Galilee Basin Alliance demand the right to say 'NO' to mining

Galilee Basin Alliance	23:17 (8 hours ago)		Clip
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Media Release:  

Monday, 30 November 2015

GALILEE BASIN DEMANDS THE RIGHT TO SAY ‘NO’ TO MINING

Farmers and landholders in Central Western Queensland are calling on Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg and state ministers to give them the right to say ‘no’ to mining at the next meeting of the COAG Energy Council on Friday 4^th December.

Minister Frydenberg said he'd put mining and land access on the agenda at the meeting.

Denice Campbell from the Galilee Basin Alliance said it was vital this meeting delivers tangible action and gives farmers, landholders and Traditional Owners the power to refuse mining companies access.

“While mining companies ultimately have the right to access someone else’s land and do to it what they will, usually without any consideration for the agricultural industry that is already in place, there will never be justice for ordinary people going about their businesses in this country. This applies equally to Traditional Owners.  It is wrong, ordinary people know it is wrong, politicians know it is wrong; they have said so in public forums.  Yet nothing continues to be done because the mining companies have powerful allies in all political arenas.  This corrupted process needs to end now or there will be huge costs to be faced in the future not unlike the stories and consequences of the “stolen generation”. 

“It is time for the buck-passing and bullying to end, and for our governments to legislate to give all landholders and communities a veto over mining that threatens our land, our water and way of life.

“Individuals and communities across Australia have experienced severe distress due to the laws being weighted so heavily in favor of multi-national mining corporations that they can legally force access to land without consent.

“All governments across Australia need to act now to end this special treatment for mining giants and to give us the basic right to a fair go and a real say over whether miners are allowed access”

“The bullying and harassment of landholders and Traditional Owners by mining corporations needs to end now. Governments need to prevent any further harm to rural and regional families“   Ms Campbell said.

We are asking that all governments:

• Reach an agreement at COAG to legislate the legal right for landholders and Traditional Owners to say ‘no’ to access by coal and unconventional gas mining companies.
• Provide state and territory governments six months to deliver legislative changes to that effect, and if they are not forthcoming, create national legislation using relevant powers.
• Immediately commission an inquiry by the ACCC, using powers it already has, to investigate whether the unconventional gas industry have engaged in unconscionable conduct in their dealings with landholders.

Inquiry on Landholders' Right to Refuse gas and coal Bill

The private senator’s bill proposed to make gas or coal mining activities undertaken without prior written authorisation from landholders unlawful and would ban constitutional corporations from engaging in hydraulic fracturing operations (fracking) for coal seam gas, shale gas and tight gas.

In addition to the 95 submissions listed below

http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/Gas_and_Coal/Submissions

the committee received by email approximately 350 short statements and form letters in support of the bill or that discussed matters beyond the scope of this inquiry. The committee decided not to publish on its website every email and form letter it received. An example of each type of form letter has been published.

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Scorecard: Planning bills not up to scratch

November 13, 2015

A new scorecard for Queensland reveals proposed new planning laws would be worse for the Queensland community and the environment than the planning laws in place under the Bligh government in 2012.

The scorecard, prepared by Environmental Defenders Office Qld (EDO Qld) and Queensland Conservation Council (QCC), comes after Deputy Premier and Minister for Planning Jackie Trad tabled the Government’s Planning Bill 2015and two related bills in Queensland Parliament late Thursday.

The LNP Opposition also has draft planning laws that will be up for consideration by parliament at the same time as the Government’s planning bills[1].

EDO Qld solicitor Revel Pointon said the scorecard was designed to help the community make sense of complex planning laws and revealed Queenslanders were not getting the first-class planning framework they deserved.

“We compared both the Government and the Opposition bills to see how they compared to planning laws in place under the Bligh and Newman governments.

“The QCC/EDO Qld scorecard assessed all the planning laws against four key indicators: protection of nature; support for community participation in planning; promotion of accountability and transparency; and whether they provide certainty to the community.

“The scorecard findings reveal the Opposition planning bills would be the worst outcome for Queensland, but disappointingly the current Government’s proposed laws are not much better.

