There are news stories that leave you stunned and angry. Stories where you sit in front of your screen and wonder: What kind of world are we living in right now?
A recent incident from Tasmania, brought to light by the renowned environmental organization Bob Brown Foundation, is precisely one of those cases. Two retired health professionals were handed a months-long nighttime curfew after a peaceful protest—treating them like dangerous criminals. Due to family reasons, I have a special closeness and connection to Tasmania; I am therefore very interested in events taking place on Australia’s southern island.
Sitting here in Germany, you often feel helpless watching valuable nature being destroyed on the other side of the world while civil disobedience is draconianly punished. But looking away is simply not an option. As someone who advocates for digital sovereignty, social participation, and the preservation of our environment, this case just makes me furious.
What Happened? (The Facts)
The Bob Brown Foundation reported on October 5, 2026 on Instagram, on a terrifying new dimension of intimidation:
Original Press Release: „Two retired Tasmanian health professionals have today been placed on an outrageous nightly curfew until January 2027 after protesting to defend Tasmania’s native forests. Today, three peaceful forest activists were arrested in the Central Highlands defending native forests from destruction. In an example of complete police overreach, two of the protesters were bailed from Bridgewater Police Station this afternoon with a strict 10 pm to 7 am house curfew until 25 January 2027. They are also forbidden from entering any permanent timber production zone land until their court date. This includes all public forests, which make up about 12% of Tasmania’s landmass.“
Take a quick breath… Say what?? WTF?!
The Faces Behind the Harsh Conditions
What makes this case so unbearable is the sheer shamelessness with which ordinary citizens are being intimidated. These are not violent offenders; these are people letting their conscience speak:
- Alison Salisbury (61, retired nurse and grandmother):„My jaw dropped when Tasmania Police imposed a curfew for my forest protest today. This is draconian overreach and impinges on our basic rights to protest in a fair and reasonable society. It won’t work, and I will appeal this home imprisonment for standing up for our native forests and all the animals that live within them.“
- Susan Sheehan (retired General Practitioner):„These punitive curfew conditions will stop me from looking after my family and community members in need. I feel that the unthoughtful bail conditions imposed by Tasmania Police will result in less dialogue and deeper divisions in the community over the right to peaceful protest.“
Jenny Weber, Campaigns Director at the Bob Brown Foundation, puts it in perspective:
„That is just wrong. Protesters are willing to wear their charges for civil disobedience when breaking unjust laws that protect the loggers, but outrageous bail conditions imposing house imprisonment on forest defenders is appalling.“
Why This Makes Me So Angry – Looking Beyond the Horizon
A nighttime curfew lasting until January 2027, spanning the coming months, combined with a ban on entering a staggering 12% of your home state’s landmass, is beyond absurd and deeply severe. Imagine that happening in your local area. What kind of restriction would that impose on your surroundings? Tasmania is an Australian state and an island — just to give you a simple illustration…
As someone deeply invested in digital freedoms, fundamental rights, and social responsibility, I see a dangerous precedent here: When the state starts imposing quasi-imprisonment conditions on peaceful protesters, the foundation of a democratic society begins to crack. This has been worrying me for years, and the situation in Australia—especially in Tasmania—is not exactly positive. This is for anyone who tends to associate Australia only with sun, beaches, surfing, and its cute (and dangerous) animals.
While the commercial and ecologically devastating logging of ancient Tasmanian forests is protected by politicians and allowed to continue legally, retired grandmothers and doctors are being criminalized for standing up for the last refuges of endangered species. Tasmania’s nature is of global importance — it is an irreplaceable part of our planet. If the last wild areas fall there, we all lose a piece of our livelihood.
Even though I am sitting here in Germany and sometimes feel like I can’t „do much,“ speaking out, writing, and making noise is the absolute least we can do. We must not look away when basic rights and environmental protection are trampled underfoot.
Solidarity with Alison and Susan and all others who are actively and peacefully working to save and preserve nature!
Further Links & Sources:
What are your thoughts on such harsh bail conditions? Where does justice draw the line between the rule of law and repression? Let me know in the comments.