Update on the Pilliga Narrabri Gas Project, opposition grows for carbon offsets, check your super is not funding fossil fuels, where will Nannas be this week and what they did last week.
Pilliga Narrabri Gas Project Update
The National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT) handed down their judgement on Gomeroi v Santos Narrabri Gas Project (NGP). The panel determined that the leases may be granted, subject to conditions. They gave particular weight to the position that if the project doesn’t go ahead, there will be a shortage of gas in NSW. They found that therefore the project is in the public interest and also in the interest of Gomeroi people. They stated that all gas recovered must be used for domestic supply only. Other conditions were that Aboriginal cultural heritage protections be strengthened and that a ranger program be implemented.
In response, Gomeroi Traditional Owners expressed their disgust that the Tribunal had disregarded all their grounds for opposing the project. They vowed to continue their campaign to protect the Pilliga.
Santos is still to make an investment decision on this project.
In the media
On 1 May 2025, Energy Insiders podcast spoke with Rick Wilkinson from EnergyQuest. EnergyQuest say they have had a “close look” at the Narrabri Gas Project (21:30). They say it’s more challenging to extract than Queensland coal seam gas. He also mentions the high CO2 content of Narrabri Gas of 10-20% (22:20). He suggests they may need a carbon capture and storage project to manage the CO2. [23:30 reference to Knitting Nannas]. Rick Wilkinson reckons the wellhead price that Santos would need to get to justify the investment is around $14-$15GJ (24:00).
National Native Title Tribunal ruling on Narrabri Gas Project devastates elder (ABC News)
Native Title Tribunal approves Santos gas field on Gomeroi Country despite objections (National Indigenous Times)
Carbon Offsets
A big win for Parents for Climate, who received an apology from Energy Australia and an acknowledgement that offsets fail to address emissions and climate change. This is a significant step forward in holding companies accountable for environmental claims.
The federal government‘s Climate Active carbon neutral certification scheme has failed us all and needs to be abandoned. For example, NAB, which has certification, is investing in the APA pipelines to enable the fracking of the Beetaloo basin. Climate active indeed!
Superannuation
Nannas were alarmed to learn last week that AustralianSuper has recently acquired more than 42.4 million shares in Whitehaven Coal Ltd to take a 5.07% stake in the ASX-listed miner. See Proactive Investors.
Several Nannas who have their super with AustralianSuper are writing to them and looking for more equitable schemes for their super. To compare super funds see Market Forces.
26 May – 6 June – Fasting for Forests
Peter Elzer has embarked on ‘Fasting for Forests’, a 12-day fast at Macquarie Street, Sydney, in front of Parliament House from 8am to 5pm, when both houses of parliament are sitting. He will consume only fluids for 12 days, with the support of numerous conservation groups, including the Bob Brown Foundation. Peter was prompted to do this after having been denied access to the Orara East Forest by the NSW Forestry Corporation. Nannas are meeting up with him and offering support when they are in the city.
Wednesday 28 May – Yancoal AGM and Forest Rally
10.30am – GPT Space&Co Darling Park, Ground Floor, Tower 1, 201 Sussex Street. Yancoal is currently seeking approval for a proposed expansion of an open cut coal mine, Moolarben, on Wiradjuri country around 30 mins north of Mudgee. To support our friends at the Save Wollar Action Group, please come along. Facebook event
There’ll be plenty of time before we need to head to parliament for the Bob Brown Foundation Forest Rally at 12 noon – 1pm Martin Place, near Macquarie Street.
Thursday 29 May – Snap Rally: Labor don’t fail us
8am – Protect climate reject Woodside’s North West Shelf gas extension. Albanese’s office 334a Marrickville Road, Marrickville. Facebook Event
Thursday 29 May – Water Action
12 noon – The Nature Conservation Council event at Parliament House is about the tributary rivers in the northern Murray Darling Basin and how they should be regulated to contribute more to the flow of the Darling/Baaka. New water sharing plans for the tributary rivers to the Barwon-Darling-Wambuul-Macquarie, Namoi and Peel and the Gwydir Rivers are due to be gazetted on 1 July 2025. The Nature Conservation Council (NCC) is pushing for the government to implement the recommendations from the Connectivity Report.
Nannas will bring along suitable crafts, banners and stories about growing up or visiting one of these rivers for an NCC video.
Below are some resources/links that will be helpful to read and watch in advance.
