Have been very busy with the Leard Forest Campaign. Also been busy supporting local farmers, as in fighting fires and returning good deeds. It is time we the community all pull together against the threat of further coal mining.
Where we are at currently; we’ve had awesome people in camp this week-end, which has upped our ability to irritate! Boggabri coal (Idemitsu) are starting to clear more forest to prepare for further mining. This is already been approved by the federal government and ‘somehow’ legal.Boggabri Coal (Idemitsu) have applied for further expansion which is yet to be approved by the Federal Government. So now is the time to make our noise even louder!
The heart break is helping is spurring us into further action! This is a crucial time in this campaign, it is now or never. All support is valued. When you turn up to camp, see the forest and the land, that is when you will know how important it is to stop the destruction of the natural heritage of the Leard State Forest. You can also help by keeping the pressure up on ANZ, Federal Government, Whitehaven and Boggabri Coal.
We have actions planned 23rd of Jan to the 30th Jan, so come into the forest and show your support. Please come beforehand to get familiar with the lay out of the forest. We at Front-Line Action on Coal, look forward to having you all here on the front line!

“RED ALERT”

* The bulldozers will be clearing more of the Leard State Forest very soon ( IDEMITSU, BOGGABRI COAL )
* Tony Burke will be saying yes or no on the 31 January:- Maules Creek project and the Boggabri coal expansion, we need to have actions here at the coal face in the two weeks leading up to Tony Burke’s decision !!!
** WE NEED NUMBERS IN CAMP TO DO THIS !!! **

Happy new year and happy anniversary! One hundred and fifty days ago, Front Line Action on Coal was born – a camp, a community and a line of resistance. Each week of the camp has had a different crew and most of us here are new to the camp. To all our friends who have visited over the life of the camp – this celebration is yours as well! It’s time to come together to defend our forest.

The past month brought us a significant coup over Whitehaven Coal, who want to build the Maules Creek mine over 1360ha of Leard Forest plus a large chunk of farmland at Maules Creek (the community, not the mine). They also own the Tarrawonga Coal Mine, our closest neighbour, who are seeking permission to expand.

Those of you who have been following FLAC through the media would know about the Coxs Creek bridge derailment. One week after the rail company ARTC lifted the speed limits through Boggabri, a hot day and a fast and heavy coal train coming from Whitehaven’s Narrabri mine destroyed the bridge, cutting the main access to Moree for Countrylink, farm produce and coal. The estimated cost to farmers from losing rail access was $150 million, and all of the Countrylink passengers were pushed onto buses. Who wanted the trains to go faster? We don’t know. But of course Whitehaven were not prepared to chip in to the costs of fixing the bridge or compensating farmers for losses.

The company had a bigger concern – how to get its coal out. Their development conditions say they can’t transport coal by road, so they applied for permission to truck coal, an application which is still being processed. If approved, the coal trucks would have increased highway traffic by over 56% and gone right past Boggabri school.

The company, chaired by Mark Vaile, knew the application would take a while and they still weren’t allowed to use trucks, so they came up with an idea – a trucking “trial” where they would put trucks on the road to help the Department of Planning make their decision. This trial, of course, had nothing to do with actually getting coal out, although it did make hundreds of thousands of dollars per day. Obviously this trial was completely illegal. It also almost caused a collision when a coal truck overtook another coal truck across double white lines around a bend into an oncoming car.

After two days, FLAC wrote to Planning pointing out the breach and sent a ‘cease and desist’ letter to Whitehaven and the trucks ground to a halt. Whitehaven told the media that they decided to stop trucking due to ‘safety concerns’. After a correction from FLAC, the Department of Planning confirmed the next day that no, the trial was illegal, but no, there would be no penalty because the Department “understood” why Whitehaven broke the law. Last year, Whitehaven illegally discharged pit water into the Namoi River and destroyed a local farmer’s crop, a discretion which earned them a measly $3000 fine. Perhaps they decided this time that they could make more money by breaking the law, and as it turns out, they were right! But they didn’t count on us…

