ON Wednesday September 16th, Vivien, aged 22, appeared at the Coffs Harbour Courthouse and pleaded guilty to five charges arising from her actions which halted logging operations in Pine Creek State Forest on 25 June.
Vivien locked herself onto log harvesting machinery, halting logging for hours in the State Forest.
She said, “While I accept these charges, I don’t accept why we need to receive them.
“We need to wake up real quick to the beauty of this land before we lose it.”
The magistrate dismissed two charges, but imposed a $500 fine, nine-month community corrections order and a recorded conviction for another charge.
A supporter said Vivien’s actions aligned with a community call to stop logging in Pine Creek, which provides essential connectivity between Bongil Bongil and Bindarri National Parks, as well as koala habitat in its own right, and was part of an ongoing campaign by forest defenders to protect Pine Creek forests and Gumbaynggirr land.
By Andrew VIVIAN
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