Native Forest Action Supportive Of Labour's Strong Stance On Native Forests

Todays announcement of Labour’s policy on the West Coast native forests currently being logged by Timberlands, has been received with strong approval from Native Forest Action.

“Labours’policy has the integrity of having both the native forests and West Coast employment best interests at heart”, said Native Forest Action spokesperson Dean Baigent-Mercer, “It will protect West Coast jobs from Timberlands’ otherwise looming privatisation by National and Act and protect the endangered wildlife from habitat destruction by Timberlands’ chainsaws”.

“Labour can enter the new millenium with a clear conscience on the issue of logging state-owned native forests if it becomes the new government. This issue has been a festering wound between conservationists and the Crown since 1971. It has taken guts for Labour to promote this outcome which will see both local employment and our biodiversity benefit”.

“Despite all the secrets and lies surrounding Timberlands’ logging of West Coast native forests, Labour has steered it’s way through the grubby PR hype to show visionary leadership and a solid meaningful policy”.

“By ending the logging of the native forests and providing the local community with a sincere regional development package intending to create local jobs – aimed at no nett job losses – both conservation and the West Coast community are the winners”.

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>