Nannas attended a funeral for Macquarie Bank’s climate ambition, wrote to pollies about a dead koala, presented at a coal project online hearing and learnt a new song.
Requiem for Macquarie Bank’s Climate Ambition
Nannas dressed in black attended a requiem for Macquarie Bank’s climate ambition outside their AGM in Sydney’s CBD on 23 July. As shareholders went into the meeting, a string quartet played while sombre attendees laid flowers on the coffin bearing Macquarie’s past commitment to the targets in the Paris Agreement.
Macquarie’s financing of fossil fuels has tripled since 2022. They are bankrolling major new oil and gas projects, including gas fracking projects in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin.
Organisers of the funeral, Market Forces, and super fund, Australian Ethical, co-filed a pair of resolutions asking the bank to disclose if it remains committed to aligning its lending with the goal of net zero emissions by 2050. They handed leaflets to shareholders entering the AGM, calling for them to vote for the resolutions (in lieu of giving flowers).
While the motions were not carried, they did receive support from major international investors, including large pension funds based in the USA and Norway.
Emeritus Professor John Church, a climate scientist, addressed the meeting warning that Macquarie’s investments are in direct contrast to what is required by the Paris Agreement. “Macquarie’s actions are not consistent with the best international science; its statements are effectively greenwashing,” he added.
Macquarie Group chairman, Glenn Stevens, said, “Climate change was a ‘wicked problem’, but Macquarie could not set global policy or do things that really addressed the problem for the world.”. He added that Macquarie would act in a practical way that is in the interests of shareholders.
Market Forces – media release here.
News from the AGM – ‘Millionaires’ factory’ boss to leave with vast fortune (MSN)
Dead koala at Pine Creek
Ashley Love from the Bellingen Environment Centre (BEC) has asked Nannas to write to NSW Ministers again about stopping logging in Pine Creek, and to raise the malpractice that has led to at least one koala being killed by the logging at Pine Creek.
The Pine Creek koala population is the core population for the proposed Great Koala National Park (GKNP). Less than 50% of their habitat has been included in the proposed GKNP, and the excluded forests are currently being aggressively logged.
NSW Forestry Corporation reported on Tuesday 21 July that they had taken an injured koala found in the clear-felling area in Pine Creek State Forest to a veterinarian, but that it had died the following day. They did not ensure that qualified veterinarians attended the injured koala within 24 hours as required.
The koala was wrongly assessed by the Forestry Corporation ecologist, who claimed that the koala was injured because it had chlamydia affecting its eyesight, rather than because the trees it had been feeding in had been cut down.
All of the Pine Creek Forest should be included in the proposed GKNP.
Logging contractors are required to conduct pre-logging koala searches of every tree. Many organisations train and use koala-sniffing dogs to locate both koalas and their scats. Canines for Wildlife is one.
People who undertake this work are expressly denied permission to go into state forests, whether it’s an active logging zone or not. Also, dog handlers need to be paid for their work, and Forestry Corporation refuses to pay.
Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) Coal Continuation Project
Day 3 of public hearings continued online on 22 July. Submissions are due by 2 August.
The Sydney Knitting Nannas submission was presented online by Nanna Alex, Emeritus Professor of Public Health at Sydney University. Unfortunately, it was voice only due to technical problems, but the content was good. (1:08:00)
Here are some of the submission times for Nannas and friends:
Sue Higginson, The Greens (1:53:00) — legal issues
Zach Schofield, Rising Tide (1:41:00) — reveals HVO has no exit strategy
Alexa Stuart, Rising Tide (1:55:00) — youth mental health and climate anxiety
Helen Kvelde, Midcoast Knitting Nannas (5:11:00) — pay workers to stay home
During the applicant’s (HVO) response (6:56:00) Sandy Squel said, “While NSW policy expresses a preference for offsets generated within NSW, this preference is not a statutory requirement under either the Safeguard Mechanism or NSW policy.”
Revealed: No ‘mine exit strategy’ for HVO workers
Workers at the Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) coal mine and the wider communities of Singleton and Muswellbrook have been left without a mine exit strategy to manage the social and economic consequences of the mine closure.
In 2025 the mine operator, Glencore, and the NSW Department of Planning quietly scrapped a condition requiring the company to develop a mine extract strategy. This was one of the conditions on which the mine was originally approved. (Lock the Gate)
For more information, go to our updated page on HVO Coal Mine Assessment.
