The battle goes national

The battle goes national

Members of the Tasmanian Wilderness society continued to fight for the Franklin. Bob Brown, a founding member of the Tasmanian Wilderness Society, continued travelling around Australia. He held presentations and continued to talk to newspaper editors and politicians. This work helped publicise the beauty of the river and more people became volunteers fighting for the Franklin. Short films were made, posters designed, stunts devised and more rallies held.

It was this pressure from the people that forced the Federal Government to act. Prime Minister Fraser offered the Gray Government $500 million to stop the dam. Gray rejected the offer and with that Fraser refused any further involvement. He claimed the dam was a state matter, not a matter for the Federal Government. Constitutional experts, editors and many others disagreed with Fraser. The Tasmanian Wilderness Society and the Australian Conservation Foundation looked at marginal seats where conservation voters would make a difference in future federal elections.

Workers were still preparing the site for bulldozers so the Tasmanian Wildness Society began planning to take direct action, with a peaceful blockade of the dam site. Bob Brown announced that the Tasmanian Wilderness Society was prepared to block the bulldozers for as long as it took, they were willing to ‘fight to the to the last bucket of cement’. Premier Gray labelled the protesters as ‘professional troublemakers’.

The information was sourced from The Wilderness Society. To find out more information visit the Wilderness Society site and find the Franklin River Campaign Part 3.