Several days later, FLAC, community and supporters poured into the Boggabri golf club  where the Planning Assessment Commission were deciding whether to approve the Tarrawonga mine expansion, which would create more climate change than all of Haiti (or any of 43 other countries). Of all the speakers, only a real estate agent, an earthmover and a spokesperson for Orica, the explosives company (some of the minority of the community who directly benefit from the mine) spoke in favour, and all other speakers were opposed or had strong reservations. The chairperson of the commission, Gabrielle Kibble, is John Kerr’s daughter and has been involved in approving dozens of destructive coal and gas projects. We would maintain the rage, but can’t sack her as she is unelected. The commission’s members are hand-picked by Brad Hazzard, the member for the coal industry and Minister for Planning.

So we have an unelected committee making decisions that are destroying Leard Forest, Maules Creek, our health and our climate. The previous decisions on the Maules Creek and Boggabri mines can’t be taken to court because of a contorted double-PAC process developed by the NSW Government. Democracy in action!

Those who make democracy impossible make civil disobedience inevitable. In the past couple of weeks, hundreds of hectares of forest have been marked up for bulldozing. Each mature gum (mostly the critically-endangered Yellow-Box) has been marked with an “H” for habitat. The process involves checking what animals are there, knocking down the undergrowth to scare the critters away before the bulldozers move in.

It’s time to stand and protect our forest. Our message to Tony Burke: No more coal mines in forests! Our message to the community: your children and grandchildren need you to take a stand! Our message to ANZ customers: Stop investing in destroying our forests and farmlands for short-term greed.

Leard Forest needs you here. No amount of Facebook likes or petition signatures will stop the bulldozers in the next couple of weeks – only we can do it together!

Saturday December 15 2012

 Front Line Action on Coal has reacted with alarm to revelations that the Department of Planning intends to let Whitehaven Coal off the hook for breaching their development consent by sending hundreds of truck movements down the Kamilaroi Highway earlier this week.

The group alerted the Department on Wednesday that the company was in breach of Condition 7, Section 2 of their development consent, which prohibits the company from moving coal from their site except by rail. The group also sent a “cease and desist” letter via the Environmental Defender’s Office.

The department confirmed on Thursday that it had directed Whitehaven to stop their illegal trucking operation, contrary to the company’s claims that it stopped the “trial” voluntarily.

However, Front Line Action on Coal has obtained an email sent by the department that says it will not penalise Whitehaven because it eventually complied with its consent, and that it “understood” Whitehaven’s motivations for breaching the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, “irrespective of the fact that it couldn’t legally proceed”. Penalties for breaches of the act can be up to $1.1 million, with an addition $110 000 for each day of the offence in addition to compliance cost orders.

The Department also confirmed that it was still assessing Whitehaven and Idemitsu’s applications to truck coal.

“Whitehaven Coal knew full well that it was breaking the law by sending hundreds of truck movements down the highway because it was still seeking permission to change the condition that prohibited the trucking operation,” said Jonathan Moylan, a spokesperson for Front Line Action on Coal.

“By failing to impose a penalty, the Department is effectively telling mining companies that they can do what they want and get away with it,” Mr. Moylan said.

“We understand that Whitehaven’s illegal trucking operation nearly caused a collision and led to severe disruption on the highway and in Boggabri. These laws are in place to protect the community.”

“Whitehaven is seeking approval to mine up thousands of hectares of forests and farmlands, and this incident gives us little confidence that the regulator will enforce the environmental standards required,” Mr. Moylan said.

Last year, Whitehaven was fined $3000 for illegally discharging pit water into the Namoi River, which destroyed a local farmer’s crop.

The Department is also assessing an application from Idemitsu which would allow it to truck coal in any future situation it deems an emergency.

The following documents are available on request:

• FLAC submission on emergency trucking, which alerted the Department to the breach

• Cease and desist letter from the Environmental Defender’s Office

• Email from Planning confirming that Whitehaven had no permission to truck coal

• Email from Planning stating that they would not impose penalties

• Whitehaven Coal’s conditions of approval

A crowd of people have surrounded Whitehaven Coal’s office in Boggabri to protest the impact of the Whitehaven Coal train derailment on farmers.

The group wants Whitehaven to compensate wheat, pulse and cotton farmers for potentially $150 million in losses from the blocking of the rail line and to pay for the cost of the Cox’s Creek bridge reconstruction.

Front Line Action on Coal spokesperson Jonathan Moylan said that the cost of Whitehaven’s infrastructure failure should not be borne by food-producers or the taxpayer.

“This is yet another example of the community having to pay for the impacts of the coal industry,” Mr. Moylan said.

“Last year we saw an illegal discharge from a Whitehaven pit flood destroy a farmer’s crop and now they have sabotaged Christmas crops for the entire North-West.”

“How many more incidents like this will happen if Whitehaven is allowed to double its coal production?” Mr. Moylan said.

Front Line Action on Coal has urged Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke to reject the massive new Maules Creek mine, which would destroy thousands of hectares of productive farmland and critically endangered Box-Gum Woodland in Leard State Forest.

Pictures and video are available on request

For further comment:

Jonathan Moylan

0431 289 766

90^th Day: Documenting Leard Forest with the K Team.

With the clock ticking now until the 31 January when a decision from Tony Burke is now expected on the federal approval for Idemitzu’s Boggabri Mine extension, thousands of hectares of box ironbark woodland have received a temporary reprieve. The K Team has spent the last week documenting the values and condition of the forest, including the critically endangered box gum woodlands and nationally listed species, a key issue is the Koala.

As the trucks and excavators work around the clock near camp FLAC it’s hard to imagine that more than half of this old growth forest is to be removed for open cut mines, the irreplaceable box forest and its rich biodiversity eliminated from the face of the earth if we are unable to convince Tony Burke of its national significance.  Already 500 ha of box forest have been removed due to coal mines, to allow the rest would be to destroy one of the largest remaning stands of box gum woodland in the state, to eliminate an important stepping stone between the Pilliga and Nandewar range forests and completely sever an important east-west habitat link.  The loss of this forest as a refuge and dispersal corridor will have consequences far outside the forest itself.

The box woodlands in Leard, dominated by White Box, Pilliga Box and Bimble Box, form an ancient landscape dominated by massive old trees riddled with hollows, massive logs with considerable litter cover, native grasses and forbs, delicate wildflowers, it’s easy to get lost just being there just taking in the majesty of the woodland, on which it seems has always been there. Faces peer at you and it seems ancient limbs stir the minute you look away, what could be more valuable to save?

While the environmental assessments for the mines have provided mainly predictive vegetation mapping, the true extent of the nationally significant matters has not been adequately documented.  Work so far by the K Team has shown the extent of White Box woodland matching the federal listing is more extensive than supposed. It was and still is found in the grassy, flatter areas of the forest and occurs as pure stands of White Box as well as occurring with other tree species and, along with ironbark forest on the upper slopes, forms the dominant vegetation type in Leard.

Mt Leard is the highest peak in the forest, a scraggly peak with twisted cypress pine and crystal rich rocks, is another area inside the mine footprint. The K team have also documented many likely scar trees showing the long connection between the original owners and the forest, many of these will go.

The birdlife in the forest is incredible, most of which are all year residents, with about 100 species known from the forest, 50 species have been recorded from the FLAC camp, including 8 threatened birds, all part of the group of birds commonly known as the declining woodland birds. the density of birds is very high with fantastic views of species rarely seen outside the forest, such as Turquoise Parrots, Speckled Warblers, Varied Sittellas and White-browed Woodswallows flying in vast aerial flocks. This time of year is a busy time for birds, with breeding and nesting at a frantic pace. As you walk through the woodland you find many nests on the ground, as the activity has been so high, waking up is always to a multitude of tiny voices, a pleasant relief from the continual reminder of the mine’s round-the-clock works.  AT night  yo may hear the Barking Owl, Masked Owl or more common Boobook.

