Last Wednesday Nannas were in both the federal parliament in Canberra and the NSW parliament on Macquarie Street. For some of us it was our first time in these houses. We found the buildings impressive but the politicians of both major parties not so much. There was anger, frustration and tears but we managed to stay polite.
There were some Naughty Nannas on a high following the Canberra Sit-in, a peaceful and powerful protest calling for a climate trigger in our environment laws and an end to fossil fuel mines.
Nannas disappointed in both major parties – Meanwhile in NSW parliament the Minns Labor Government teamed up with the Liberals and Nationals to vote down Jeremy Buckingham’s Bill to protect the prime agricultural land of the Liverpool Plains from coal seam gas. Thanks to Jeremy Buckingham, the Greens and Emma Hurst of Animal Justice for voting to protect our food bowl from Santos.
No Rest for Nannas
We thought this week was going to be a quiet week because the NSW Parliament is not sitting, and so there is no forest rally. However, there’ll be no trouble getting our steps up with these two actions.
Wednesday, 21 August – Snap action: Stop ANZ, NAB, and Westpac loaning $750 million to Santos
We’ll join Market Forces to take letters to these three big banks, asking them not to fund Santos. The banks are due to announce their decision on 23 August. Meet at Westpac HQ: 275 Kent Street, Sydney at 12 noon. More information here
Thursday 22 August – Say No to Whitehaven Coal: A Sydney Walking Tour!
Whitehaven Coal is hoping to announce a Joint Venture Partnership for their Blackwater mine at their annual reporting call on this day. There’s a Plan A and a Plan B. Meet at 52 Martin Place at 12 Noon, then head to wherever we need to go and be finished by 1.30pm. More information here
Wednesday 28 August – Lock the Gate Coal Watch Conga line
This promises to be a fun event with a serious message – watch the Nannas’ promotional video put together by Zoe and Ash from LTG.
We will join others to form a Conga line from 52 Martin Place (State Ministers offices) to NSW parliament from 8-9am. The conga line will present the petition opposing the government’s coal policy to the Premier. Wear red for emergency or just add red to our black and yellow.
Council Elections
Nannas attended a Zoom discussion with Nature Conservation Council CEO Jacqui Mumford and Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore on the role councils can play in protecting nature. The Lord Mayor talked about her council’s many initiatives to reduce emissions and those of other city buildings, and about her negotiations with Lendlease to acquire three floors of space called Greenhouse, a technology innovation hub tackling climate change.
Clover also suggested that being a good councillor is a lot of work, and we need to lobby to pay councillors to attract better people. Currently the only people who can afford to be councillors are either retired or ambitious political party people who want to establish a profile before standing for a government election.
The NCC has released its Council Election Policy Platform – Clean, Green and Local, recognising that all council areas are different. From this document, Nannas can choose what to ask your local candidates to address. Here’s a few things you can encourage your council to do
- Get off gas
- Object to fossil fuel advertising in public places
- Introduce Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO), a kerbside collection service that allows food to be added to the green lid garden waste bin so it can be recycled into top quality compost.
Saturday, 14 September – Council Elections
Registrations of candidates have closed. Many Liberal candidates missed the nomination deadline. Find out candidates registered for your area here. Look out for candidates’ forums to attend.
Reconnect our Rivers – Voices from the Basin
Nannas returned to NSW Parliament House on Thursday 15 August to a forum, organised by the Nature Conservation Council (NCC), to hear from graziers, Traditional Owners and community advocates united in their vision for a healthy and sustainable Darling/Baaka River system.
The NSW Water Minister Rose Jackson was thanked by all the speakers for her part in producing the Connectivity Report. They encouraged her to push for the implementation of all its recommendations.
“It’s quite simple: the rivers need more water. And this Connectivity Report gives us a roadmap for securing it,” said NCC Water Campaigner Mel Gray.
The Connectivity Report spells out the bare minimum requirements for restoring the Baaka, as well as providing a blueprint for next steps. The speakers agreed that vested interests are already opposing its implementation and spreading disinformation about the river. They stressed that politicians and river communities who want to see it implemented will need to work together with courage over the coming years.
