Kate Burton

This is the Weld River in southern Tasmania. The valley is home to ancient trees and giant stringybarks and is right next door to the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. When I visited the valley I saw on the one hand these crystal clear waters of the Weld River and on the other hand the desolate results of clearfelling.

The forest industry argues it doesn't clearfell anymore - it practises 'aggregated retention'. Instead of felling an entire area it retains a few clumps of trees for wildlife. One problem is though that many of the animals the forest is home to can't survive in this environment. Venturing into the open to move between clumps of trees they fall prey to birds and other hunters, which fundamentally changes the makeup of the forest flora and fauna.

The structure of the forest industry in Tasmania is akin to government-industry deals in third world countries. Gunns, the main logging company in the state, has all sorts of concessions that allow it to keep operating. For example it pays the state government only for the trees it removes from the forests - not for the trees it fells and leaves behind. The state government builds roads into the forests often solely to allow access for Gunns' timber trucks (of course these roads are said to be for forestry management or tourism).

The relationship between Gunns and successive state governments is way too cosy and has been said to be corrupt. Tasmania is

a beautiful place to live but in this respect it stinks.