But the main focus of this week is to gather and document and all the information that the K Team has gathered in relation to the distribution of the Koala in the forest. While the environmental assessments say there are few Kolas in Leard as it is not preferred habitat, the K Team has found high levels of Koala activity throughout the forest by undertaking scat surveys.  We have found that preferred tree species for the Koala is Pilliga Box and Blakely’s Red Gum , which are not considered important for the Koala on state-wide listings of feed species prepared by the government. It is a race now to get this information consolidated and sent to the federal government as new information that he urgently needs to consider.

The Box woodlands surveyed also show the importance of the forest for other native mammals, during the scat surveys, some sites showed a 50% use of all eucalypt trees by Brushtail Possums, surveys have also found Ringtail Possums, Squirrel Gliders and Sugar Gliders.  The high density of hollows in the box forest are able to support a rich arboreal fauna, not seen before by the K Team.

So please think about what you can do to support FLAC, visit the Leard camp and stand by the those who are standing up for the forest, it’s a great stay at camp with many stimulating conversations and problem solving in action.  Write to Tony Burke and tell him the forest is too precious to lose, it is irreplaceable and a gift we should treasure to be around long after the mining boom is but a sad embarrassing memory.

Our snug little bush camp in the northern inlands has been a hive of activity in the last week as NSW Energy Minister Brad Hazzard’s Planning and Assessment Commission approved the Maules Creek mine – the biggest coal mine in North-Western New South Wales and certainly the most destructive. If Whitehaven were allowed to mine their entire coal reserves, it would represent 29% of global annual carbon emissions, so we need to make sure lines get drawn in the sand.

The decision would be tragic if not for the fact that people power is going to stop this mine. After months of community organising, surveying, action and research we are at the beginning of a campaign that may well define the entire conflict over the coal and gas industries’ rush through NSW.

Whitehaven Coal has a number of problems in front of it. Firstly, it has no social license from the local community. It has no consent from the Federal Environment Minister, Tony Burke, who last week delayed his decision on the Boggabri mine’s expansion by three months until January 31. Although the coal industry have managed to protect themselves from legal challenges to their state approval through a legal trick developed by their friend Brad Hazzard, they have no such trick at the federal level. And lastly, they are broke, possibly already running a loss. Whitehaven’s shareholders, including market gambler Nathan Tinkler, are losing confidence in the company.

We need you now! Please come out to camp and be part of history. If you are in Tamworth, or are willing to go there, join the Breakfast of Broken Promises outside the meeting of NSW’s Premier and Cabinet next Monday. Write to, call or visit Tony Burke and urge him to reject the Boggabri expansion and the Maules Creek mine. Do the same with your local MP. Print, photocopy and spread our flyer, or get it out online. Join the Last Chance Tour in Leard Forest and the Pilliga from November 9-11. Write a letter to the local paper. Plan an event, make T-shirts or badges, protest UBS, or come up with something else creative you can do! Join or start a group. Whatever you can do, you can proudly tell your grandchildren how you helped avert disaster.

Front Line Action on Coal has vowed to continue its 82-day-long blockade camp in Leard State Forest today following the O’Farrell government’s approval of the the Maules Creek Coal mine, claiming the government has “buckled to pressure from its mates”.

Whitehaven Coal would destroy around 1,360ha of native vegetation (half of which is listed as endangered) as well as huge tracts of productive farmland if the mine was able to proceed following Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke’s decision.

“Why can a coal company that is so unsound in terms of finance and governance be allowed to do such damage, given that it might not be around to clean up the mess?” said Front Line Action on Coal spokesperson Murray Dreschler.

As widely reported, Whitehaven’s managing director is looking to quit and its entire board may be sacked next week due to uncertainties around its profitability.

“We will not allow Whitehaven to destroy Leard Forest and Maules Creek and we invite the entire community to join us,” said Mr. Dreschler.

“The Planning and Assessment Commission has buckled to pressure from Brad Hazzard’s department to water down rehabilitation conditions. Is this because Mark Vaile is the former leader of the National Party, or because deputy chairman John Conde presides the tribunal that decides federal politicians’ and judges’ salaries, or because the company’s lobbyist, Liam Bathgate, used to be Barry O’Farrell’s chief of staff?”

“If the government can’t say no to its mates in the coal industry, then it’s up to the community to stand up for our future,” Mr. Dreschler said.