“There are serious accountability and transparency shortfalls in both the Government’s and the Opposition’s proposed new planning and development assessment laws, mainly due to too much flexibility surrounding decision-making that tends to favour developers interests over the community.

“The current Government is clearly better on community involvement in planning and development assessment, in particular proposing to restore rules in the Planning and Environment Court that will protect the community from the threat of massive costs.

“However, the Government’s bills are only marginally ahead of the Opposition Bills on the other three measures.

“We are particularly concerned the government has decided to continue with its single assessment system – SARA – which weakens the role of specialist departments such Department of Environment and Heritage Protection.

“If the Deputy Premier wants planning based on the best science, we need our specialist departments to have a strong decision making role in planning and assessment decisions.

“We need strong, clear planning legislation to protect the environment for the future and to protect the community’s right to have their say on development that affects the places that matter to them,” said QCC planning spokesperson Karen Robinson.

“However both sets of planning laws will further entrench the presumption of development approval by weakening controls on code assessable applications.

“They also reduce the community’s rights to oppose development that does not comply with local plans and planning schemes,” Ms Robinson said.

“We are already seeing rising discontent in the community, particularly in south-east Queensland, as people wake up to find 15 and 20 storey apartment buildings approved where plans allowed just 6 and 12 storey.

“At the same time, scarce parkland and important koala habitat is being removed from protected zones and made available for development.

“People tell us they believe the planning system is broken, yet if the community is hoping any of the proposed new planning laws will fix this they are going to be seriously disappointed.”

[1] The Planning and Development (Planning for Prosperity) Bill 2015 (and two associated bills) were tabled in June as Private Members Bills by Shadow Treasurer Tim Nichols.

151113 Joint Media Release_Bills tabled _FINAL

https://www.qldconservation.org.au/take-action/queenslandplanningbill/

more

 https://www.qldconservation.org.au/2015/11/scorecard-planning-bills-not-up-to-scratch/

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Firing up the Northern Territory onshore shale gas industry could lead to an increase in fracking in the NT

Asian conglomerate Jemena wins tender to build NEGI gas pipeline from Northern Territory to Queensland

17/11/2015

An Asian conglomerate has been announced as the preferred bidder to construct a gas pipeline connecting the Northern Territory to Queensland.     

Jemena, which is jointly owned by the State Grid Corporation of China and Singapore Power, was announced by NT Chief Minister Adam Giles at a press conference today as the winner of the contract.
The pipeline project, known as the North East Gas Interconnector (NEGI), will link the Northern Territory's Amadeus pipeline to Queensland's Carpentaria pipeline between Tennant Creek and Mount Isa.
A simultaneous press conference was held in Mount Isa for the announcement.

Constructing a gas pipeline

• Surveying: Site surveys and studies are undertaken to ensure the pipeline is located and built to match construction techniques and environment and heritage protection measures.
• Topsoil stockpile and Trenching: Topsoil is pushed into a stockpile for use during reinstatement. A trench is cut for the pipe with excavation materials stockpiled for backfill.
• Stringing and Bending: Pipe that has already been inspected for integrity is laid end to end adjacent to the trench. Where necessary the pipe is bent to conform to land contours.
• Welding: Pipe segments are welded together, the joints are sealed, and the pipe is lowered into the trench by side-boom cranes or excavators in sections.
• Backfilling: The pipe is covered fine materials sifted from the excavation and the trench filled with earth removed during excavation and compacted.
• Testing: The entire pipeline is pressure tested with water to ensure the integrity of the pipe and the welded joints.
• Reinstatement: Following construction the easement is restored as close as possible to its original condition prior to construction with previously stockpiled topsoil.
  
