Can't Eat Coal, Can't Drink Gas - reporting the event

Some people have been busy uploading their images from today's rally in Sydney against Coal Seam Gas. Unfortunately, my images are still inside my phone, as I do not have the Mini-USB (or is it a Micro-USB?) device I need in order to download a bunch of images. Hopefully I can get one tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, I will rely on links to other people's images.


This video is good - it shows the large number of people well, and with sound it presents the atmosphere better than still images.


These images cover the main part of the rally, although I am heartbroken I am not visible in any of images. ;-)) I guess that just shows how many people were present, that I could hide amongst them, all. By the way, the Banners and Posters are great, as often they show where the people are from. That's important.


It was a good natured rally, and its good for people from all across NSW and some Queenslanders (facing the front line of the same battle) to meet and share experiences.


Tim Duddy spoke well, on behalf of the Caroona Farmers. We wish him well next weekend as a candidate for the Upper Hunter.
Cate Faehrmann was particularly forthright in her comments - good on you Cate.
Bev Smiles gave a good rallying speech too.

It was good to see Rob Oakeshott there - the Federal member for Lyne, whose electorate includes the Gloucester area, which is part of the Manning River Catchment. Amanda was pleased to see him there, as I know she has been knocking on his door in recent months. Good on you, Amanda.


The Mudgee people and their neighbours at Bylong (and the famous "Costa" who told me he grew up in Bylong) were there today. Costa certainly looks the part of a genuine "Bushie" in the "Driza-bone". The Hunter Environment mob were very well represented. Good to see Colin and Julia there, and Lance Batey and Jan Davis and heaps more I did not know. The Gloucester/Stroud people were there, as well. Gloucester Shire Councillor Julie Lyford spoke very well. Rod and Robin (the GRIP team) and Amanda Albury were there as well.


Notable absentees? The Labor Party and the Liberal Party and the Nationals. Tells you something, I think.


But, for those who might be concerned about an apparent Green political bias in the crowd - yes, probably to some extent (but you have to remember who has offered the most support for the Rivers SOS and anti-coal mining movement over the last 5 years. But, for the record, it was it was definitely NOT JUST A GREENS event.


Rivers SOS campaigners were scattered throughout the crowd, (Caroline Graham and Betty and myself travelled up together on the train). We met Dave Burgess and Sharyn Cullis on the way to the event. Graham Brown spoke well, too, which is good as he has great "cred", as a former Coal Miner. He is convinced by Newcastle Uni research that alternative energy sources are available, and that the jobs created in "alternatives" would outweigh jobs lost in mining - almost straight away. Way to go, Graham!

Lake Cowal - fundraising event in Canberra

Lake Cowal, is in central western NSW.It is the site of a large gold mine, owned by Barrick Gold, the world's largest gold mining company (based in Canada).Caroline Graham, Ted Smith and I, from the Rivers SOS group attended the fundraising event on behalf of the traditional owners at Lake Cowal, hosted by Neville (Chappy) Williams.
The Save Lake Cowal website, (hosted by the Rainforest Information Centre) says:
"Barrick’s gold mine at Lake Cowal encompasses approximately 26.50 square kilometres. One hundred and eight million tons of low to medium grade ore will be excavated from an open cut pit 1km wide and 325 meters deep on the lake shore and partly within the high water level of Lake Cowal. Cyanide will be usedIt is estimated that the pit Barrick will blast to retreive approximately 2.7 million ounces of gold will be comparable to the size of Uluru in the Northern Territory. The mine runs 24 hours a day all year and has a life of about 13 years.

Aerial photo taken 20 March 2008.
The pit is over 1 km wide and 300 metres deep, apparently.
It is huge. The giant trucks look like ants in the pit.
A massive earth slippage is visible on the right of the pit.

"On 27 March 2006 the mine became fully operational despite opposition from Traditional Owners within the Wiradjuri Nation, the Coalition to Protect Lake Cowal and concerned citizens around Australia. The first gold was poured at the mine in April 2006 and NSW Premier, Morris Iemma officially opened it on 29 September.

"Barrick owns eight mines in Australia.

