Federal Member condemns tree spikes

THE alleged "spiking" of Derwent Valley trees destined for sawlog harvesting has been condemned by the Federal Member for Lyons.

"At least nine metal bolts were discovered in logs sourced from harvesting coupes near Mt Field," Brian Mitchell MHR said on Wednesday. "Some of the bolts were discovered only once the logs were being cut, breaking saws and spinning fast-moving fragments into mills, exposing workers to danger," he said.

“There is no excuse for the spiking of trees — absolutely none,” Mr Mitchell said, noting that the  affected mills were both in his electorate. “This spiteful, selfish and stupid activity puts workers’ lives at risk and costs local sawmillers thousands of dollars in downtime and repairs," he said.

“It doesn’t matter how passionate you are in your beliefs. We have plenty of political processes available for people to make their views known about timber harvesting without resorting to potentially lethal activities such as tree-spiking. Authorities are now investigating and I hope they are able to find the culprits and prosecute them to the full extent of the law.”

Just a quick thank you to all and update on the log spiking from yesterday today we found 6 more luckily with a metal detector all were removed by police and taken for DNA testing
Posted by Karanja timbers on Wednesday, May 20, 2020

A spokesman for the Bob Brown Foundation echoed the call for a full investigation into the reported incidents of tree spikes in logs at the Karanja and McKay sawmills.

"We have a proud record of non-violent forest protest in Tasmania and unequivocally condemn the use of violence or the threat of violence. Our Foundation has today condemned this alleged incident without reservation," Bob Brown Foundation campaign manager Jenny Weber said.

"We have written to the police commissioner to ask that any investigation looks at all possibilities as to who perpetrated this incident and not just listen to the logging industry and its supporters," she said. "Bob Brown Foundation has been the direct and indirect target of the accusations relating to this tree spiking incident.  As is always the case in Tasmania, the timber industry and political representatives of both the Government and opposition parties have been quick to point the finger at forest protesters in spite of the lack of evidence or any history of the use of tree spikes in Tasmania," Ms Weber said.

"In Tasmania, there is a long history, spanning more 30 years of false allegations against forest conservationists ranging from planting a bomb to tree spiking and vandalism of machinery. All have been false. Where the perpetrators have been identified, motives have ranged from insurance fraud, infighting between contractors and disaffected forestry workers acting out of malice," she said.