Front Line
Tripod blocks gates at Whitehaven’s Gunnedah coal loader
A 21-year-old man has suspended himself from a tripod this morning, blocking the gates to Whitehaven Coal’s coal rail loader at Gunnedah, as a group of people gather to support his actions and protest the company’s plans to clear a large part of Leard State Forest in North West NSW for their Maules Creek coal mine.
The group is urging the federal Environment Minister, Greg Hunt, to halt work at Maules Creek mine in light of criminal investigation that is underway into allegations that Whitehaven Coal used false and misleading information to secure approval for the mine. Last week in Senate Estimates, the Department of Environment confirmed such an investigation is underway.
Spokesperson for the Leard Forest Alliance Helen War said, “Whitehaven Coal are currently under criminal investigation over their biodiversity offsets, and the Senate is about to launch an inquiry into the whole practice. It is only reasonable for Mr Hunt to suspend approval of this mine while that investigation is underway – or we might lose Leard forest while the Environment Minister dithers.”
The young man taking action this morning has travelled from Victoria, where his brother is fighting the coal seam fire at Hazelwood.
Helen War concluded, “Coal mines are doing damage to bushland and communities in many parts of regional Australia: we are proud to be here defending Leard Forest and Maules Creek, but we shouldn’t have to do the Environment Minster’s job for him.”
Tell Environment Minister Greg Hunt enough is enough
Phone Greg Hunt: call on him to suspend Whitehaven Coal’s Maules Creek Project licence. His number is: 02 6277 7920.
Email Greg Hunt: [email protected]
Click to Tweet: @GregHuntMP We call on you to protect Leard State Forest by suspending approval of Maules Ck mine while offsets investigation is resolved.
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Narrabri Council tries yet again to squash resistance to the Maules Creek coal mine in Leard State Forest
Narrabri Shire Council is again attempting to evict the Front Line Action On Coal camp which has been working for around 18 months to protect Leard State Forest from open-cut coal mining.
The camp was moved-on from its original site following mounting pressure and complaints from nearby coal mining companies that are bulldozing the forest to expand and develop new mines in the forest.
Several attempts were made before the camp was successfully evicted, these attempts included closing the state forest to general public access and calling an extraordinary meeting of council to vote against the camp. The camp had been in place at Leard State Forest from August 2012 until February 2014.
Following the initial eviction, a local Maules Creek farmer welcomed campers, allowing them to stay on his nearby farming property. But now the Narrabri Shire Council is attempting to evict people from the private farming property.
The Council is citing complaints against protesters relating to alleged increase of traffic, noise, and dust.
Leard Forest Alliance spokeswoman Helen War points out the irony of the charge: “The concerns about traffic, noise and dust from the coal mines are the very three concerns that Maules Creek residents have been fighting against for years,” she told the Northern Daily Leader.
“This is just another chapter in the ongoing circus that Narrabri Shire Council is trying to create against community protest.”
The group is now seeking legal advice.
You can get involved in the campaign to protect Leard State Forest from open-cut coal mining, here’s how.
63-year-old woman locked to water tank: work halted at Maules Creek mine
Ongoing protests at the controversial Maules Creek mine have continued today with a group of people blockading access to a water tank, including a 63-year-old archaeologist who has locked herself onto the pump. The group is protesting Whitehaven’s hoarding of water licences and the impact the mine will have in availability of water in the area.
Spokesperson for the Leard Forest Alliance, Ben Solity, said, “In this time of drought, Whitehaven’s proposed Maules Creek mine has 50 per cent of the high security water from the Namoi river.”
“This new coal mine already has a license to access at least 3 billion litres (3,000ML) of water every year from the Namoi River to operate, or enough to fill 1,200 olympic swimming pools. Underground aquifers are the lifeblood to local farmers here on the Liverpool Plains, where 37% of Australia’s cereals and grains are grown. Eventually, Maules Creek mine will obliterate and pollute these water sources.”
The action today demonstrates the broad spectrum of community members concerned and willing to risk arrest to stop the Maules Creek mine, from academics, to local farmers and indigenous people. 31 people have so far been arrested protesting two mining companies expanding into the Leard State Forest.
Mr Solity added, “The issue of water is too important to ignore. We will not be going anywhere until the new Maules Creek mine is stopped.”
UPDATE: The woman was removed and arrested by police. 32 people have been arrested in recent weeks over protests against mining in the Leard State Forest.
63-year-old woman locked to water tank: work halted at Maules Creek mine
Ongoing protests at the controversial Maules Creek mine have continued today with a group of people blockading access to a water tank, including a 63-year-old archeologist who has locked herself onto the pump. The group is protesting Whitehaven’s hoarding of water licences and the impact the mine will have in availability of water in the area.
Spokesperson for the Leard Forest Alliance, Ben Solity, said, “In this time of drought, Whitehaven’s proposed Maules Creek mine has 50 per cent of the high security water from the Namoi river.”
“This new coal mine already has a license to access at least 3 billion litres (3,000ML) of water every year from the Namoi River to operate, or enough to fill 1,200 olympic swimming pools. Underground aquifers are the lifeblood to local farmers here on the Liverpool Plains, where 37% of Australia’s cereals and grains are grown. Eventually, Maules Creek mine will obliterate and pollute these water sources.”
The action today demonstrates the broad spectrum of community members concerned and willing to risk arrest to stop the Maules Creek mine, from academics, to local farmers and indigenous people. 31 people have so far been arrested protesting two mining companies expanding into the Leard State Forest.
Mr Solity added, “The issue of water is too important to ignore. We will not be going anywhere until the new Maules Creek mine is stopped.”