  Source: Jemena

The 622-kilometre pipeline had been identified as a key to firing up the NT's onshore shale gas industry, which is expected to lead to an increase in hydraulic fracturing across the Territory.
"The pipeline itself is truly historic. It does cross borders. It is nation building," Mr Giles said.
"It does help solve Australia's looming energy crisis that is on its way."
Jemena managing director Paul Adams said gas delivered by the pipeline would "drive growth, prosperity and future opportunities for the Territory well into the future".
"Our vision for the NEGI is to drive commercial exploration and development of currently untapped gas reserves, unlocking the next phase of economic growth for the Territory and help build a stronger northern Australia," Mr Adams said.
"The sustainable development of these immense natural resources will drive growth, prosperity and future opportunities for the Territory well into the future."
Jemena beat three other proposals, two of which would have connected to the east coast through Alice Springs to Moomba in South Australia.
Mr Giles thanked unsuccessful bidder APA Group for its submission and said the choice came down to "who was prepared to take the risk for the reward... because we [NT Government] would not be putting any money into the construction of this pipeline".
Jemena owns and runs energy and water transportation assets across the east coast of Australia, according to its website, with $9 billion worth of utility infrastructure.
On its website, the company said it would "commit to Northern Territory, western Queensland and Indigenous business participation and employment targets" during the project.
"We will go beyond historical norms in local opportunity facilitation and give preference to local content from the regions, then from the NT and western Queensland."
The NEGI project is expected to deliver up to 900 direct jobs during its peak construction phase, tapering off to around 30 jobs once operational, though it is not clear what share of jobs will be based in Queensland.
The NT Government wants the pipeline to be operational by 2018.

A 'coup for Queensland', Premier says

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk welcomed the announcement.
"This is a coup for Queensland for the jobs and opportunities it will create for local suppliers, as well as the potentially cheaper energy it will supply to the north-west resources projects," Ms Palaszczuk said in a statement.
Queensland State Development Minister Anthony Lynham said export and domestic eastern seaboard gas demand was forecast to treble by 2020.
"More gas supplies can only help to contain energy prices that affect investment decisions," he said.
The Mayor of Mount Isa, Tony McGrady, said the pipeline was "terrific news for our region".
"It means jobs," Mr McGrady said.
"We have also built a new relationship between Queensland and the Northern Territory which offers great hope for future joint projects."

URGENT: Galilee Basin Mines impact on water : Statutory right to groundwater for mines proposed to commence!

Picture above from here 

URGENT MESSAGE FROM THE GALILEE BASIN ALLIANCE

Statutory right to groundwater for mines proposed to commence!

1 October 2015

What is proposed?

The loss of your public rights of appeal on underground water licences for mining companies. This amendment affects a significant amount of our underground water.

The proposed Alpha and Kevin’s Corner Coal Mines alone would involve taking an estimated 176GL, or 70,400 Olympic swimming pools worth of underground water over 30 years.

Currently mining companies have to apply to get a water licence, the application is publicly notified and then submitters (for example graziers or community groups concerned about water) have the right to appeal the decision on the water licence to the Land Court.[1]

These community rights would be lost if the proposed amendments are commenced. Our current Ministers want this removal of rights to go ahead!

We support the positive changes WROLAA introduces – including obligatory make good agreements (although with some improvements needed), cumulative impact management, adequate monitoring and reporting obligations – but let’s not lose community appeal rights with respect to water licences.

Why is this bad?

• We need full public scrutiny of the impacts of major mines on groundwater. Removing water licence requirements seriously undermines that scrutiny. The decisions made by the Land Court in cases like Alpha Coal [2] and other Galilee Basin mines assume there will be later public scrutiny of an application for a water licence and the potentially major impacts on groundwater. And it’s simply unfair to change the rules when projects are part way through assessment and when citizens have made decisions as to whether to participate based on an existing array of rights.
• Even for development applications for shopping centres, our legal system provides the community with submission and appeal rights to the Planning and Environment Court for independent merit assessment. Impacts to our precious groundwater by large scale mining activities deserve the same scrutiny against community concerns.
• It’s contrary to Labour statements, as quote above. This State Government has further committed to open, accountable, transparent governance. This move is contrary to those commitments; silencing those concerned with impacts to groundwater in Queensland.

TAKE ACTION: 

Help save our groundwater resources!

1. Spread the word – share this news and why it is bad with your networks.

2. Speak to your local parliamentarian about this issue and tell them what you think.

3. Write to Minister Lynham and Minister Miles and tell them your concerns, even a short email will do:

Hon Dr Anthony Lynham Minister for State Development and Minister for Natural Resources and Mines PO Box 15216, CITY EAST QLD 4002 statedevelopment@ministerial.qld.gov.au

Hon Dr Steven Miles Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection and Minister for National Parks and the Great Barrier Reef GPO Box 2454, BRISBANE QLD 4001 environment@ministerial.qld.gov.au

4. Keep an eye on EDO Qld Facebook, Twitter or website for updates.

Whose idea was this?

