More than 30 forest defenders have been escorted from Orara State Forest this morning as the NSW Police move in to guard loggers from peaceful members of the community who are determined to prevent more extinction logging. The latest show of force from the NSW Police caused most community members to voluntarily leave the forest, although some community members were later issued with fines despite complying with directions.
As stated by Sue Higginson, MLC:
"The extinction logging in Orara State Forest will continue today after the NSW Police moved in, threatening to arrest and imprison some 30 peaceful members of the community who were on public land."
"It is incredibly telling, that the state-owned Forestry Corporation must deploy armed police on public land so that they can continue their profitless destruction of our public native forests. It's sickening that this forest is now being destroyed, under police guard given it is part of the promised Great Koala National Park."
"That this logging will continue today under martial law should be cold comfort to the Forestry Corporation and Premier Chris Minns with more and more members of the community joining the opposition to their often illegal native forest logging."
"It is a tremendous credit to the peaceful forest defenders that they continue to put their lives on hold and their bodies on the line to protect these natural treasures from wanton destruction by the Forestry Corporation, and it is a crying shame that the Police are misleading these community members and taking punitive actions even where official directions have been complied with."
"What has happened in Orara State Forest today is state violence against a peaceful community. The NSW Police are more interested in protecting a criminal corporation than they are in protecting the community from having their natural spaces destroyed for no good reason."
"The Police cannot arrest their way out of this, the community will continue to stand up for the forests. What we all need now, is for the Minns Labor Government to take a stand and end the profitless logging of our public native forests," Ms Higginson said.