Maules Creek coal mine: A timeline of the planning and approval process
This is a timeline of planning and approval events relating to the Maules Creek coal mine, with specific focus on the offsets. The timeline starts in July 2010 with the invitation for public comment on the project, and runs through to February 2014 with the Environmental Defender’s Office providing the Federal Environment Minister with a new report detailing inadequacies in the offsets package for the Maules Creek mine.
In order to bulldoze the Leard State Forest to dig a coal mine, Whitehaven have proposed “offsets”.
Offsets are areas of land that are supposed to be like for like. That is, if one forest is destroyed, another forest of the exact same type, is preserved. The trouble is, Whitehaven’s offsets are not what they say they are. Watch this video to find out more.
There is an ongoing federal government investigation into the veracity of the offsets package following allegations that some information provided during the approvals process is ‘false and misleading’.
Whitehaven’s “offsets” are off the mark
In order to destroy the Leard State Forest to make a coal mine, Whitehaven have proposed “offsets”.
Offsets are areas of land that are supposed to be like for like. That is, if one forest is destroyed, another forest of the exact same type, is preserved. The trouble is, Whitehaven’s offsets are not what they say they are.
Watch this video to find out how Whitehaven is getting away with bulldozing a forest to develop a massive new open-cut coal in north west NSW.
Click here to get involved in the campaign to protect Leard State Forest today.
Bat-Activists Stop Work at Idemitsu’s Boggabri Mine
From Tumblr:
A group of people have stopped work today at Idemitsu’s Boggabri coal mine to protest habitat destruction caused by ongoing expansion of coal mining in Leard forest. Two activists in bat costumes have scaled a coal loader on site and have unfurled a banner reading “Save the Leard”.
The action is part of an ongoing campaign to protect vulnerable species of the Leard State Forest from coal mining.
Leard Forest Alliance spokesperson Helen War said, “Idemitsu’s expansion will destroy 1385 hectares of forest, of which 624 is critically endangered box gum habitat. The forest is home to 31 endangered and vulnerable species, including the Greater Long-eared bat, the Barking Owl and the Turquoise parrot.
“These endangered ecological communities are irreplaceable and cannot simply be offset by the purchase of a patchwork of disused farmland and substandard rehabilitation areas. While Idemitsu boasts of offsets six times the size of the mine, it will take over 100 years before they provide crucially equivalent habitat. This is a classic example of how environmental offsets lack any scientific credibility.
“In 2014, it is outrageous that these senseless coal mines are allowed unrestricted license to destroy public forest, irrespective of their ecological value. Idemitsu’s expansion, together with Whitehaven Coal’s new Maules Creek mine, will see more than half the Leard State Forest turned into a barren wasteland.”
29 people from a broad cross-section of the community have been arrested over the past two months protecting the forest.
Ms War added “We stand firm in protest over these open pit coal mines. We will not stop until this forest is protected.”
Bat-activists stops work at Boggabri coal mine
Protest stops work at Boggabri coal mine: activists dressed as bats scale coal loader and unfurl banner reading ‘Save the Leard’
Bats are among the endangered and vulnerable species that are currently under threat from the expansion of Idemitsu’s Boggabri open-cut coal mine.
This coal mine has already cleared a section of Leard State Forest and work is currently being doing to bulldoze more vegetation inside the forest. This is an aerial photograph taken last week that shows some of the clearing.
This protest is part of an ongoing campaign to protect Leard State Forest from open-cut coal mining. Read a full media statement about this action here, and a news report from the Namoi Valley Independent here.
UPDATE: The two activists are removed by police rescue after 9 and a half hours.
Bat-activists Stop Work at Idemitsu’s Boggabri Mine
A group of people have stopped work today at Idemitsu’s Boggabri coal mine to protest habitat destruction caused by ongoing expansion of coal mining in Leard forest. Two activists in bat costumes have scaled a coal loader on site and have unfurled a banner reading “Save the Leard”.
The action is part of an ongoing campaign to protect vulnerable species of the Leard State Forest from coal mining.
Leard Forest Alliance spokesperson Helen War said, “Idemitsu’s expansion will destroy 1385 hectares of forest, of which 624 is critically endangered box gum habitat. The forest is home to 31 endangered and vulnerable species, including the Greater Long-eared bat, the Barking Owl and the Turquoise parrot.
“These endangered ecological communities are irreplaceable and cannot simply be offset by the purchase of a patchwork of disused farmland and substandard rehabilitation areas. While Idemitsu boasts of offsets six times the size of the mine, it will take over 100 years before they provide crucially equivalent habitat. This is a classic example of how environmental offsets lack any scientific credibility.
“In 2014, it is outrageous that these senseless coal mines are allowed unrestricted license to destroy public forest, irrespective of their ecological value. Idemitsu’s expansion, together with Whitehaven Coal’s new Maules Creek mine, will see more than half the Leard State Forest turned into a barren wasteland.”
29 people from a broad cross-section of the community have been arrested over the past two months protecting the forest.
Ms War added “We stand firm in protest over these open pit coal mines. We will not stop until this forest is protected.”
UPDATE: The two activists are removed by police rescue after 9 and a half hours.
Whitehaven railway construction carves up farmland adjacent to Leard State Forest
These photos show an aerial view of land adjacent to the Leard State Forest where rail loop construction is being carried out by Leightons, contractors for Whitehaven Coal.
The area where the rail loop is being constructed traverses culturally sensitive sites for the Traditional Owners of the region, the Gomeroi people.
This rail loop is being built to support the Maules Creek open-cut coal mine Whitehaven plans to develop in the Leard State Forest. Whitehaven’s plan would see the forest bulldozed, and then the coal mined and taken by rail to the Port of Newcastle for export.
Whitehaven’s Maules Creek Project is the subject of ongoing opposition from local farmers, Traditional Owners, and environmentalists. Learn more here, or get involved to protect the forest here.
Photographs taken 10th February 2014.