C’mon Carmel – End woodchipping in NSW south east forests

Our iconic forests in south east NSW, which are teeming with native birds and animals, are under threat from unsustainable woodchipping. 

Carmel Tebbutt, local MP for Marrickville, is the NSW Minister for Environment and Climate Change.  She has the power to save the south east forests from destruction by closing the South East Fibre Exports (SEFE) woodchip mill at Eden. 

Greens MP Lee Rhiannon and Greens members in Carmel Tebbutt's seat of Marrickville

NSW Greens MP Lee Rhiannon and Marrickville Greens councillors send Carmel Tebbutt a message

 

  

carmel_tebbutt2Join the campaign to put Carmel Tebbutt in the hot seat. Tell her you care. Ask her to close the Eden woodchip mill and in the process: 

The South East Koala comes to visit Carmel in Marrickville

Watch our youtube: A South East Forests koala visited Carmel Tebbutt in Marrickville to ask her to stop woodchipping his home.

 

Eden woodchip mill is owned by the Japanese company, Nippon Paper Group. 

Over the last 40 years, the Eden woodchip mill has chipped over 30 million tonnes of native forest trees.  The area logged to feed the woodchip mill has increased by 78% from 2002-03 to 2006-07. 

Over this time, yields per hectare have steadily declined and real prices have decreased.  The NSW government has admitted that the native forest division of Forests NSW operates at a loss to taxpayers. 

20th anniversary of massive south east forest protests 

In 1989 over 800 people were arrested in protests to stop woodchipping in the south east forests.  At the time, this public groundswell put the south east forests firmly on the political agenda.  On the 20th anniversary of those massive protests, let’s show Carmel Tebbutt that the people of NSW are still serious about ending woodchipping in the south east forests. 

Photo by Michael Gormly

Photo by Michael Gormly

 

Breaking news:  The Eden woodchipping operators are also pursuing plans to build a new power station fuelled by wood from native forests at Eden. This proposal is currently in the Minister for Planning’s hands, awaiting a decision. 

If the power station is built it will provide another incentive to log native forests in the south east. 

This proposal is bad news for the forests, bad news for climate change and bad news for local residents. There is a strong community campaign to say NO! to buring forests for electricity.  Find out more!