The Minister has been caught out in his deception. To hide his incompetence in illegally granting a mine lease, he has lied in claiming a lodging error to conceal the extent of his negligence,” said Bob Brown Foundation takayna / Tarkine Campaigner Scott Jordan.

“He should have resigned over his incompetence, but Westminster traditions of Ministerial accountability dictate that he must resign over his deception.”

“The facts in the Ministerial Minute show that MMG applied for a lease they were not entitled to and the Director of Mines recommended its approval despite failing to meet clear legislative requirements. The Minister granted the lease and, when forced to acknowledge the lease was invalid, lied to cover up the details.”

“It appears the only party in this whole debacle to show any understanding or commitment to upholding the integrity of the Mineral Resources Development Act is Bob Brown Foundation.”

“A new Minister should order an urgent review, with a particular focus on improving transparency and accountability.”

Helilog Road was the site of seven months of protest, including seventy-one arrests over May to July protesting MMG’s illegal and unapproved roadworks for its controversial proposed tailings dam in the rainforests north of the Pieman River in the southern takayna / Tarkine.

MMG has indicated their intention to recommence roading and drilling operations. Bob Brown Foundation will answer any re-incursion with renewed protest action.

The Ministerial Minute reveals that:

In reviewing this decision (the grant of the mine lease), after the receipt of the SOR (Statement of Reasons request) from the BBF, it was determined that the decision made to grant the lease under s78 of the Act was invalid.

For a lease to be granted under s78, the applicant must demonstrate to your (the Minister) satisfaction that relevant criteria in s78A, including that there is a sufficient quantity of minerals to justify mining, and that they have an appropriate mining plan. Neither of these conditions precedent were fully satisfied by the application.

MMG indicated that the primary reasons for the application were as follows:

· To secure access from the Pieman Road via Helilog Road to their adjacent Mining Lease ML 6M/2008, for site investigation and potential construction of the South Marionoak TSF; and

· To enable MMG to maintain and upgrade Helilog Road as necessary.

Ministerial Minute – Minister for Resources 23/9/2021 (RTI Document 28)

Copy of documents

Logging in habitat for the critically endangered Swift Parrot has been exposed today by Bob Brown Foundation campaign organisers and volunteers.

This morning in Tasmania’s southern forests, a group of citizen science surveyors were faced with logging machines destroying forests right under a flock of Swift Parrots.

“Today, we have written to Premier Gutwein, Tasmania’s Logging Minister Barnett, Forest Practices Authority and Forestry Tasmania calling for an immediate cessation to logging in this specific coupe and all habitat across Tasmania. In Tasmania’s Esperance forests today, Swift Parrots were observed in and around the logging coupe, forests that have mature hollow bearing trees ideal for nesting and flowering eucalyptus for their feeding,” Bob Brown Foundation Campaigner Erik Hayward said.

“Our Foundation has been pleading with Tasmania’s Liberal government since 2015 to follow the International Union for Conservation and Nature’s (IUCN) recommendation to place all Swift Parrot habitat into secure conservation reserves. Logging continues in their critical nesting and foraging habitat and Premier Gutwein is overseeing the fastest parrot on Earth rapidly heading to extinction,” Jenny Weber said.

“Today's sighting occurred during our Foundation’s annual Swift Parrots surveying program. This is our second year surveying the logging coupes on Forestry Tasmania’s logging schedule. Since late October, we have hosted more than 100 people on seven surveys into thirty proposed logging coupes that are areas of Swift Parrot habitat and in the southern forests where the parrots have settled to breed this year,” Jenny Weber said.

“These are not the first parrots seen in our surveys, but with ongoing logging in their critical breeding habitat, opportunities to see Swift Parrots are diminishing as Tasmania flattens their nursery habitats,” Erik Hayward said.

Bob Brown Foundation has obtained photographs of hundreds of wild fish languishing and dying in a Tasmanian salmon farm. According to the source, the wild fish have become stuck in the nets then died during the bathing process. The Foundation has been informed that this is a regular occurrence.

"The salmon industry is not authorised to take these fish from the wild and so this is yet another example of why this environmentally unsustainable industry must not expand, not a single pen more in our waters. This is a failure by the Tasmanian government to regulate effectively and a failure to protect our wild marine life," said Bob Brown Foundation Fish Farms and Marine Campaigner Bec Howarth.

