The Mayor of Dunedin, Sukhi Turner, will uncork a bottle of champagne at a Dunedin public meeting tonight, in celebration of the imminent end to native forest logging on the West Coast.

The recent decision of the Labour Party to support ending the logging means that their policy is now virtually identical to Green Party policy, and that under the next government, the West Coast's forests would be saved.

The public meeting, which has been organised by the Green Party, will feature author Nicky Hager speaking on his newly released book Secrets and Lies.

Meeting organiser, and Dunedin North Green Party candidate Michael Tritt said that the large crowd expected at the meeting will be "very enthused by the likely prospect of Timberlands ceasing to exist after the election".

"We are very pleased with Labour's decision. With a strong post-election Green presence in parliament, we can work on moving them closer to Green Party policy on other pressing social and environmental issues," he said.

"Despite what the Timberlands/Shandwick's propaganda machine says, the future of the West Coast does not lie in logging ancient forests. Employment will come from government assisted development, in industries which are both economically and environmentally sustainable," he said.

"We hope that West Coasters will join us in celebration tonight, knowing that a new government will invest in their future in a way that does not compromise the environment. Future generations will thank them for it," he said.

Sukhi Turner will open the champagne at the beginning of tonight's meeting, which will be in the Burns 2 lecture theatre, Otago University at 7:30pm.

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