Front Line
Locked on to lock ANZ out from funding destruction of farms and forest for coal
Two protesters have chained themselves to a truck in a bid to stop construction work at the controversial Maules Creek coal mine project in northwest NSW.
“We’re digging in up here and we’re going to keep on preventing construction of the Maules Creek mine,” the 28-year-old Greenpeace volunteer said, speaking from under the truck.
“We’re absolutely willing to get arrested if we have to, we’ve tried all the other avenues to stop the construction.”
ANZ have provided a $1.2 billion loan facility to Whitehaven Coal for its Maules Creek project which would clear thousands of hectares of Leard State Forest to dig an open-cut coal mine.
Locked on to lock ANZ out from funding destruction of farms and forest for coal
Two protesters have chained themselves to a truck in a bid to stop construction work at the controversial Maules Creek coal mine project in northwest NSW.
“We’re digging in up here and we’re going to keep on preventing construction of the Maules Creek mine,” the 28-year-old Greenpeace volunteer said, speaking from under the truck.
“We’re absolutely willing to get arrested if we have to, we’ve tried all the other avenues to stop the construction.”
ANZ have provided a $1.2 billion loan facility to Whitehaven Coal for its Maules Creek project which would clear thousands of hectares of Leard State Forest to dig an open-cut coal mine.
Protecting Leard State Forest from open-cut coal mining
Over one hundred people blockaded three entrances to the site of Whitehaven Coal’s controversial Maules Creek coal project, near Boggabri in north west NSW yesterday, stopping preparatory work to clear the forest.
One of the people who risked arrest yesterday is 75-year-old Raymond McLaren, from Tamworth, who has never taken part in this kind of activity before.
Mr McLaren said, “This protest is a remarkable convergence of people with a common interest in protecting a unique forest. I am here to defend the forest.”
Read more in The Land.
Protecting Leard State Forest from open-cut coal mining
Over one hundred people blockaded three entrances to the site of Whitehaven Coal’s controversial Maules Creek coal project, near Boggabri in north west NSW yesterday, stopping preparatory work to clear the forest.
One of the people who risked arrest yesterday is 75-year-old Raymond McLaren, from Tamworth, who has never taken part in this kind of activity before.
Mr McLaren said, “This protest is a remarkable convergence of people with a common interest in protecting a unique forest. I am here to defend the forest.”
Read more in The Land.
MAULES CREEK ACT UP!
It’s Monday 16 December 2013 and more than 100 people are in Leard State Forest, answering the call of the Maules Creek community to stand with them against Whitehaven Coal’s plans to develop a massive open-cut coal mine in the forest. Here is what is happening:
100 protestors stop work on controversial coal mine
Over one hundred people have blockaded three entrances to the site of Whitehaven Coal’s controversial Maules Creek coal project, near Boggabri in north west NSW today, stopping preparatory work to clear the forest. Four protest sites have been established, including one that is stopping trucks from leaving Whitehaven’s nearby Tarrawonga mine.
Many of the people participating are doing so for the first time responding to calls from the local community opposed to the mine and the devastating impacts it will have on their land, their water and their health. The Maules Creek mine will destroy irreplaceable critically endangered woodland in the Leard State Forest, draw down the aquifer used by local farmers and release thousands of tonnes of coal dust onto surrounding farms.
Rick Laird, a fifth-generation farmer in the area is at the protest, and said, “We are overwhelmed that so many people have come to help us stop this mine. We’ve been fighting it for over three years, and have tried every means we have of stopping it, and protecting our forest and our water. It’s come to this now – people have come from across the country to stand with us in protest.”
One of the people risking arrest today is 75-year-old Raymond McLaren, from Tamworth, who has never taken part in this kind of activity before. Mr McLaren said, “This protest is a remarkable convergence of people with a common interest in protecting a unique forest. I am here to defend the forest.”
Local landholder Roselyn Druce said, “We need help to stop this mine, we are people who care about what’s right for the environment and that’s why we are here today. If this mine goes ahead, we could lose our water, our livelihoods and our community.”
The protestors are locking up the forest and preventing Whitehaven contractors from getting in and preparing the site for clearfelling. They are vowing to remain in place. The protestors have also read out a statement from Gomeroi elders, traditional owners of Leard State Forest, expressing anger at the loss of cultural heritage and practice and Whitehaven’s failure to protect spiritual places of the Gomeroi.
Georgina Woods who travelled to the site from Newcastle to support the community action said, “There are some places that should be off-limits to open-cut coal mining and Leard State Forest is one of them. This community has done everything it can to demonstrate the mine is unwelcome here and we are determined to do everything in our power to stop it. We’re calling on people around the country to come and join us to protect this place.”
MAULES CREEK ACT UP!
It’s Monday 16 December 2013 and more than 100 people are in Leard State Forest, answering the call of the Maules Creek community to stand with them against Whitehaven Coal’s plans to develop a massive open-cut coal mine in the forest. Here is what is happening:
100 protestors stop work on controversial coal mine
Over one hundred people have blockaded three entrances to the site of Whitehaven Coal’s controversial Maules Creek coal project, near Boggabri in north west NSW today, stopping preparatory work to clear the forest. Four protest sites have been established, including one that is stopping trucks from leaving Whitehaven’s nearby Tarrawonga mine.