By way of background, in late 2014 the LNP government introduced the Water Reform and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2014 (Qld) (WROLAA) which proposed to drop public rights of appeal on water licences and instead provide the mining industry with a statutory right to take associated underground water (water that is necessary to remove for the extraction of the actual resource)[3].  Prior to being elected ALP opposed this idea, committing to:

“Repeal the Newman Government’s water laws which will have a detrimental effect on the Great Barrier Reef catchment systems and allow for over allocation of Queensland’s precious water resources.”[4]

And further stating:

“The Water Reform and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 takes the errors of the Murray-Darling Basin and seeks to repeat them by facilitating the over-allocation of water for large ‘coordinated projects’ and mines. This legislation passed while 75 per cent of Queensland was drought declared and landholders are struggling to find water. 

The Opposition also does not support make good arrangements being dependent on a resource company coming to the conclusion that they have impacted on a landholders’ water bore. If water is extracted on an unsustainable basis from the Great Artesian Basin it will be lost forever.

Only a Labor Government will ensure the sustainable management of our State’s water resources based on the principles of ecologically sustainable development. By repealing this legislation a Labor Government will restore the fundamental legal right to object and say no to a nearby mining development.”^[5]

Apparently their position has changed. 

We can’t allow this to go ahead.

[1] Water Act, s206(4)(i) and Water Regulation, Sch 2, allows a holder of a mineral development licence or mining lease (or listed entity) to apply for a water licence. Water Act, s208 provides for public notice of water licence applications (limited exceptions to public notification in s209).  For people who have made a properly made submission there are rights of internal review (s862(1)(a)) and appeal to the Land Court (s877(1)(b)).

[2] Hancock Coal Pty Ltd v Kelly & Ors and Department of Environment and Heritage Protection(No. 4) [2014] QLC 12.

[3] WROLAA s11 proposes to insert Chapter 12A Part 1 in the Mineral Resources Act which includes s334ZP ‘Entitlement to use underground water’ and s334ZR associated authorisation. WROLAA s10 proposes to delete s235(3) of the Mineral Resources Act which states there is no entitlement to water.

[4] Queensland Labor, Saving the Great Barrier Reef: Labor’s plan to protect a natural wonder, January 2015.

[5] Letter Tim Mulherin former Labor MP to Kate Dennehy, Lock the Gate, 22 January 2015.

http://www.edoqld.org.au/news/urgent-statutory-right-to-groundwater-for-mines-proposed-to-commence/

Children's books needed for the largest volcanic island in the eastern Torres Strait. Please donate.

Can we help? If u would like to contribute some books we are going to take up a collection and send up a few packages! Contact us if u have some books to donate! ☺
Posted by Pop Up Shop For The Homeless and Those in Need - Ballarat on Thursday, 24 September 2015

Brandishing Brandis knows no bounds. Now he is throwing his weight around in The Yartz!

This man probably holds these views honestly -

because he thinks he is the best arbitrator of our thoughts -

and our arts.

This article was written in 2010.

Miss Eagle is a former Queenslander.

She doesn't wish to return to the bad politics and racism that are still there.

And, of course, there is Brandis.

Miss Eagle has lived in Sydney and Melbourne 

and knows how egocentric each can be -

as if the sun rises only in these two places.

It is nice to hear of good things happening in the arts in Brisbane -

but Brandis! 

Brandis bullying The Yartz?!

Siphoning money off to spend on his pleasure at his leisure.

I know Brandis has been flaunting himself around

various Brisbane arts institutions for years -

but does his ego have to be inflicted on the rest of us?!

Jodestar Munstar

1 hr

Dear Arts Colleagues and Friends,

As you will know by now, Federal Arts Minister George Brandis has taken $104.8 million off the Australia Council, over four years, to start a National Centre for Excellence run by his own office. This will decimate the Australia Council's discretionary budget, and has threatened the new programs and initiatives that started only this year.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

1. Please write to your local federal MP to tell them how poor this decision is, and how it threatens the fundamental democratic process of arts funding. It doesn't matter what political party they are from, they represent you and your interests.
> Click on: http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Members
> Put in your postcode, and it will give you the contact details for your local MP.

