Nannas disguised as penguins, continuing logging at Pine Creek, the water trigger tested in court and fails us, fossil fuel companies in schools, make polluters pay campaign update.
SwisseKrills Campaign
Nannas waddled for the penguins and krill too!
Waddling Nanna penguins were amongst about thirty Bob Brown Foundation (BBF) protesters, singers and leafleteers outside Chemist Warehouse, Randwick on 30 June.
The BBF campaign ‘SwisseKrills’ aims to draw attention to the devastation caused by krill fishing in Antarctica, and ultimately to put a stop to it.
Chemist Warehouse is the major stockist of the Swisse supplements made from krill, but so far, they have refused to talk with BBF about taking it off their shelves.
Krill are the primary food source for baleen whales, penguins, and seabirds, making it essential to the Antarctic ecosystem, which is already under stress from global heating. During a visit to Antarctica, BBF documented the desimation of krill by supertrawlers belonging to Swisse’s supplier, AkerBiomarine. This company is responsible for 70% of all krill fishing in Antarctica and since 2021, it has killed six whales, including humpbacks, as bycatch.
The Australian company, Swisse, positions itself as a leader in wellness and sustainability, including as a certified B Corp. To live up to these claims, they need to remove krill products from their range and promote more sustainable alternatives, such as algal-based omega-3s.
Nannas join BBF in calling on Chemist Warehouse to remove krill products from their shelves, and on Swisse to immediately stop producing them. To do anything else is to remain complicit in the destruction of marine wildlife and the Antarctic ecosystem.
Nanna Elizabeth displayed her Antarctic ‘quilt’ (doona cover) that was mostly hand stitched over about 40 years.
Update on logging operations at Pine Creek
Logging in Pine Creek Forest has continued since we reported on it in our last newsletter. The first map below shows the area adjacent to the Koala Hub that was clear-felled last week.
The Koala Hubs are outlined in red on the first map — the sausage shaped area and the minute roughly round blob to the left of it. The area recently clear felled is outlined in yellow.
The second map shows the Koala Hubs in pink hatching. All the surrounding green is for clear fell – which is well underway. The yellow beyond the green is to be “thinned” except for the conserved riparian strips or major drainage lines.
“Thinning” means removing the native vegetation so that only trees destined for future logging remain — leaving no koala food trees. This effectively isolates this critical koala habitat and opens the forest floor to increased heat and drying, creating long, open corridors that can intensify fire behaviour.
Any koalas that survive the logging will be forced to move across the ground through piles of felled canopies and logging debris that the foresters will leave to be burnt. Later the area will be repeatedly sprayed with herbicide and replanted as a blackbutt monoculture.
All of this is happening less than 10 minutes’ drive from the heart of Bellingen.
The logging of Pine Creek State Forest, known by locals as the coastal koala nursery of the region, has been sanctioned by the NSW Government. Please ask the following Ministers to stop NSW Forestry from logging Pine Creek —
Minister Penny Sharpe office@sharpe.minister.nsw.gov.au
Minister Tara Moriarty office@moriarty.minister.nsw.gov.au
Nannas are concerned about the impacts on koalas’ sleep and stress when in close proximity to loggers. Koalas sleep between 11 and 22 hours a day because they have a slow metabolism. Their digestive system has adapted to process fibrous, low-nutrient eucalyptus leaves over several days, extracting minimal energy. Because of this, movement depletes their limited energy reserves, making sleep essential for survival.
Water Trigger shot down
Lock the Gate’s request for federal intervention to stop fracking in the Beetaloo has been dismissed in the Federal Court.
Environmental Justice Australia, Lock the Gate’s lawyers, said that “The court found that Tamboran’s Shenandoah South fracking project does not need to undergo assessment under Australia’s national environment laws for the risks it poses to groundwater.”
“The case tested an important question: when an unconventional gas project puts precious water at risk, should those risks be independently assessed before the fracking can go ahead?”
For this project, ’no’ was the answer from the court.
This judgement suggests that the water trigger in the Environmental Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act is weaker than many thought.
Federal Court reveals water law loophole (Environmental Justice Australia)
20 December 2023 Updated water trigger in our environmental law
Fossil fuels in education
From Cradle to Career is the first national report on the influence of fossil fuel companies on children and young adults in our education institutions. Policy loopholes allow private companies to reach our kids in the very places they should be protected.
Children don’t recognise these programs as advertising or marketing because they are delivered by trusted sources — teachers, museum educators, sporting coaches, community leaders, education materials and career advisers.
It’s no surprise to Nannas that Santos leads the number of programs!
Coal and gas giants spending tens of millions on programs in schools and children’s sport (ABC News)
To add insult to injury, the fossil fuel companies probably get tax deductions for these insidious propaganda campaigns.
Make Polluters Pay
The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) has voted to support a Climate Compensation Fund to make big polluters pay their fair share towards the costs of climate damage to communities.
Councils have growing responsibilities and escalating costs associated with ageing infrastructure, disaster impacts and a growing demand for services. They cannot continue to deliver more with less.
More pressure is needed to establish a Climate Compensation Fund to help cover the costs of climate adaption and disaster impacts.
A planning day will be held at Redfern Town Hall on 18 July from 9.30am to 4.30pm. Register here.
Make Big Polluters Pay Alliance
Councils need disaster funding reforms that support recovery for all communities (ALGA Media Release)
Councils take fairer funding message to Parliament as financial pressures intensify (ALGA Media Release)
Independent Media
Sydney Knitting Nannas are increasingly turning to independent media for our news.
We recommend this podcast about lots of things, including the rules for medical workers for posting on social media about Gaza and Lebanon. Also, Gina wants us to give some of our land to Israel!! (We used to be Journos)
Punters Politics Australia is about to get F*cked by Big Tech…. Here’s Why
We also recommend TrueNorth — A 4pm weekday newsletter with links to news and views from independent media. Links to independent media here.
Nannas are watching
Furnished with Love — Every week, 25 homeless families come through Re-Love’s Sydney warehouse to furnish their home. Re-Love diverts furniture from landfill and plans to spread their love across Australia. (ABC Compass)
For a laugh! — Monty Python’s World Cup Team of Philosophers
Nannas are reading
Yancoal’s Ashton coal mine to close in 2028 — Yancoal ‘identified significant technical challenges and operational risks, adding market conditions will impact Ashton’s financial performance into the future’. (ABC News)
A legal challenge by ten Australians to the Australian government’s continued approval of coal and gas is going to a UN Committee. Stories come from the 10 people about the harm that climate change has already done to them with supporting statements by climate scientists and other experts. (Earth Justice)
The nuclear waste from AUKUS is being hidden by our government — Lambie, Hanson and Pocock form unlikely alliance to protect transparency campaigner Rex Patrick (The Guardian)
Nuclear reactors taken offline in France, as extreme heat pushes river temperatures into danger zone (Renew Economy) Will this be a problem for data centres too?
Energy Vampires – The AI data centres draining Australia (Greenpeace)
China opens world’s first undersea data centre, powered by offshore wind turbines and cooled by seawater (Renew Economy)
Murray Darling Basin — The northern-basin connectivity plan is essential to save the Barwon-Darling. Urgent NSW State and federal government action and funding needed. (The Guardian)
Donald Trump may be the accidental hero of a feelgood climate tale even as a creeping horror story plays alongside (The Guardian)
Headline of the week!
Extreme heat conference cancelled due to extreme heat — As temperatures in England soared to 35 degrees — more than 12 degrees above average, the London School of Economics cancelled an event to discuss the impact of extreme heat due to the extreme heat. (SMH)
Forthcoming Events