Sign the petition to Reconnect Our Rivers
Craftivism
Nannas Lyn and Elizabeth joined the Rock & Wool knitting group at Rockdale Library on Monday, 20 May to ‘show and tell’ some of our knitted and crocheted craft works which reflect our concerns about the environment our grandchildren will inherit. The works were much appreciated.
The Nannas in turn were impressed by the amazing amount of neatly knitted ‘Wrap with Love’ squares the group had produced and gathered this week. It was a comfortable morning of sharing with tea, coffee and Nanna Lyn’s carrot cake.
Saturday 31 May – Crafternoon
1.30 – 3.30pm private house in Glebe contact us for details.
Gut Feelings Community Art Projects
More Gut Feelings sessions on Saturday 31 May and Thursday 5 June, see the website. A model of the human intestines is being knitted, crocheted and crafted for Science Week in August. If you have any white poppies or Gut Feelings’ pieces, please bring them along to the Crafternoon or the meeting at Customs House on 6 June. Elizabeth can post them off with hers.
Thursday 5 June – Knitting at Edmund Rice Centre in Balmain
10am – Rose Parker, the Project Officer on the Pacific Islands Fellowship Program, has invited us to sit, knit and talk with their group. She has just returned from Tuvalu and is happy to tell us about what is happening there and about the Centre’s other work in the Pacific.
Tuesday 20 May – Meeting with Jo Haylen MP
Jo Haylen, MP for Summer Hill, met with constituents Nanna Bronwyn Vost, Vanessa Wright, an artist and member of the Bob Brown Foundation and John Czes, a local conservationist.
The purpose of the meeting was to express our anger that the Great Koala National Park (GKNP) has still not been gazetted, and to find out why. Vanessa pointed out that:
- the government is obviously yielding to unions
- the Forestry Corp (FC) is incurring multiple losses
- FC has been prosecuted and fined for breaches of its own regulations multiple times and the magistrate in one of the cases expressed the view that they are likely to reoffend
- there is grave concern in the community about rumours that the Park will be reduced in size.
Jo Halen said that Penny Sharpe had assured her that the Park will be gazetted “soon”, and is “not as far away as the end of the year” and added that $80m has been set aside in the Budget for this. Penny Sharpe says that the assessment of “every hectare” of the proposed 176,000 hectares of native forests in the Park was “almost done”. The Forest Industry Action Plan (FIAP) will take longer, as it’s not funded yet.
Bron and Vanessa reiterated how angry people are about logging continuing at a greater rate than under the previous government, when it’s urgent that it be stopped. They challenged Jo to team up with other Labor MPs and stand against the Cabinet’s forestry plans, rather than be an apologist for them.
Jo said that the Environment Minister can’t halt logging because it’s under the portfolio of the Minister for Agriculture. She maintained that the NSW government doesn’t have the power to close FC down, and that it would be too expensive anyway. She said that alternative jobs that are well paid are not available.
Bron and Vanessa argued that the government has control of what FC does and can stop native forest logging because it’s a state-owned corporation. It is costing taxpayers a fortune in financial losses ($90m since 2020) and fines. The state budget would be better used to transition forestry workers and stop logging native forests.
They asked Jo to make representations to the Minister for Agriculture, Tara Moriarty, and Treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, as well as to Penny Sharpe about taking urgent actions to save the koalas and the forests. They’ll be keeping in touch with her about the urgency of government actions.
Nannas are watching
The 95-year-old Anti-Adani Activist – about the late Bill Ryan, a friend of the Sydney Nannas. Facebook video from The Feed It includes some Sydney Nanna history.
Nannas are listening
Highly recommend Track Changes podcast with Bill McKibben and Kafia Ahmed – they speak directly and clearly about the climate, a complex crisis.
Nannas are reading
Pilbara traditional owner launches legal challenge to stall North West Shelf gas decision (ABC News)
Mike Seccombe’s article in The Saturday Paper gets across a lot of the issues – the reform of the EPBC Act, the North West Shelf project, the safeguard mechanism, scope 3 emissions, a little bit on the heritage listing of the Murujuga petroglyphs. Murray Watt told Seccombe he didn’t talk about the North West Shelf with the groups he met with in WA – only reform of EPBC Act. (The Saturday Paper)
An ecological disaster has been unfolding on Australia’s coast (ABC News)
Forthcoming Events