Styx River Forest Protests

The forests along the escarpment in northern NSW have been nominated for
their world heritage values.  Here there are large areas of wilderness
awaiting gazettal by a government that has recently approved the increase of
export woodchip licenses.  I have recently moved to this area from Victoria
and have become involved with The Wilderness Society in the campaign to
preserve and protect these vast, beautiful forests from the depredations of
the timber industry.  I would like to share my experience of a recent forest
action with you.

The Styx River State Forest is close to Armidale, my current home.  Our
scouting operation found logging activity underway in compartment 70 in Styx,
recognised as containing high conservation value forest.  Being very new at
forest activism, we work closely with the North East Forest Alliance (NEFA)
who are seasoned and experienced campaigners and activists.  With the
information we supplied, NEFA launched a blockade of Styx 70.  This was a
week before the NSW election, and the authorities clearly decided to go
softly softly until the elections were over.  As a result the blockade
prevented logging for ten days before it was dismantled by police and work
continued.  The blockaders were weary and headed for the beach for some R&R. 
The mood was not good.  We felt defeated.

When I first came to Armidale, I had a little dream about a forest action
with babes and grandfolk, mums, dads and bankers.  I had just forgotten it. 
Now, I remembered, and I thought that a walk-in to the closed forest could
generate good media and pressure the new government to act on its promises to
protect our forests.

What was needed?  A lot of people at short notice who were willing to be
arrested for the forests.

What did we have?  A dozen people on a list who were interested in forest
actions, and a feeling that the Styx River is dear to the people of Armidale.

What did we do?  The Wilderness Society called a public meeting on Sunday
afternoon in the Armidale mall to inform people of the situation, to generate
action proposals and to get an idea of the support available for action in
the forest.

What happened?  We had a strong turn-out.  Seventy people attended the
meeting, including some local loggers with family.  I facilitated and
provided information on the facts of the issue when needed and did my best to
encourage an open, fair, non-hostile platform, so everyone could speak
without interruption.  

Before the meeting opened, I approached the loggers and made it clear to them
that they were welcome to speak if they wanted to, and equally welcome not
to.  I encouraged them to join the circle of the general audience, but they
felt more comfortable remaining a bit apart from the main group.  The
children of the loggers provided an interesting backdrop to the meeting as
they played noisily with their toy chainsaws!

As the meeting opened, I introduced the loggers to the main group and
indicated that they had been invited to attend, as had all the public, and
that I had invited them to speak to us if they wanted to.  This was fortunate
because later in the afternoon some members of the meeting started to insist
that the loggers address us.  It seemed that they were being called to defend
themselves.  It was possible to point out that they were aware that they
could speak if they wanted to, that no person at the meeting was under any
compulsion to speak and that we should respect their desire to remain silent.
Happily the loggers agreed to speak about their concerns.  It was a bit
tricky at times to ensure that they had the space to speak without
interruption and to control the heat.

The meeting generated four action proposals in 1 3/4 hours and concluded with
forty people committed to a walk-in with the understanding that they may be
arrested.  The other thirty-odd people had left.

I ask myself why?  Why did those people leave?  Did they feel that they were
being manipulated by me subtly pushing my agenda?  Was I doing that?  How
open was I really to the other proposals?  Was I merely enacting the form of
consensus/group process without the spirit of it i.e. was I using this format
as a soft-sell for my plan?  I think I will only be able to answer these
questions with more experience.  It seems important to me to keep these
questions alive in future similar situations, to remain consciously inquiring
into my motives.

At any rate, forty people was a great response.  We arrived in the forest on
Tuesday, with the police fully informed of our intentions.  We stopped at the
police line to talk again - to address lingering doubts and concerns and
reaffirm our commitment, on the ground, prior to entering an arrestable
situation.  We had one babe in arms and grandma who was dead keen to get
arrested.

The time approached for the walk-in when news came to us from the District
Forester via the police that the logging was to stop!  All we had done was
turn up!  We had a picnic and returned to Armidale.

At this time I was elated.  Some people were expressing a concern that it was
too good to be true and they doubted the news.  I assured them that the
police would not lie to us, which was founded on faith rather than
experience, and did not set about making contingency plans should their fears
prove true.  This was poor management on my part.  I should have called a
debriefing meeting, to allow people to raise such concerns and to address
them as a group.  I think perhaps that some may have felt it all rather
anti-climactic, having made the difficult personal decision to risk arrest. 
Well, we live and learn - next time I'll know to debrief, especially because
of how the situation subsequently developed.

We found out that we had been lied to.  Logging did not stop.  The police
were embarrassed.  They were more sympathetic to us and our cause now than
before.  Thank you, oh forces of darkness and deception, for aiding our cause
despite yourself.

We needed to repeat the action and this time, see it right through.  We
phoned around like mad to tell people what had happened and raise the numbers
again.  Many couldn't spare a second day, but new faces appeared and we set
out the next day with a group numbering about thirty.  The police allowed us
to get good video footage for TV before arresting us all.  As we left to
return to Armidale, we were informed that we were released from arrest and
that no charges were to be laid.  The police complimented us on our orderly
and cooperative conduct and we thanked them for theirs.  It was an ideal
result - plenty of arrests for the media with no charges against us.

Well, it was almost ideal.  I stressed the importance of cooperating with the
police, because they were not our enemies but in fact our allies, providing
us with all the juicy arrests for the media to pressure the government.  Then
everyone just stepped over the line and got their arrest, except me.  The
little boy inside me got all excited and of all the protesters, I was the
only one to run the police line and hide in the forest.  Pure heroics and bad
tactics.  The police felt betrayed.  I apologized.  No harm done, I think,
but certainly no good.

The final result was that the new Minister for Soil and Water Conservation
ordered logging to stop that afternoon.  We had sent him and others a full
brief the day before.

Other benefits of the action include a heightened public profile for The
Wilderness Society in Armidale.  The local National Parks Association, a
group of academics and persons of standing, have realized we are not
extremist ratbags and we are much closer to them.  The police have said in
follow-up calls that they felt we had conducted ourselves with dignity, in
contrast to other actions they had attended. They felt that, in future,
charges would probably remain unnecessary.  We have a new flush of faces
about the place - people who made a stand, won, and got away clean.

As a result of this action and my role in it, I feel more full.  There is a
warmth in my solar plexus.  I don't know, however, whether the feeling of
power I have is from within or from without.  Was the action an empowering
success, leaving me stronger within?  Or did the success earn me the respect
of others, and the feeling of power comes from authority I have as a result?

The question of authority is in my mind.  I fear I have a tendency to abuse
authority when I get it.  I become a bit arrogant, and tend towards
power-over.  So far I have dealt with this fear by withdrawing from the
office - not a good solution.  I think I deal with my fear of authority by
encouraging people to lower their opinion of me, undermining their respect
and therefore reducing my power.  Withdrawing from the office is an example
of this type of behavior, as was hiding in the forest during the action.

To develop my personal inner power, I need to take responsibility for any
authority and leadership I may have.  This is a task I don't expect to
complete for some time, but little by little, as experience accrues, I will
continue to work at it.  It is a personal responsibility for a better world
that we all share.
Owen Rigby