Media release. Nipaluna / Hobart, Tuesday, 23 June, 2026
The current debate over timber from Tasmania’s forests being sent to Victorian mills and sold through major retailers continues to ignore a fundamental truth: the forests being logged are on stolen Aboriginal land.
“Everyone is arguing about Tasmania’s forests, but nobody is talking about the people who created them,” said Nala Mansell, Campaign Coordinator for the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre.
“These forests did not simply exist in spite of Aboriginal people. They exist because Aboriginal people managed, maintained and cared for them over thousands of generations. What many people describe as wilderness is, in reality, an Aboriginal cultural landscape.”
Ms Mansell said timber being harvested from Tasmania’s Permanent Timber Production Zone was being taken from Aboriginal land without the permission of Palawa people.
“Whether it ends up in Victorian mills, Bunnings stores or overseas markets, the reality is the same. This timber is being taken from stolen Aboriginal land. There has never been a legal or ethical transfer of ownership from Palawa people.”
Ms Mansell said the Tasmanian Government’s proposed Aboriginal heritage laws reflected the same refusal to recognise Aboriginal ownership and authority.
“If governments are serious about protecting forests and Aboriginal heritage, they should start returning stolen Aboriginal land to Aboriginal people. The people who created these landscapes and cared for them for thousands of generations are best placed to protect them into the future,” said Ms Mansell.