2. Get busy on social media: ‪#‎FreeTheArts‬

3. Sign the petition: http://australiansforartisticfreedom.org (this is still under construction at time of writing, so please check back at the end of the day to add your name).

australiansforartisticfreedom.org

http://australiansforartisticfreedom.org

AUSTRALIANSFORARTISTICFREEDOM.ORG

Support Justice for Kevin Hill in the face of the Police State of Queensland

I don't know a lot about this situation

because - in spite of being an old Mount Isan -

I now live in regional Victoria.

I do know two things though: 

Number One

the Kalkadoons are fighters - always were

and one classic example in modern times

is the late Charles Perkins. 

Number Two

Queensland under conservative political leadership

has the capacity to operate as

a police state.

Because of this, I am happy to support this cause

with publicity.

The Great Barrier Reef - God's great gift to this nation - has been made open season for developers & greedy money bags. Blasphemy!

Picture from here

I grew up in Bowen, married there, had my first child there.

When I married my husband, Joe Walsh,

my mother said I married half of Bowen - and I probably did.

So I lived beside the Great Barrier Reef at the top end

of the beautiful Whitsunday Islands.

It now appears that I live in a nation where vandals and visigoths

make impacting decisions with impunity.

We need the names of those who are allowing dangerous projects

which will impact on the reef.

We need thee names never to be forgotten.

When this sort of thing befalls our beloved Great Barrief Reef, 

we need to carve this names with disgust

on memorial boards along the communities of The Reef.

- Brigid Walsh aka Miss Eagle

~~~~~~~

If you were responsible for the future of one of the 7 natural wonders of the world, would you

• allow new mega ports to be built alongside it, including the largest coal port in the world?


• turn it into a shipping superhighway?


• allow millions of tonnes of dredging and then dump the spoil on its doorstep?

No, neither would I, but I was shocked to hear this is exactly what our political leaders (Federal and Queensland) are doing to the Great Barrier Reef. 
Bloody Idiots, I reckon.
If you agree with me, please share this message - for we shall surely have a long fight to stop this madness. And so we will need all the good and sensible people to join us in this fight.

I've just joined the Fight for the Reef... will you?
The rapid increase in developments planned in and around the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area means the future of the Reef is in danger.

There are a whole bunch of projects in the pipeline and if we don't do something about it now, our Reef and the lifestyle we love could be changed forever.

Will you join the fight today? Go to http://fightforthereef.org.au

Denis Wilson
"All conservation monitoring programs should contain well-defined trigger points for pre-planned action". Otherwise the "recovery plans for threatened species" are meaningless.

"The Nature of Robertson"
www.peonyden.blogspot.com.au

Girringun - its original owners will be officially Caring for Country.

Wonderful and encouraging news from Tracker.  

Congratulations to all involved in bring about this agreement!

It is good to know that the original nations will be

Caring for Country.

~~~~~

Tribes help protect large area of Qld

BY CHRIS MUNRO, JUNE 11, 2013

QLD: Eight Aboriginal tribes in far north Queensland have been tasked with helping to protect more than a million hectares of land.

Parts of the Girringun Region, between Cairns and Townsville and inland to Greenvale, became an Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) on Saturday.

This includes parts of the Wet Tropics as well as coastal areas of the Great Barrier Reef.

Girringun Aboriginal Corporation boss Phil Rist said this allows traditional owners to help other environmental and government groups look after the area.

Day to day management includes weed and feral animal control, fire management, revegetation, wildlife protection and monitoring.

It also means traditional owners can reconnect with the land.

“It will increase the presence of traditional owners and it will recognise them and their traditional responsibilities to that country,” Mr Rist told AAP.

He says for thousands of years Aboriginal people have been hunting, fishing and conducting ceremonies in the area.

In recent years they were forcibly removed from the region and stopped from returning, he says.

The IPA will mean traditional owners can return to the land and younger generations can learn more about their culture.

