Police move in on protestors at Camp Flozza in the Florentine Valley. Photographer: Niki Davis-Jones
Anti-logging protesters have clashed with police in the Upper Florentine Valley in Tasmania’s south.
Up to 200 protestors tried to march onto Forestry Tasmania land this morning and more than a dozen were arrested after forcing their way through a police line.
One protestor stopped forest workers by chaining himself to machinery, while four people remain in tree sits at the site of a protest camp that was broken up early this week.
The march was in response to the police breaking up a protest camp on Monday to allow Forestry Tasmania to build a road through the area.
01.11. A teenage girl is being flown to hospital in Tasmania after being attacked by what is believed to be a five-metre white pointer shark on the state’s east coast. The attack happened at Baileys Rocks at Binalong Bay [NE Tasmania] earlier this afternoon. The girl was surfing when the shark attacked her, biting through her surfboard and injuring her leg.
01.10. A Tasmanian-based IT company has signed a lucrative deal with internet giant Google. E Tech creates online learning systems which are used by schools all over the world. It’s also the first recipient of a $2 million Tasmanian Government support loan to help it through the global financial crisis.
This delightful shot of New Norfolk is only done justice when viewed large.
It comes from the portfolio of Melbourne-based Wibowo Rusli. Check out his Flickr photostream.
Editor’s note: If you would like to be featured here, simply upload your photographs to Flickr [signing up is free] and we’ll find them. We check regularly for new entries tagged with ‘Tasmania’ or, better still, ‘thisTasmania’.
01.07. Conservationists say the timber company Gunns is suing 13 forest activists over a protest at the Triabunna woodchip mill last month. The activists climbed machinery and stopped work at the mill to highlight the impact of old growth logging on climate change.
The federal government has refused to give the final green light to the $2.2 billion Tamar Valley pulp mill.
In a shock development, federal environment minister Peter Garrett announced in Sydney early this afternoon that he had knocked back three of the required 12 environmental permits for the Gunns pulp mill.
Mr Garrett said federal environmental approval for the proposed Tasmanian pulp mill would not be granted until detailed studies on the potential marine impacts have been completed.
More here.
Hobart residents awoke to a wintry surprise on Friday morning [January 2] — a dusting of snow on top of Mount Wellington. The Bureau of Meteorology says a south westerly change on New Year’s Day brought cold air through Hobart, causing the falls
The federal government will approve or reject Gunns’ proposed northern Tasmanian pulp mill in a few days. Peter Garrett, the Environment Minister, needs to approve 16 environmental modules for the mill to proceed by January 5. He’s already granted one previous extension, and has ruled out giving another.
Welcome back to Flickr Friday. We’re reviving our popular feature with this classic shot by Rick Elkins, a New York-based art director who was on assignment in Tasmania for a commercial shoot.
“We filmed at a number of different locations and this photo was taken in a tool shed of a property where we were using to park our vehicles.
“The location was between Queenstown and Lake Burberry. I was wandering around between takes, trying to stay dry from the frequent rain when I discovered the shed.”
See more of his work here.
If you would like to submit your photographs for Flickr Friday just tag them with ‘thistasmania’ and we’ll find them.
Jeff Miller first visited Tasmania in 2005 on recommendations from co-workers in the US Antarctic program.
“Being a geographically-challenged Yank, at the time all I really knew about Tassie was that the devil lived here. During that first visit I only had time to hike the Overland Track and see Wineglass Bay, but it was enough to make a huge impression. I was hooked.”
As luck would have it, his partner was offered a job in Hobart the following year.
Jeff quickly followed and, now permanent residents, they are intending to stay indefinitely.
“We are very keen bushwalkers and the huge unspoilt wilderness were such an attraction. Couple that with the laid-back lifestyle and the quality of life and I really can’t understand why Tassie isn’t overrun with mainlanders.
“It seems the locals have done a great job of keeping this place a well-guarded secret.”
While an unpublished amateur photographer, Jeff is skilled at capturing the graphic elements of a scene and has a well-developed eye for composition.
He particularly enjoys the symmetry of reflections, but finds beauty in most any landscape.
“In the short time we’ve been here, we have been lucky to see quite a lot of the State.
“For the photographer, Tasmanias varied landscapes offer endless opportunities. Rainforest, beaches, waterfalls, rugged mountains — you name it and it is here.”
Click on any image below to see a larger version:
