Aboriginal activist tells court of obligation to prevent 'slaughtered' forests

Lead

An Aboriginal activist facing a trespass charge has told a Hobart court she has a cultural obligation to “protect lands that are being slaughtered.” Ruth Langford, also known as Tipruthanna, a Yorta Yorta/Dja Dja Wurrung woman born in Tasmania, is representing herself in the Hobart Magistrates Court over allegations she trespassed in a logging coupe during an anti-logging protest at Snow Hill in January 2025. Langford has pleaded not guilty to the charge and argued she was defending country and had a lawful excuse to remain on the land.

Coverage comparison

Reporting on the case comes from ABC Australia, which covered the proceedings across multiple days of the hearing. The broadcaster described Langford as an activist who was part of a group performing funerary rites for “kinsmen trees” that had been felled, and detailed her cultural upbringing and the influence of her mother and elders. The court heard body camera footage of Langford’s arrest, and she stated she did not hear the police officer’s request to leave.

Key claims

• Langford was part of a group of activists who attended an anti-logging protest at Snow Hill in Tasmania’s northern midlands in January 2025. She has been accused of refusing police orders to leave the site, resulting in her arrest and a charge of trespassing, to which she has pleaded not guilty.
• Langford requested that the court matter be heard on country at Piyura Kitina/Risdon Cove in Hobart, but the request was refused by Chief Magistrate Catherine Geason in April. She appeared via video link from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Community Centre at Piyura Kitina/Risdon Cove during the hearing.
• Langford called four witnesses to give evidence in support of her case, including Palawa elder Uncle Jim Everett Puralia Meenamatta and Palawa man Cody Gangell-Smith. The court heard that Langford was part of a group performing funerary rites for “kinsmen trees” that had been felled.
• Langford told the court she arrived at the logging coupe in the early morning of January 21, 2025, “to uphold cultural obligation to protect country” and “to conduct a mourning ceremony.” She described her cultural upbringing with “radical resistance fighters” involved in the 1980s campaign to stop the Franklin River being dammed, including Michael Mansell and Uncle Jim Everett.
• Langford detailed the influence of her mother, Yorta Yorta woman and activist Rosalind Langford, in forming her understanding of her cultural obligation to defend country. “My mother really thought it was absolutely important that the community stood on the front line to assert our cultural law,” she told the court.
• Uncle Jim Everett, who gave evidence from Truwana/Cape Barren Island, said the link between Aboriginal lore and country informed the need for Palawa people to protect the land. He said he passed the role onto Langford to enter forests to protect and defend them from logging. Everett has previously said he does not recognise “colonial courts” and appeared in court last year after being charged with trespass while protesting against native forest logging.

Perspectives

Ruth Langford (defendant): Langford maintains she had a cultural obligation to remain on the land and protect it from logging, describing the forests as “being slaughtered.” She argues her actions were a reasonable, lawful excuse to be present at the site.

Uncle Jim Everett (witness): The Palawa elder supported Langford’s case, emphasising the link between Aboriginal lore and country, and confirming he had passed the responsibility of protecting forests to her.

Chief Magistrate Catherine Geason: The presiding magistrate refused Langford’s request to have the matter heard on country, but the court proceeded with the hearing over three days, considering evidence and testimony from witnesses.