"The company has been accused of a number of environmentally unsound practices, as well as illegal trading activities."

Here is a model of the Lake Cowal Gold Mine,
showing the huge pit, and the sludge ponds.Neville (Chappy) Williams
addressing the fundraiser event in Canberra

Ellie Gilbert, film maker, addressing the group.

There is an amazing legal battle which has been going on for years, involving the Traditional Owners (represented by Chappy Williams) and Barrick Gold, and various Federal and State instrumentalities, from the Mines Department,. and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, and the Federal Minister for Environment, Peter Garrett.

The point of this fundraiser was two-fold: to raise funds (obviously) and to raise awareness of the parlous state of this legal battle.

Photos from the Australian Water Network Launch

Here are some photos I took last Thursday, in Sydney at the AWN Launch event.
Here is the group photo, taken towards the end of the day. Some people had left previously to attend other meetings, or to catch flights back home, and several were also taking photos.
The day started with a very brief introduction by Bernard Eddy about the purpose of the gathering. He then immediately called upon Patrice Newell to offer an acknowledgment of the Traditional Owners. Bernie than introduced Maude Barlow to speak.

Here is a photo of Maude Barlow, Senior Adviser on Water to the President of the United Nations General Assembly, and International Patron of the Australian Water Network, during her speech to officially launch the Australian Water Network.Cate Faehrmann, from the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, listens intently during Maude's speech. The NCC were co-hosts of the Launch event, and Bernard Eddy as Co-convenor of the AWN, had already thanks the NCC for their assistance in bringing this event to fruition.Maria Reidl from Mildura, in the heart of the Murray Darling system, is a strong supporter of the "Plug the Pipe" campaign. Here she is taking notes as Maude speaks. Maria is famous for her appearance at rallies as a kind of human billboard. Good on her!Dr Diane Bell, Anthropologist and water campaigner from the Murray Darling Lower Lakes, making a point, during the launch. Liz is looking on, while Bernie makes a few notes. Brigid Walsh, from Greenfaith Australia, based in Victoria, shows a wry look,as she obviously appreciates some of the points made by Maude in her speech.Liz McAloon of the Victorian Women's Trust, enjoys a joke during Maude's spech.
Maria Reidl, with Prof. Gavan McDonell, and Stephen Cannon, President of Watershed Victoria.
Liz McAloon also addressed the AWN "Foundation Members". Liz was a member of the Watermark Australia team, and she helped co-ordinate the community consultation program which was integral to the success of that Program. So, people were keen to listen to Liz's advice on how to establish a successful network.I offered my "two-bob's worth" along the lines of:

• "From our experience with the Save Water Alliance, we were all getting so lonely, working by ourselves, thinking "no-one else knows what's going on". Now we know there are many such groups across Australia, so lets all work together.
  
• "Continue to act locally, as your own local group, but know that you have the support of a network of like-minded people around Australia".

Here is Judy Reizes (Community Projects Officer, Manly Environment Centre), gesticulating as she explains the finer points of Sydney's massively wasteful sewage disposal system.
Maude was presented with a commemorative T-shirt produced by the daughter of Dr Wayne Chamley, from the VWT and a member of the Watermark Australia team.The T-shirt carries an image adapted from the "Tin Tin" series of cartoons, showing Tin Tin and his dog, in an out-of-control canoe, heading towards a dangerous waterfall. The sign on the rock says: "Wong way, go back".

After the formal speeches, we were able to mix and share ideas about how exactly we wish the AWN to operate. We got to know eachother informally.

Maude Barlow with John Caldecott,
President of the Friends of Gulf St. Vincent (in South Australia).Here are Judy Reizes, Olivia Isherwood, and Liz sharing the moment.

Later in the day, those who did not have other appointments, or planes to catch back home adjourned to Kim and Peter's home, to continue the discussions.

Bernie, with Brigid Walsh, and Peter Martin (our host).Mary Crooks, Executive Director of the VWT, with Maude, her husband Andrew, and Liz McAloon (also from VWT).Caroline Graham from Rivers SOS, and Shelini Harris, from Greenfaith Australia, discuss the day's events, afterwards.

