A year to the day when seven grandmas wrapped up warm and set up a blockade at a forest near Nannup to protest against logging, the Western Australian government announced a plan to end the practice.
Nannas for Native Forests, led by Peta Goodwin, welcomed the September 8 declaration by WA Premier Mark McGowan, who said native forests were unique, beautiful and important, particularly in the fight against climate change.
From 2024, timber taken from native forests will be limited to forest management activities that improve forest health and clearing for approved mining operations, such as Alcoa.
The day after the surprise announcement, Peta and fellow Nannas from Margaret River attended a leaf Sit n Stitch session at Connect Victoria Park, where they talked about the fight to save native forests and taught attendees the Nannas' Anthem, a song pleading for logging to stop.
"I was shocked to wake up to the announcement," Peta said.
"It was a good shock. It's really good that the government has actually heard what we are saying.
"The effects of climate change are becoming very obvious so I think that had quite a bit to do with it."
Peta said there were 17,000 responses to the state government's recent WA Forest Survey, with 65 per cent saying no to logging.
"I feel that is one thing the Nannas can claim quite a bit of credit for because we did get out on the streets and really push the survey," she said.
Their efforts attracted a lot of media attention.
"When we started, we thought we would actually take people out to the forest because we knew a lot of people didn't know what was happening," Peta said.
"We wanted people to see what was happening on the ground. It is devastation. It was like the killing fields out there.
"We didn't tie ourselves to trees or anything. We just went out and offered tea and scones to forestry workers and police."
In a statement, the Nannas congratulated the ministers involved with the decision - for their leadership, their courage, for listening to the community and for demonstrating their understanding of both the science and the economics of native forest logging.
"This is a win/win/win/win - not only for the forests, future generations, biodiversity, climate and carbon sequestration but also for the economy," Peta said.
"We believe that this action will open up the conversations we need to have about our future."
The Nannas and other advocacy groups will continue to work alongside the government to ensure that the new Forest Management /Conservation Plan delivers the best possible outcomes for the forests and the future.
The Nannas would love to see an immediate moratorium on native forest logging while the process of changing the Management Plan to a Conservation Plan is in train.
The state government said the decision to end logging of native forests in the Forest Management Plan 2024-33 will preserve at least an additional 400,000 hectares of karri, jarrah and wandoo forests.
It has pledged $350 million in new softwood plantations and will establish a $50 million Native Forestry Transition Group to support affected workers and communities.
