Bunnings Hardware of Australia Targeted for Old Growth Destruction
5/14/99
*******************************
RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Bunnings' warehouses in Victoria targeted as WA old growth
forest campaign goes national
Source: Wilderness Society
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: May 14, 1999
Media Release
In the wake of the signing of the Western Australian Regional Forest
Agreement (RFA), Bunnings Hardware Warehouses throughout Melbourne
will be the target of environment groups over the next week.
Coordinated by the Wilderness Society, a coalition of groups including
Friends of the Earth and Environment Victoria, as well as student
environmental campaigners, will be conducting direct action at
Bunnings warehouses throughout Melbourne to expose Bunnings' role in
the continued destruction of Western Australian and East Gippsland old
growth forests.
Victorian Campaigner for the Wilderness Society, Mr Gavan McFadzean
said, "Consumers want to be informed about the activities and
environment record of companies when choosing where to shop. What many
shoppers may not know is that Bunnings are Australia's second largest
export woodchipper of native forest. Bunnings are the driving force
behind the clearfell logging of Western Australia's unique old growth
karri and jarrah forests, clearing the equivalent of 26 MCGs every
single day. We will be passing this information onto Bunnings'
customers.
WA Campaigner for the Wilderness Society, David Mackenzie, said,
"Wesfarmers Bunnings appear to have been the major corporate supporter
and the only beneficiary of the recently signed and highly discredited
RFA. Under this Agreement one third of WA's remaining old growth
forest will be destroyed, including unique and irreplaceable forests
such as Jane, Peak, Giblett, and Kerr. While the WA old growth forest
campaign is set to escalate in the political arena and in the forests,
a major new focus will be corporate campaigning. Over the next week in
Victoria Bunnings will sample a taste of things to come for
Australia's woodchipping companies."
"We will be asking shoppers who are concerned about the destruction
of our old growth forests to join the Wilderness Society's Buy-Pass
Bunnings consumer campaign by pledging not to shop at Bunnings and
other Wesfarmers-owned stores.
"Bunnings also sell and distribute native forest timber products for
the largest clearfell logging company and woodchipper in East
Gippsland, East Gippsland Logging Pty Ltd.
"We are asking shoppers to support hardware stores other than
Bunnings. By simply exercising our right to shop where we like, we can
send a powerful message to the corporate decision-makers whose
policies drive the destruction of our forests."
For comment: WA Campaigner - David Mackenzie 0408 975 214 Email:
wa@wilderness.org.au
Victorian Campaigner - Gavan McFadzean 0414 754 023