Nanna meetings
Nannas met for an in-person meeting at Customs House on Friday 24 July where they learnt a coal song/ shared by Illawarra Nannas, plotted future actions and discussed many things. Following the meeting, some Nannas walked to The Rocks to the Banksy Limitless Exhibition for artistic inspiration.
In-person meetings are held about once a month for singing practice followed by morning tea and a meeting — with plenty of time to chat. Otherwise, Nannas meet for an hour on Zoom on Friday mornings at 9.30am to plot for the following week’s activities and to discuss and learn about the issues. We usually manage to keep the meetings to one hour and everyone is welcome.
Crafternoons are held every couple of months, and the next will be on Saturday 22 August at 1.30pm at a Nanna’s home in Glebe. Contact us for more information and for the address — it’s a good introduction to the Nannas — lots of tea, biscuits and chats — bring your crafting project if you have one, but it’s not necessary.
Nannas are not obliged to go to any of our meetings. There are meeting notes to keep up with what’s planned, and this newsletter covers what we’ve been up to, so it’s easy to join in when you can. Attending actions, reposting our socials posts and writing letters and emails all help. Check out our upcoming events here.
Court hearing Redbank Power Station
Last week, Sydney and Coffs Harbour Nannas attended the Land and Environment Court for Verdant’s merit appeal challenging the NSW Independent Planning Commission’s (IPC) rejection of their biomass power station.
Their application was soundly rejected by the IPC in September 2025. After listening to the barristers and excellent expert witnesses called by the Nature Conservation Council and the IPC, we Nannas are hopeful the appeal will be dismissed. We await the decision.
WA North West Shelf gas extension
Woodside loses claim against activists
The Supreme Court of Western Australia has thrown out Woodside’s civil claim against activists associated with Disrupt Burrup Hub. Activists and observers called the legal action a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) Suit. The court found Woodside failed to make out its claim.
A SLAPP is a lawsuit instigated by a powerful actor or person to silence and cause financial and emotional distress. Australians need to be protected from SLAPPs.
Woodside just lost its SLAPP suit. That should not be where this story ends. (The Point)
Human Rights Law Centre’s Stop the SLAPP Report was published on 5 December 2024.
Environment Minister’s approval challenged in court
ACF challenged the lawfulness of the Environment Minister’s approval of Woodside’s huge North West Shelf extension in WA. The case was heard from 21 to 24 July alongside a separate challenge brought by Friends of Australian Rock Art (FARA), also seeking a review of Minister Watt’s decision to approve.
This case raises a critical question: how must climate change be considered under Australia’s national environment law?
For the first time in an Australian climate litigation case, the Court will consider arguments from Ms Astrid Puentes Riaño, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
Challenging the North West Shelf Extension (Environmental Justice Australia)
Follow on social media to stay in the loop.
Difficult Women
Advocate for survivors of sexual assault, Grace Tame, cartoonist, Cathy Wilcox, and Denise Shrivell, the compiler of TrueNorth‘s 4pm weekday independent news were presented with a ‘difficult women’ hard hat at a dinner to celebrate Michael West Media’s 10th anniversary on 18 July.
Michael West Media defined a ‘difficult’ woman as one who scares men of power after the Prime Minister described Grace as ‘difficult’ at a News Corp event in February. Many women have taken up the mantle, including Knitting Nannas who are great fans of the three women presented with the hard hats.
Links to independent media here.
Nannas are watching
Silent Friend, directed by Ildikó Enyedi at (Palace Cinemas)
Nannas are reading
AUKUS is being exposed, but will anything change? (Pearls and Irritations)
How Big Oil Spent Decades Selling the Myth of ‘Clean’ Natural Gas — A new report reveals oil and gas companies knew as early as the mid-1970s that methane fuelled climate change, while launching massive PR campaigns to promote natural gas as clean energy. (DeSmog)
Almost 90 football fields of woody habitat were bulldozed every day in NSW — despite pledges to rein it in (The Guardian)
Lock the Gate raises alarm over plans to spread chemical-laden waste near Tara properties (Lock the Gate)
Adelaide airport pulls ads from conservation groups but keeps gas and mining ads during ALP conference (The Guardian)
The ‘Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage’ are my new personal heroes (JEZEBEL)
Forthcoming Events