Front Line
Two women locked-on to excavators stop coal mine construction near Maules Creek
Two young women are currently locked on to excavators at a coal mine construction site on land adjacent to Leard State Forest, near Maules Creek in north west NSW.
This lock-on action is currently stopping tree-clearing and construction work along a proposed rail corridor from the existing railway line at Boggabri into the Leard State Forest where Whitehaven plan to develop the Maules Creek Project.
Today’s action is the latest in a series of actions to protect Leard State Forest from open-cut coal mining.
PHOTOS can be downloaded here.
UPDATE: After several hours police rescue removed the two women from the excavators and they were taken to Narrabri police station. Their actions stopped the work of these excavators for the entire day, meaning no trees were knocked down for the coal railway line for the day.
Narrabri Council to announce plan to evict protest camp from site near Leard State Forest
After maintaining a presence for nearly 18 months, eviction may be imminent for the protest camp perched on the outskirts of Leard State Forest.
Narrabri Council announced an extraordinary meeting of Council will be held Tuesday 21 January at 12:30pm. The Mayor of Narrabri Council visited the Front Line Action on Coal camp this morning.
Margo Kingston reports from camp that the Council meeting will declare high fire risk and eviction from all road reserves.
This latest eviction attempt comes after the protest camp avoided eviction by NSW Forestry Corporation last week. The NSW Forestry Corporation closed Leard State Forest and told campers they had 12 hours to leave the site.
The Northern Daily Leader reported at the time that “a significant police presence [is] on standby at the site should the campers not adhere to the deadline or choose to stand their ground.”
The NSW Forestry Corporation said the closure was due to fire risk however the forest remained open to use by Whitehaven Coal who have just begun construction for the Maules Creek project (an open-cut coal mine and railway line on Leard State Forest land and adjacent farm land).
After seeking legal advice it was discovered that the camp was located on a public road reserve, not within the state forest and so the camp avoided eviction by NSW Forestry Corporation.
Lock the Gate Alliance spoke out against the NSW Forestry Corporation’s attempted eviction of the community protest camp, saying that the fire season was used as an excuse to close the Leard State Forest. Lock the Gate said that this is a misuse of emergency fire provisions.
Local farmer Phil Laird, and ecologist Phil Spark will attend tomorrow’s extraordinary meeting of Narrabri Council to urge Council against its planned eviction of the camp.
The camp was established in August 2012 in an effort to support the Maules Creek farming community and Traditional Owners in protecting Leard State Forest from open-cut coal mining plans.
Tree sitter blocks path of the coal companies’ proposed new rail line
Young man in tree sit on banks of Namoi River preventing clearing for coal railway near Leard State Forest
The blockade of Leard forest to prevent it being cleared for the Maules Creek coal mine project has lasted for seven days and continues this morning with a protestor suspended 25 metres in the air between two River Red Gums, to protect them.
Yesterday, two women aged 57 and 60 were arrested after holding a vigil at the base of a River Red Gum on the Namoi River that was slated for removal to make way for the rail spur for the Maules Creek and nearby Boggabri Coal mine expansion. The tree was cut down after the women were arrested.
Today, a young man is suspended on a platform attached by cable to two more River Red Gums on the banks of the Namoi that are in the path of the coal companies’ proposed new rail line.
Local Maules Creek farmer Phil Laird said, “The people that have joined this blockade over the last week are standing up for things that matter to our community. I am proud to be here with them and astounded that the Federal Environment Minister has still taken no action to resolve this conflict by revoking the approval for the Maules Creek coal mine, given that it was based on false and misleading information.”
So far, eight people have been arrested at the blockade, which was established on 13 January in response to Whitehaven Coal’s initial clearing of forest for an access road into the proposed Maules Creek coal mine site.
10AM Update: Police are on site.
7PM Update: Tree sitter has been removed and taken to the police station.
Note: The Front Line Action on Coal camp was established to protect Leard State Forest approximately 18 months ago. The camp and this blockade comes after years of lobbying by the local farming community, Traditional Owners, and environmentalists.
Image: Close-up of tree-sitter by Margo Kingston/@margokingston1
57-year old Susie Russell blockades coal mine railway construction
Woman blockades coal mine railway construction, stops bulldozer felling old River Red Gum tree
57-year old Susie Russell has become the latest protestor to risk arrest at the ongoing blockade to protect Leard State Forest from being cleared for Whitehaven’s Maules Creek coal mine, near Boggabri.
Susie is currently locked-on in the path of machinery preparing to cut down an old River Red Gum tree on the banks of the Namoi River, to make way for a road and rail link for the proposed mine.
Police have arrived on the scene.
Update: After several hours Susie was removed. And so was the tree. With emergency services still on site and blockaders looking on, the great big old River Red Gum was bulldozed. In its place, the coal mining companies seek to build a railway to carry coal out of Leard State Forest, to the Port of Newcastle, for export overseas.
Photo by Margo Kingston/@margokingston1.
Water is more precious than coal
Watch as the blockaders continue their defence of Leard State Forest against construction work by Whitehaven Coal for its Maules Creek coal mine.
Video by Liam Kesteven.
Minister ‘failed to act’ on Maules Creek mine stop-work order
The Sydney Morning Herald reports:
Gomeroi traditional owners say they are devastated after bulldozers began working on disputed land attached to the controversial Maules Creek mine site in northwest NSW.
They have accused the Abbott government of failing to act on an application for an immediate stop-work order on the land, which they lodged in November to try to protect burial grounds and culturally significant sites. […]
“All we ask as Aboriginal people is that they do the right thing and respect our culture and heritage,” Traditional owner Stephen Talbott said.
BREAKING: Leard forest blockade targets water delivery to Whitehaven coal mine construction site in forest
In the fifth day of escalating protest at Leard Forest in north west NSW, protestors seeking to protect the forest from being cleared for an open-cut coal mine have again blockaded the entrance to the construction site for the mine, preventing a water tanker from accessing the site.
A woman is attached to the gate that provides access to the site for water tankers carrying thousands of litres of water onto the construction site to build a road through the forest and begin work on the mine.
Susie Russell, spokesperson for the Leard Forest Alliance said, “Construction and operation of this mine will use high security water from the Namoi River. We’ve already seen hundreds of thousands of litres of water go into this site and this morning we’ve stopped a water tanker taking precious water into the area to be used to build this mine.”
“Is it Australia’s priority to use our precious water for the death of a forest, or for the life of the land? It’s time to choose.”
Photo: Margo Kingston/@margokingston1
Media: High resolution photos are available to download from Flickr.
Community reacts to Whitehaven Coal
This is what happened when Whitehaven Coal brought in the bulldozers to start clearing Leard State Forest in preparation for digging the Maules Creek coal mine.
Initial clearing of Leard State Forest by Whitehaven Coal
These photos were taken Wednesday 15 January, apparently showing breach of the ‘limit of disturbance’ boundary in preliminary work by Whitehaven Coal for its Maules Creek coal project.