We learnt that the western rivers flow at different rates and at different times, and that is how the system needs to be to kept going. The authors of the Report recognise that regulations need to vary according to how dry the river is in different sections. Overextraction in the tributaries must be stopped, and the Baaka needs a base flow with annual flushes to keep it going.
A touching moment occurred when Menindee farmer Kate McBride became emotional over the plight of the river, and Gamilaraay Traditional Owner Polly Cutmore came forward and put an arm around her. Earlier Aunty Polly had recalled that the river always had water in it, even in dry times.
Nannas were a noticeable contingent in the audience, learning as well as demonstrating city people’s concern for the river system. Later, we were pleased to chat with some of the long term river campaigners who had travelled from places along the Baaka to be at the forum.
For more details you can watch the recording of the forum here:
Yancoal’s Moolarben OC3 expansion
This so-called coal mine expansion is huge and yet the EPA has made no objection to it. Here’s what we can do to stop it
- Subscribe to Mudgee Coal Alert
- Sign the Petition – This was an Action of the Week on June 10
- Share the Petition on social media
- When the Independent Planning Commission panel is convened, write a submission and speak at the hearing or meeting, and go to an action in Mudgee. Submission guides will be available.
Wollar Alive weekend 21-22 September
A bus tour of the coal mines, a dance, and a walk to The Drip in the Goulburn River State Conservation Area near Mudgee. Facebook Event
Native Forest Alliance News
The Alliance was formed in April 2024 to undertake citizen science survey programs to identify glider populations, leading to their habitat protection. This is one element of the wider Alliance objective to end forest logging.
Four weekend field trips are planned for night-time glider spotting in 2024 – two on the north and two on the south coasts. The first one will be on 24-25 August, approximately five hours driving north of Sydney. The exact location will be advised at a later date. Contact Marie if you are interested in going. mariefloodsy@gmail.com
The purpose is to expose the utter inadequacy of Forestry Corp’s surveys, to record GPS sightings, upload data to Bionet, photograph and report all findings to both Forestry Corporation (FC) and the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).
Case study: Sooty from South East Forest Rescue (SEFR) spoke about the twelve forest surveys done over twelve months including in Tallanganda and Stix River.
In one location SEFR found eleven den trees where FC had identified only one. After reporting, they assumed Forestry Corp would put the required buffers in place. However, on completion of logging SEFR found that nine of the eleven trees had been impacted and two had been felled. This breech was reported to the EPA who are collecting their own evidence. Justice Pepper in the Land and Environment Court is highly critical of FC.
The Value of Trees
Our travelling Nanna Ann reports that when she was waiting in Rolleston for the weather to clear, before going south to Carnarvon Gorge, she desperately needed a walk. So, she headed down town past a pub, a CRT rural and agriculture supplier, a general store and a hardware store. And then came to a park, where a coffee cart is run by a volunteer who comes from the Gold Coast for three months each year. The money raised pays for the upkeep of the park, the refurbished bush hut, and the old post office/now an art space.
A fantastic exhibition was on about why trees are important, and it included this huge beautiful and informative mural/banner by local artist Bloss Hickson. See more of her work and learn about trees on her website An Enchanted Forest – Understanding the Value of our Trees.
Nannas are Watching
An Evening with federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek on 7th August 2024, hosted by the Nature Conservation Council.
Nannas are Reading
Knitting Nannas get a mention in Stephen Wyatt’s book (Rainforest Warriors – The Hippies were Rights which was launched at the Byron Writers Festival earlier this month).
Australia is still finding out what it doesn’t know about its secretive AUKUS deal (Laura Tingle ABC News)
In a parliamentary wall of noise over Palestinian visas, Zali Steggall found support from an unusual source (ABC News)
Slow the growth, save the world? Why declining birth rates need not mean an end to prosperity (The Guardian)
Forthcoming Events