Sydney Nannas had a big morning on Wednesday with two events on inside and outside Parliament House with a catch-up coffee break in between.
End Native Forest Logging media conference
On Wednesday Nannas met some of the wonderful forest defenders who make up the Forestry Ecology Alliance on the north coast. They came to the NSW parliament with a strong message for the media and the politicians: all current logging in the Great Koala National Park must be suspended. They convened a media conference in Parliament House and put their arguments to the media and politicians who attended.
Nannas were inspired by Ashley Love who drew up the original plans for the Great Koala National Park in 2012. He spoke about the background of the Park and the essential things Labor must do for it to happen.
Members of the crossbench spoke, committing themselves to keep working with the new government to find ways to save koalas and preserve healthy forests and clean waterways.
Rally for the Murray Darling Rivers
Nannas joined with Water for Rivers and other groups for a lively rally opposite NSW parliament house on Wednesday. We’ve been learning about the perilous state of the rivers caused by over-extraction, drought, floodplain harvesting and toxic run-off.
There’s some good news though, such as the cooperation between peak environment bodies in four states to come up with an agreed plan to rescue the rivers. There’ll be more about this at the forum at Harold Park Community Hall this Sunday at 2pm.
Tracey Carpenter of Water for the Rivers summarised the issues, and Cate Faehrmann of the Greens gave us insights from inside parliament. Patrick and the Nannas sang and chanted – knit one, purl one, save the rivers!
The LNP regulation allowing issuing of floodplain harvesting licences brought in before the election and after the last parliament ended was discussed to Nanna outrage. The regulation would likely have been disallowed (as happened 3 or 4 times before) had the upper house been sitting. This water was gifted to irrigators and the only way to get it back is for the government to purchase it at huge cost to taxpayers. ICAC was mentioned.
See our post for more information – Why we’re campaigning on Water
Zoom with Plibersek
Many Nannas from different loops attended the Nature Conservation Council’s Zoom with Tanya Plibersek. Nannas’ phones pinged constantly as messages of disappointment appeared. There was a lot of talking about the problems we know about and not enough questions about what the government plans to do about it. Important questions on Scope 3 and climate change were said to be Chris Bowen and the State’s responsibility, not Plibersek’s. She also evaded the question about putting a Climate Trigger in the EPBC Act, which she is currently redrafting. Link to recording here.
Kamay Whale Census
Nanna Cathy G participated in ORRCA’s (Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia) annual Whale Census. It was a gorgeous morning, sitting on a rock in Kamay Botany Bay National Park counting whales about half a kilometre offshore.
Nannas Watched
The whale and the kayaker video The Guardian
Movie Bran Nue Dae on SBSONDEMAND Expires in a week. Directed by Rachel Perkins 2009. Cast includes Jessica Mauboy, Ernie Dingo, Geoffrey Rush, Magda Szubanski, Deborah Mailman, and Missy Higgins
Now that winter has set in, more events are either inside or online and registration is required. See our full events calendar here.