“We’ll be taking back old people, we’ll be taking back young people to those places as they’ve hardly had the opportunity to go to the land,” Mr Rist said.

A ninth tribe is expected to be included in the IPA later this year.

AAP

First Origin match to-night: Queensland to win: Jack Gallaway's history: it's a case of "I am woman hear me roar"

State of Origin (SOO) begins to-night. At Origin time, especially, I think of my Uncle Jack who lives in Brisbane.  He and his brother, Roly (dcd), were A-Grade footballers long, long ago in Brisbane.  Jack is my late mother's younger brother and the only one of his generation still alive.  So, Networkers, on my maternal side I have a bit of Rugby League heritage - the love of which was sufficient to fire my uncle into writing not only the history of the Broncos but of Origin as well.

For all of those Mexicans who have moved north of the border into Queensland, Origin is a must read.  Only by reading Jack's account will you get to understand the basis for the hatred of NSW Rugby League and the religiosity which undergirds Queensland's attitude to State of Origin.  Although he might not tell you - but your Miss Eagle will - that Queensland women are the best and loudest and most ferocious barrackers at Origin time.  Go, Queensland women!!!  Only when you get to know all this will you come close to understanding Billy Moore's chant of Queenslander! Queenslander! 

I now live in Ballarat, Victoria.  Victoria has only one NRL Rugby League team, The Storm. And in The Storm there is a substantial amount of Queensland DNA and its playing Origin.

There is a lot of hype and argie-bargie at Origin.  From the Queensland side, there is this about Johnathan Thurston (he of the golden boot!) from the Cowboys who is our champeen goal-kicker.  The story could be something or nothing.  It could be there to instill false hope into the NSW team.  It could be there to make Queensland look as if it is overcoming some great odds to win.  It could be just to give we, the fans, something to talk about to-day.  I don't think we can afford to be without Johnathan Thurston. I know we have The Storm's wonderful Cam Smith (my cap'n, my cap'n) to kick but....

Anyway, Queensland to win to-night and it's "I am woman, hear me roar" as I barrack for them.

Save Bimblebox Nature Refuge from Clive Palmer's predation - Say no to his massive new coal mine in the Galilee Basin

Dear Bimblebox Supporters,

You may have heard that Clive Palmer’s Waratah Coal has put out its Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the China First coal mine*. This mine would destroy Bimblebox Nature Refuge. We have until Monday (6^th May) to put in submission on the SEIS.

You can make your submission here.

After a mammoth effort late in 2011, together, we managed to get almost 2000 submissions in to the Coordinator General, and sent a clear message to the Queensland Government that mining on a Nature Refuge is not acceptable. Many of you may agree with us that a coal mine of this scale is not acceptable anywhere.

Over the last couple of weeks we have done our best to trawl through more than 4000 pages of SEIS and pull out the key issues we need to highlight to the Government. We now have 5 days to get this brief summary submission out to everyone in our networks and show our politicians the breadth and depth of support for Bimblebox and concern about this disastrous mine.

Please share the link and text below with friends, colleagues, family and any organisations you are part of. Can we reach 5000 submissions against this mine? Not without your help. After you've signed the submission please share it on facebook, twitter and email.

Thanks for your support,

The Bimblebox Team

P.S. you can also download, print, sign and send a slightly longer submission at our website. Why not print 10 or 20 and head to the local markets with a clipboard and pen?

----- Send the following email to your contacts:-----

Say no to Clive Palmer's massive new coal mine

Billionaire Clive Palmer is still pushing to get approval for his proposed China First coal mine.^* 

If allowed to go ahead, this project will destroy the Bimblebox Nature Refuge, impact on our precious groundwater resources and help open up the whole Galilee Basin to more coal mines.

Over the life of the mine, the coal from the China First project will generate greenhouse gases emissions equivalent to nearly four years of Australian total annual emissions! It would need to be transported over farmland and shipped through the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

While the owners of the mine stand to make large profits, it will have negative economic impacts on other, more sustainable, industries.

Public comments on the China First Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement are due May 6^th.  Add your voice to those calling for this project to be stopped.

* Otherwise known as Galilee Coal Project

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