Professor Rosemary Lister, with Dr Wayne Chamley (seen from behind), with noted author John Archer.Bernard in reflective mood, after the Launch.

Editorial note: My computer crashed yesterday (Wednesday), and I had to rush off to a meeting last night. I have now posted more photos (on Thursday). Hope this has not been too confusing.

More about the Georges River - subsidence

Caroline Graham, with whom I went exploring a week ago, along the banks of the George's River, at Appin, has started a ruckus over the cracks in the rocks which we saw, and which I reported on at the time, here. I was woken by a call by Nick Rheinberger from ABC Illawarra early this morning. I am afraid I was not able to help Nick very much, because at that time, I had not seen all the various photographs.

Anyway, this is what Caroline had sent out to the Media:

"Georges River Cracked by Longwall Mining "

"On 25th June, Denis Wilson of the Save Water Alliance and myself inspected the Upper Georges River near Appin for damage caused by BHP Billiton's latest longwall mines, which were allowed to go right up to the river bank. Attached are my photos of cracking which we discovered. Mining is continuing along the river in this area.

"We want to alert the people of NSW to the ongoing and irreparable damage being done to our rivers, creeks, wetlands and aquifers by mining, thanks to approvals handed to the mining companies by the Iemma Government."

Since then, BHP Billiton has been onto Caroline asking her to withdraw her allegations that the cracking was caused by mine subsidence. They did this on the basis that they apparently had photographic evidence that the crack was there in 2004. This is their photo:

Photo apparently taken by Illawarra Coal Field Crew on 29 April 2004

Well, I sent Dave Burgess an email with a Google Earth image, locating where we had been.
He has come back, advising where we were in relation to the BHP Billiton longwalls. He said:
"You were at the end of LW31. So if that photo is from 2004 (LW29 was mined in 2003/04) the
crack extends from mining about 300m away."

Here is another BHP Billiton photo - taken by Richard Walsh on 22 May 2008. What I noticed straight away, when I saw it was that the crack in the rock is considerably larger in 2008 than it apparently was in 2004.
So how does that help their case?
Here I have pasted together 3 different images of the crack, with dates, as provided by BHP and then my own photo (with date from my records).The other thing I notice is that they have concentrated on the near edge of the crack, but the reality is that a whole rock shelf has cracked. It is difficult to judge, but I estimate the length of the crack to be about 3 to 4 metres in length (it extends past Caroline's feet).And, as a well, they have the nerve to suggest that the rock has (possibly) been cracked by the root which is visible on the right hand edge. They say: "The final photograph is one which we took in May this year which may give you some insight into the cause of the cracking (note the tree root under the rock).

I would simply point out that, as illustrated in my post of 25 June 2008, BHP Billiton have installed a series of hi-tech Survey Monitoring points, which they use to monitor "valley closure". Why would they do that, if they think that the cracking is caused by tree roots?

Gee, I wish I could get paid well by a Multi-National Company to come up with lame excuses like that!

Appin and Douglas Park visit - birds and Orchids

Further to my post of yesterday, about the deplorable state of the Georges River, let me now give you the good news.

There were Honeyeaters galore in the trees in Caroline's backyard. Her house sits atop the cliffs of the Cataract River Gorge. There are many Gum Trees along this top edge of the gorge, and, many other native trees and plants down below, in the gorge itself, of course.

The first birds I noticed were the Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, and Little Wattlebirds, and a family of Superb Fairy Wrens ("Blue Wrens"). We sat on the back deck and had a coffee, and listened to the Striated Pardalotes in the trees (always hard to see, while feeding on Lerps on the Eucalypt leaves.) Eastern Spinebills flipped past us, their noisy wing-beats attracting our attention.

Caroline and I then drove past Appin, and went for a walk to the Georges River. We heard Whipbirds calling in the dense shrubbery, as we approached the river. Once we got there, I noticed some frogs calling (but not many). But it was the birds which I was most conscious of. The Yellow-faces were still around, but there were other Honeyeaters, including the wonderfully bright Yellow-tufted Honeyeater, and the ever-present New Holland Honeyeaters. Those birds love Banksias and Grevilleas, both of which were in flower. I saw a female Golden Whistler, and a Grey Shrike Thrush. Two Black Ducks were swimming fitfully on the river, near some reeds.