Bob Brown Foundation has been informed that the wild fish in the photographs, which include mackerel, herring, leatherjacket and butterfly gurnard, swim into the salmon pens and get stuck in there as they grow. They die during the bathing process and from suffocation from being out of the water.

"If a Tasmanian recreational or commercial fisher is caught with fish they are unauthorised to take they face extremely heavy fines, demerit points, loss of license, equipment and even jail. So why isn’t this level of scrutiny extended to the salmon industry? We are calling on the Tasmanian government to hold the salmon industry accountable and investigate this unauthorised activity. This proves that this environmentally unsustainable industry is rogue and must not be allowed to expand and impact our marine life further. I have written to the Premier to inform him of this issue and asked him what he is going to do about it," said Bec Howarth.

Peter Cundall, ABC radio and TV gardening guru, was a valiant campaigner for Tasmania’s forests and wildlife, Bob Brown said in Launceston today.

“Peter was appalled by the destruction of native forests. He called it a crime and joined the biggest public rallies for forests and against pulp mills in Launceston, Hobart and regional Tasmania. He was outspoken against what he called Gunns’ “dirty, stinking” pulp mill proposed by the company and Labor Premier Paul Lennon for the Tamar Valley. The general public was more on side with Peter’s views than with the governments of the day.”

“I first encountered Peter Cundall’s powerful advocacy for nature when he spoke out against the flooding of the franklin river. He joined a public meeting in the Lemonthyme Valley near Cradle Mountain in the 1980s and that forest is now also protected. He spoke out for the Great Western Tiers, the northeast forests of Tasmania and the waters of Bass Strait threatened with toxic outfall from proposed pulp mills. His advocacy for nature was matched by an active and heartfelt support for social justice and opposition to the cruelties of war such as he had experienced in his younger life.”

“Peter’s hugely popular on-air gardening advice programs had subliminal but powerful messages for protecting and honouring of Australia’s wild places and wildlife. His passing will bring tears to the eyes of countless thousands of Australians who avidly viewed his love of gardening and all things green on Gardening Australia,” Brown said.

“Millions of Australians will be putting a figurative arm around Tina and her family today as we share memories of this wonderful man’s life over the last 94 years.”

Bob Brown Foundation has criticised Chinese state-owned MMG’s referral to push ahead with their heavy metals tailings dam in Tasmania’s takayna / Tarkine. The referral to the Federal Environment EPBC has been in the public comment phase for the past ten days.

“The Federal Environment Minister has the next ten days to refuse this proposed project that is unnecessary and will be extremely damaging to a large area of Australia’s World Heritage value takayna. The Foundation is now making preparations to return to frontline action to defend the rainforests, if MMG is granted permission to demolish World Heritage values by Australia’s environment minister,” said Bob Brown Foundation takayna / Tarkine Campaigner Scott Jordan.

“Mining company MMG’s referral lacked data, made unfounded assumptions about threatened species at the proposed site and blatantly attempted to bypass an earlier referral decision. When MMG withdrew their illegal roading and drilling works from the EPBC assessment we smelled a rat. In the detail of the new referral, the rat has been sighted. Referring an already referred project, already under assessment and already in breach, makes no sense unless MMG have been given undertakings that by doing so these works can be exempted from assessment," Scott Jordan said.

In July, MMG ceased works on the project after legal notice was given by Bob Brown Foundation that works undertaken were without permits and therefore illegal. MMG then withdrew the roading and drilling from the pre-existing assessment process and resubmitted these works as a new assessment in an attempt to bypass the current assessment.

The Minister has until 15 December to decide if the referred and already illegally commenced works require assessment under the EPBC Act. In the referral, MMG has pre-empted a ‘no assessment’ decision announcing a December 16 recommencement.

“MMG should have been prosecuted for their illegal works, but it appears that instead they have had the process bastardised to suit their agenda. Minister Ley needs to come clean on what assurances have been given to MMG. The Minister has already ruled that this project needs a full assessment. The decision on this referral must be the same as the previous referral, or it is a sham," concluded Mr Jordan.

MMG’s environmental claims of no significant impacts on Masked Owl, Brookers Gum, Tasmanian Devil and other species have been based on just four days of surveying, across multiple species over a fraction of the works area.

Bob Brown Foundation’s submission, based on four months of on-site surveying here