Protests hound MP

By Kath Gannaway
GEMBROOK MP Tammy Lobato abandoned a “mobile office” stop at Powelltown on Friday when, for the second time this month, she was confronted by timber industry protestors.
Ms Lobato said meetings planned for McMahons Creek and Woods Point have now also been cancelled.
Ms Lobato was to meet with Powelltown Football Club representative Shelley Gray but drove on after timber workers from the Powelltown Sawmill lined up along the main road and a group of women and children gathered with placards at the local store where the meeting was to be held.
The previous week at Yarra Junction Ms Lobato faced a group of 16 women protestors representing timber industry families.
“I was not prepared to put members of the community or my staff at risk,” Ms Lobato said.
“It was obvious that people were there to demonstrate and given the events of last week, I was not going to place myself or others in a dangerous situation.”
Ms Lobato said she had made a commitment to be accessible to all constituents through operating the mobile office in outlying areas.
“When this commitment is abused and people are put at risk, it makes me question what sort of MP people really want to represent them.
“Getting abusive messages on my answering machine is one thing but feeling unsafe to drive around townships in my own electorate takes things to a new level,” she said.
However, a spokesperson for Timber Communities Australia (TCA) which organised the protests said the latest protest was a response to Ms Lobato’s refusal to meet with timber industry families.
“Ms Lobato cannot continue to ignore us and we will continue to push for a meeting and a forest tour so she can fully understand the implications of her misguided comments,” the spokesperson said.
Ms Lobato had called for a halt to timber harvesting in the Armstrong Catchment until a government report, currently underway, has been finalised.
Ms Gray said she believed the MP’s fears were ungrounded, saying she couldn’t believe Ms Lobato felt threatened by a group of women and children supporting their families.
“The group was peaceful and just wanted to be granted an audience with their local member,” she said.
“To be labelled a threat to anyone’s safety is a joke and should be taken as such.” Ms Gray said while she was disappointed Ms Lobato cancelled the appointment but added she would not have crossed the picket line.
“Our football club, like many local businesses, could not survive without the timber industry and I wouldn’t have crossed the picket line even if Ms Lobato did show,” she said.
Ms Lobato was unavailable for comment on whether she is prepared to meet with the TCA and timber industry families.