Photo Essay
Turning an ancient rainforest into toxic waste
Often described as one of the world’s last truly wild places, takayna sweeps across 447,000 hectares of rugged coastal heathland, wild rivers and button-grass plains. It is home to Australia's largest patch of temperate rainforest and one of the last undisturbed tracts of Gondwanan rainforest in the world.
Rich in Aboriginal heritage, takayna is home to one of the highest concentrations of Aboriginal archaeology in the hemisphere.
An ancient pocket of this rainforest will be demolished if mining company MMG proceed with their plan to create a toxic waste dump from a nearby mine. At the site of MMG’s proposal, a blockade has been established to halt the plan.
An interchangeable group of over 600 people have visited the blockade, ranging from young people all the way to retirees. Some visit for the day, others the week. Lots of the people take time out from their day jobs to be here. Some work at their jobs remotely from the camp in order to maintain a presence.
At the blockade
At the blockade
Susie AulichFebruary 2022‘It’s illegal for us to be here, but it's legal for them to trash it. Pouring toxic chemicals into an ancient rainforest? That's legal. But just standing here in the forest? That’s illegal. I would actually prefer to be at home in my garden looking after my grandchildren and going on adventures with them. I’d much prefer to be at my shack. Once you see what’s at risk and you get what it is, then you have an obligation’.
At the blockade
Jenny WeberFebruary 2022Imagine having one of the last temperate rainforests in the world and not wanting to protect it. This is a legacy of the colonial way of putting food on the table: Cut it down. Dig it up. What we are trying do is show that we can have jobs, security and we can protect these wild places. We actually all benefit from protecting them.
At the blockade
CharleyFebruary 2022Something that is interesting to me as French, is I've been to the West Coast of America where they have the tallest tree in the world, and they are very proud of it. There is big tourism around it; people travel just to see this big tree. Do you know where the tallest tree in the southern hemisphere is? It’s in Tasmania. Do you know about it? No. What are we doing about these natural places? Not tourism, we are logging them.
At the blockade
EminaFebruary 2022When you walk in here and see what’s at stake, you really understand what the action here is about. It becomes impossible to take for granted. Even someone who might be sceptical about what’s going on here - and might just view the blockade as trouble - would appreciate what’s at stake if they saw it.
takayna is core habitat for endangered species such as the Grey Goshawk, Masked Owl, Wedge-tailed Eagle and Tasmanian Devil. Under MMG’s plan, it will all become a dumping ground for 25 million cubic metres of acid-producing mine tailings.
Surveys show the majority of Australians want native forests protected, but politicians tout mining and logging as key pillars of the economy, despite these industries relying on government subsidies to survive.
The Australian Heritage Council assessed takayna to have “outstanding national heritage significance” for both its ecological values and cultural history.
Moss, ferns, fungi and lichens coat the tree trunks, rocks and soil of takayna. The abundance of different plant species tell the story of Australia’s ancient flora.
90% of takayna remains unprotected and vulnerable to exploitation. Laws currently being tabled in state parliament will mean standing in front of a tree to protect wildlife will risk a lengthy jail term.
Left untouched, in 500 years the forest will have continued as a hub of biological productivity— creating life, protecting life and cooling the planet. Alternatively, the tailings dam will have served its purpose and been made redundant, as will a significant stretch of Australia’s largest temperate rainforest.