The highlight for me was hearing (could I believe my ears?) what I thought sounded like the call of the Peaceful Dove. I have not seen this species in more than 20 years. And when I did, it was in central NSW, near Forbes and Dubbo. Could they be here, on the edge of the Sydney Basin?
Sure enough, after a few minutes of walking along the banks of the Georges River, I saw first one Dove, and then, a pair of them, sitting on a dead shrub across the river.These are lovely birds, with a quiet, non-aggressive nature, and a quiet voice. So much "nicer' than the aggressive New Holland HoneyeatersThis photo is not great, but it is diagnostic. You can just make out the blue eye ring, and the fine markings on the back and neck. Definitely not the introduced Turtle Dove.

As we walked back up to the road, I noticed a grassy glade, which looked promising for Greenhoods. Sure enough, there were many large leaves of a Greenhood in this moist soil. After looking around I found two open flowers of the Blunt Greenhood (Pterostylis curta).

It has a lovely shape from side on. And from the front view you can clearly see the diagnostic twisted labellum (tongue).Back at Caroline's a beautifully marked Pied Butcherbird landed in the tree, while I was on the phone talking to Bernie. I whispered to Caroline that the Butcherbird was here, and straight away she went and got some pieces of bread and put them on the deck railing. Clearly the Butcherbird has got Caroline trained, and it rewarded her by zooming straight in and grabbing a morsel immediately.This snatch and grab movement was so fast I only had a moment to point and shoot. No chance to adjust shutter settings, before the bird was off. But you can see what good plumage it had. Clearly an adult male.

Late in the afternoon, the Noisy Miners had moved in and chased away the other Honeyeaters. But they did not disturb a pair of King Parrots feeding on the Wild Tobacco Plant (Solanum mauritianum).

As a late-afternoon bonus, a family of 8 Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos flew out of the Gorge, below us, and flew to a neighbouring Pine Tree. The younger members of the group then started their droning noises, while waiting for the adults to feed them. Who would be a parent?

Methane Gas bubbling from the Nepean River

As I wrote a few days ago, the Nepean River is in trouble. Today a number of concerned residents, and environmental lobbyists gathered at Caroline Graham's place at Douglas Park. We watched a video which Maurice Blackwood has recorded, talking to people all around NSW about the problems which coal mines are causing them, but specifically to the rivers.

After the video, we then went down to the Nepean, north-east of the Twin Bridges at Douglas Park, to where the gas was known to be leaking from the cracked base of the river.

The morning started badly though when I heard a "grab" on the ABC news of Premier Morris Iemma talking about the gas leaks in the Nepean River, we will investigate this, and "if it is real, we will fix it". What an insult: If it is real - indeed.
Pray tell, Mr Premier how you propose to "fix" a gas leak coming through 300 metres of crack rockbase? The man has no idea, and is just mouthing 5 seconds of platitudes, to try and satisfy a journalist's inquiry.

John Kaye MLC (a Greens member of the Upper House) spoke with the Rivers SOS group, and was well received.
Pru Goward, MLA, Member for Goulburn, joined the members of the Rivers SOS group, and Maurice, Julie and myself took Pru down to inspect the area of the Nepean River where the gas is obviously leaking out. Pru made the point that we can only tell that the gas is leaking out through the river bed, because we can see the bubbles. It is quite possible that it is coming out all though this area, along the river bank, though the sand, but we cannot tell. Quite a scary thought, that. Dave Burgess, an environmental campaigner with the Total Environment Centre, was the hero of the day, as the Illawarra mercury carried a page 1 story based largely upon Dave's work to document the cracking of the Catchment around the Dendrobium mine - another BHP Billiton mine.
I took this photo of Dave holding the Page 4 photo of himself lying down, looking into a metre-wide crack in the soil caused by subsidence above the Dendrobium mine. You may read the story here.