Nannas learn a lot at HVO coal expansion public hearing, meet Chris Bowen and drink beer on the Inner West Ale Trail to push for a 25% tax on gas exports.
Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) Coal Continuation Project
HVO will add over four million tonnes of local pollution to the Hunter region in the next four years alone, if this project is approved by the Independent Planning Commission (IPC).
The project will breach federal and state net zero targets, which we are already not on track to meet. This means other businesses will have to work harder if we are to achieve our 2030 climate goal.
On Thursday 16 March, a cold, wet day, the IPC Hearing into the HVO project kicked off at the Branxton Community Hall. Nannas attended a rally and press conference beforehand and then listened to the hearing inside the hall.
The hall wasn’t big enough for the crowd of around 300 people, so a marquee was set up outside. People working in the mines and supporting the project came wearing high-vis outfits, outnumbering people who were there to show their opposition.
One of the speakers, George Woods from Lock the Gate, has campaigned for many years for the NSW government to plan for a fair transition for workers away from the Hunter’s coal economy, but it has failed to do so.
The commissioners heard arguments from scientists, miners, survivors of fires and floods, economists, local business owners, botanists, councils, Knitting Nannas and more on whether to they should approve the extension of mining until 2045.
Three Sydney Nannas were due to speak but unfortunately Nanna Alex, who was delivering the submission for our group, could not attend the hearing and had technical difficulties presenting online. She was invited to speak at another time. As a doctor and Emeritus Professor of Public Health at the University of Sydney, her submission covers climate change as a health emergency and the impacts of coal dust on human health.
Nanna Kathy waited to give her testimony in a sea of high-vis vests. She spoke about her personal experience of fires and floods in the southern part of the Singleton electorate and how her Council did not have the money to pay for remediating flood damage to roads. (2:33:00)
Nanna Bron is seen here striding into the Braxton Hall for her testimony asking the commissioners to reject the extensions for her grandchildren’s sake. She had to leave her artworks with the Hunter Knitting Nannas in their a gazebo outside the Hall because signs were not allowed inside. (4:39:00)
Dozens of locals made sure the commissioners saw beyond high-vis vests by reminding them that the science is clear — leave coal in the ground if we want a safe planet for us and future generations. However, it remained a respectful place for HVO employees and other supporters of the mine.
The following Day 1 presentations may be helpful for anyone planning to make a written submission to the IPC. (Please do, it doesn’t matter if it’s long or short, so long as it’s in your own words.)
All presentations by the Australian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) were very powerful and heartbreaking. Dimitri Lafleur from ACCR showed a graphic which made clear that the project’s emissions should not be offset with ‘nature-based solutions’. (1:28:00)
Journalist and radio producer, Tom Morton, spoke about the public interest, the cost to the economy and the commissioners’ choice between jobs for families today, and the welfare and livelihoods of generations to come. (2:56:00)
Nic Clyde from Lock the Gate spoke about HVO’s very poor record of abatement for Scope 1 emissions. They “managed to get a greenhouse abatement plan approved by the NSW Government that had zero abatement actions in it”. Nic’s graphs, based on figures the company provided, show no downward trajectory of Scope 1 emissions. (3:03:00)
Dr Penny Sackett of ANU put the case for rejecting the project because of its significant impact on global temperatures, in stark contradiction to the evidence of the project proponents. (21:45)
Listening to the hearing, you’d have to think it would be hard for the IPC to approve this expansion. But, we have been here before with Narrabri Gas and many other projects which have been heavily challenged by scientific evidence, but approved, nonetheless.
For more information, go to our updated page on HVO Coal Mine Assessment. Submissions due by 2 August.
NSW approves 11th coal project in a row ahead of decision on state’s largest ever coal proposal (Lock the Gate)
Nannas meet Chris Bowen
The Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, chatted about all things — batteries, renewables, and energy with the Member for Barton, Ash Ambihaipahar, the Barton Environment Consultative Committee and others. Nannas Louise and Eury attended the event at Ash’s office in Sydney on 9 July.
The Minister also revealed what the federal government plans to do about the massive energy demand from data centres. You can hear more about this from Bowen himself on 5 August when he will address the National Press Club in Canberra. The National Press Club talks are broadcast live on ABC Radio. (See Nannas are Reading below.)
Inner West Ale Trail
Nannas Donna, Liz and Wendy met with Mary from Climate for Change at The Bob Hawke Beer and Leisure Centre. They were there for a beer of course, and to talk with anyone who wanted to know about climate change, how tax works for fossil fuel companies and how beer is taxed. We would love a 25% tax on gas exports!
Next Climate for Change event for #TaxGasNotBeer is on Friday 14th August at
- Young Henrys, a craft brewery and tasting bar in 76 Wilfred St, Newtown at 5.30pm and
- Hopsters Cooperative Brewery 198 Enmore Rd, Enmore at 6.30pm.
Learn about contacting your MP at this event!!
Or, go to your local pub, take a snap of yourself with a beer and join others by tagging @albomp and #TaxGasNotBeer.
Make Big Polluters Pay
Tweed Council just joined seven other councils and the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) in passing a motion calling on the federal government to make big polluters contribute to disaster recovery and community protection from extreme weather events.
Film Review – Earth’s Greatest Enemy
You may ask, who or what is Earth’s Greatest Enemy? The answer — the US military machine.
Abby Martin, the film director, reveals in this documentary how the US military, the world’s largest polluter, impacts the environment while operating with minimal accountability.
The documentary tries to put numbers on that machine’s greenhouse gas emissions — those from its vehicles (trucks, jeeps, tanks, planes, ships, submarines), from its bombs, missiles and gun powder… plus emissions due to the building of all this. The numbers are huge, beyond our comprehension.
The most alarming thing about this is that, under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, military emissions are exempted from mandatory emissions reporting and reduction commitments. Full review here.
The film screening and Q&A with Abby Martin at the Dendy in Newtown on 29 July has sold out. Watch out for further screenings of the film or see it on a streaming service.
Book – Nature Knows
If you’ve got a little one in your life, this beautiful book, Nature Knows, by Nanna Lyn’s daughter, Yvette Farmer, and illustrated by Chloe Jasmine Harris is a total treat — for you and them both!
Nannas are watching
Nannas are listening
Australian states aren’t going broke, but they are being ripped off (The Australia Institute – Follow the Money)
Nannas are reading
Data centres will have “legal obligation” to BYO renewables, says PM, but LNP looms as spoiler (Renew Economy)
Sydney Data Centres Map – proposed and functioning
Why the Katoomba Data Centre Was Withdrawn: What Zoning Doesn’t Tell You About a Site (MapCheck)
How to Stop a Data Centre: Tools for Community Resistance (Commons Library)
Who’s Gonna Buy All the AI Stuff? As we lose jobs and the middle class contracts, where will consumer demand come from? (Robert Reich)
Labor is moving to turn Australia’s national parks into greenwashing tools for big industry (Medium)
Forthcoming Events