Many of the people participating are doing so for the first time responding to calls from the local community opposed to the mine and the devastating impacts it will have on their land, their water and their health. The Maules Creek mine will destroy irreplaceable critically endangered woodland in the Leard State Forest, draw down the aquifer used by local farmers and release thousands of tonnes of coal dust onto surrounding farms.
Rick Laird, a fifth-generation farmer in the area is at the protest, and said, “We are overwhelmed that so many people have come to help us stop this mine. We’ve been fighting it for over three years, and have tried every means we have of stopping it, and protecting our forest and our water. It’s come to this now – people have come from across the country to stand with us in protest.”
One of the people risking arrest today is 75-year-old Raymond McLaren, from Tamworth, who has never taken part in this kind of activity before. Mr McLaren said, “This protest is a remarkable convergence of people with a common interest in protecting a unique forest. I am here to defend the forest.”
Local landholder Roselyn Druce said, “We need help to stop this mine, we are people who care about what’s right for the environment and that’s why we are here today. If this mine goes ahead, we could lose our water, our livelihoods and our community.”
The protestors are locking up the forest and preventing Whitehaven contractors from getting in and preparing the site for clearfelling. They are vowing to remain in place. The protestors have also read out a statement from Gomeroi elders, traditional owners of Leard State Forest, expressing anger at the loss of cultural heritage and practice and Whitehaven’s failure to protect spiritual places of the Gomeroi.
Georgina Woods who travelled to the site from Newcastle to support the community action said, “There are some places that should be off-limits to open-cut coal mining and Leard State Forest is one of them. This community has done everything it can to demonstrate the mine is unwelcome here and we are determined to do everything in our power to stop it. We’re calling on people around the country to come and join us to protect this place.”
How to get to Front Line Action on Coal (FLAC) Camp, at Maules Creek near Leard State Forest
From Sydney/Newcastle/Melbourne/etc:
- Drive to and through Gunnedah
- Head north-west on Kamilaroi Hwy/B51 towards Chandos St. (38km)
- Turn right to stay on Kamilaroi Hwy/B51 (signs for Narrabri/Route 37) (16km)
- Turn right onto Harparary Rd (20km)
- Turn left onto Black Mountain Creek Road (3.4km)
- Wando is the second house on the right, look for banners and lights.
From the North via Narrabri
- From Narrabri head south-east on Maitland St. towards Dewhurst St (1.3km)
- Continue onto Old Gunnedah Rd (11.9km)
- Slight left onto Narrabri Maules Rd (2.5km)
- Turn right to stay on Narrabri Maules Rd (21.5km)
- Continue onto Timor Mountain Rd (400m)
- Turn left onto Harparary Rd (3.6km)
- Turn left onto Black Mountain Creek Road (3.4km)
- Wando is the second house on the right, look for banners and lights.
Blockade Camp Experience – By Hailey Sarah
Hey Guys!
This is a blog about the two months that I have spent in the Leard State Forest at the Frontline Action on Coal Camp. I was invited to “Listen Up” in October for a weekend of music, protest, and camping. I had previously participated in a few rallies, “Food Not Bombs”, along with other small activist debaucheries, and this seemed like the right general direction to take to make a positive impact on my planet.
The listen up was beautiful, I met heaps of kindred spirits and heard some powerful music. I felt welcomed and comfortable enough that a few weeks had passed, but still I had not continued on my travels. My days were spent reading, meeting other enthusiastic protesters/elders, monitoring the forest for inorganic changes, and keeping up general camp maintenance (turning the solar panels, washing up, gardening, turning the compost, etc).
After a while, you receive the privilege of spotting the same Goanna hanging about, chasing the black snake out of the wood pile, and watching the Carawongs pick through the compost. We would block the miners from working on the haul road by having morning tea or yoga sessions, learn some liaison skills, and bond with whoever is up at camp for the week. I even acquired some rad tree climbing/banner dropping skills (thanks Kat). I learned to pay attention to Margie when she talks, shit pits don’t dig themselves, Muzz is one of the best friends to have around, and that Dubi likes dinner at 5.
Living in this small settlement is one of the few lifestyles I had proudly support. Most modern societies in the city offer me detachment from myself, and family, endless wasted resources, and 9-5 robots with addictions and sharp tongues, who are all competing for luxury or power.
FLAC is blockading against coal mining in the Leard State forest, which stretches way beyond one action. We are on the frontline doing what our governments have failed to even try to do. We are demanding the rights of our environment to thrive without dis-ease, so that all earthlings might have a shot at doing so as well. We are standing to stop useless consumerism at the source, and breaking free of the obedience routine that the human race knows all to intimately. We will not trade stomach ulcers, anxiety, or our morals for corporate comforts. And, although we are living next door to a dirty, toxic coal mine, at least we aren’t plagued with excessive apathy, or vanity. Happy 500 days of Tenacity brothas and sistas!
Hails
Call to Action!
Maules Creek is a small farming community that sits on the outskirts of the Leard State Forest in north west NSW.
Right now, the community’s health and the productivity of the farmland is at risk of being destroyed by the massive new open-cut coal mines planned for Leard State Forest.
From Maules Creek, a call to action:
“We need as much help as we can out of the city’s on this one. It is a plea for help out here.”
— Cliff Wallace, long-time Maules Creek resident.
See you in Leard State Forest!
PS: Having trouble viewing the video? You can watch and share it over on Youtube too. Click here.