The company and all its shareholders, are vile scum, despised by all decent people. In fact, when I was a boy I used to live in the slums adjoining their Cimitiere St premises. The neighbours all hated Gunns so passionately, we refused to sell them spare land and many refused to sell their properties under any circumstances, just in case the purchaser turned out to be secretly acting as an intermediary for the hated Gunns. Even though this resulted in us having to continue living in the squalid housing, most of which lacked hot and cold running water, indoor toilets or bathrooms, or any of the comforts of the 20th century. The only bright side, all the neighbours made good use of every dark night to raid the timber yard and steal everything that wasn't welded down. The scenes in the Gunns yard at night resembled the scenes in post-invasion Iraq, sometimes we were tripping over each other in the dark. ;-)
Gunns are of course, also hated by most people in the tasmanian timber industry. Their ruthless business practices and political connections having sent many hundreds of competitors into bankruptcy and forced others to sell out to them.
I assert these blatant libels in the vain hope of being added to the list of people being sued for "corporate vilification". I would be honoured to join the company of those so hated and feared by Gunns as to make them worthy of such retalliation. BOYCOTT GUNNS LTD! -Bill Bartlett
http://www.examiner.com.au/story.asp?id=265528
600 protest over writs from Gunns By CHRIS JOHNSON Launceston Examiner, Thursday, 16 December 2004
High-profile Tasmanians yesterday condemned the decision by Gunns Ltd this week to serve writs on 20 environmental campaigners and seek damages totalling more than $6 million.
The group now calling themselves "The Gunns 20" said they would not be stopped from speaking out to protect Tasmania's forests from destruction.
The Federal Government said freedom of speech carried with it a duty to act responsibly.
Gunns made no statement on the issue yesterday, after saying on Tuesday that it would not comment further because the matter was before the courts.
The timber giant issued a writ in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Monday against Tasmanian Greens Senator Bob Brown, Greens State leader Peg Putt, the Wilderness Society and other conservationists and groups for alleged "corporate vilification" and disruption of logging operations.
Yesterday Denison Labor MHR Duncan Kerr and author Richard Flanagan joined some of the defendants in a public rally.
About 600 people gathered in Hobart's Franklin Square to show support for the conservationists and rattle their keys as a form of protest.
Mr Kerr urged Gunns to reconsider its action. "The decision about the future of our forests will not be made in the court of law but in the court of public opinion," he said.
"This legal proceeding is a very unfortunate stain on the way in which we conduct ourselves in this democracy.
"I would ask in this early stage that Gunns reflect on their decision and realise that if they are seeking to have a good corporate reputation, this is not the way to proceed."
Federal Agriculture Minister Warren Truss said in Northern Tasmania that although the Government believed in freedom of speech, those enjoying that freedom had to act responsibly.
Mr Flanagan said that where freedom of expression was denied, and freedom of association was punishable, freedom died.
"Who gets the next writs? Who is next to have their lives destroyed because they cared enough about this beautiful island home to say something, to do something?" he asked.
"This is how the rich and powerful defend their interests in numerous Third World countries, because ordinary people cannot afford to fight in court."
Senator Brown earlier described the Gunns move as the biggest legal attack on the popular environment movement in Australian history.
"This is an attack not just on our forests but on democracy and freedom of speech," he said.
"It will have huge ramifications for those people who are defending it. It will cause enormous heartache and fear for them and their families and their communities.
"After all, people fighting for forests are people fighting for communities here in Tasmania."
Ms Putt said the type of legal action against the group was known as SLAPP suits - Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation - and was used in the US by corporate giants.
A few dozen campaigners held a silent vigil outside of Gunns' Launceston premises in Cimitiere St.
About 30 people carried coffins outside the Australian Stock Exchange in Sydney to "mourn the death of free speech", and a protest was also held in Adelaide.