Nannas sing in ANZ Bank, Nanna crews on board the Greenpeace Oceania, meetings with MPs and a coal update.
ANZ and North to East Australia Pipeline (NEAP)
Around 25 people from Sydney Knitting Nannas and Rising Tide visited two ANZ banks in the city to call on the ANZ to rule out funding the North to East Australian Pipeline (NEAP), an APA Group project. The other three big Australian banks have already ruled it out.
The 1,561km pipeline would take fracked gas from the Beetaloo Basin in the Northern Territory to Gladstone in Queensland, on the east coast. Gas corporations and the NT government want to make Beetaloo the biggest gasfield in the country.
A delegation of two Nannas and two Rising Tide Singing Sisters went into the banks and asked to speak with the Managers. At Martin Place the Manager came downstairs and at George Street they met with a customer service staff member. They handed over letters from both groups, outlining why the bank should rule out funding the pipeline.
Then, we all went into the bank for rowdy and repeated renditions of ‘Sing for the Climate’. Outside the bank, we handed out leaflets explaining that funding the pipeline would enable gas corporations to proceed with plans to frack for shale gas in the Beetaloo Basin, which would amount to detonating a massive climate bomb.
It’s about the Climate
Emissions from the Beetaloo fracking projects would be equivalent to running the Eraring power station for at least 194 years.
Increasing global temperatures are causing extreme weather events, like the recent horrific avalanche/flood event in Nepal and Tibet. Cutting emissions from burning fossil fuels is essential to keep our planet liveable.
Environmental damage
The fracking projects in the Beetaloo would turn the beautiful Top End savannah into an industrial gas field, and risk contamination of a huge aquifer.
The pipeline across channel country would place 16 endangered native species at risk, including bilbies, night parrots and plains wanderers.
Cost of Living
Beetaloo gas is likely to drive our energy bills even higher and hold up the transition to cheaper renewable energy.
Gas from the Beetaloo Basin will only pour fuel on the climate change fire (The Conversation)
Albanese’s resources minister celebrating the Beetaloo carbon bomb is a hell of a choice. Labor can’t say it wasn’t warned (The Guardian)
Beetaloo Sub-Basin gas starts to flow, firing up a tough long-term debate (ABC News)
Greenpeace Oceania sails to Fiji with Nanna on board
Greenpeace Oceania, with Nanna Tracey on board, left Newport at 10am on 7 August to sail to Fiji for the pre-COP31 meeting in Fiji from 3 to 8 October.
“I’m part of the crew sailing to Fiji as part of Greenpeace Pasifika for the Pre-COP meeting, joining the call for urgent measures to cut emissions by the big state polluters and to support Pacific communities already impacted”, said Nanna Tracey. “We are travelling as well to Kiao Island where Tuvaluans have resettled, as their home is lost to rising seas. The Oceania will continue campaigning later this year in New Zealand to stop destruction of our oceans by seabed mining and overfishing.”
Photos at sea: Using macrame to help with stowing supplies.
The Great Southern Forest Event
On 5 September, Nannas joined Bob Brown, Sue Higginson and Dave Gallan at the Pitt Street Uniting Church for a special evening celebrating the vision for the Great Southern Forest National Park.
The Great Southern Forest National Park is one of Australia’s most ambitious forest conservation campaigns. Nannas highly recommend the film shown, ‘Tallaganda’, about one of the forests in the proposed park. The film includes fabulous footage of greater gliders out and about in the forests at night. They are extremely vulnerable now, even though they were once very common. They are severely affected by heat and tend to stop eating when it’s hot, when they become so weak that they fall out of trees.
Sydney Knitting Nannas and other forest protectors were acknowledged for their participation in citizen science work and forest campaigns that are saving greater gliders and their forests.
Meetings with MPs
It’s time to visit NSW’s MPs, as the election is on 13 March. Sydney Nannas are making appointments now because they know that after the Christmas break MPs will be in full campaign mode at public events on the election trail.
Nannas Cathy, Louise and Claudia from the Coogee electorate encouraged their Member of the Legislative Council, Marjorie O’Neill, to be sure to keep the state’s emissions targets within reach by not approving any more coal expansions. They also reminded her that the very important promise to declare the Great Koala National Park is yet to happen.
The Nannas were shocked to learn from their MP that while Penny Sharpe was suspended from participating and voting, the NSW Legislative Council whisked through a bill to overturn the current ban on uranium mining in NSW. Fortunately, the bill is very unlikely to pass the Legislative Assembly (lower house). In the same period of Labor not having two Ministers in the Legislative Council, Labor put up plastics legislation which Marjorie said was very minor. However, the Coalition chose to block it.
Marjorie told us that early in this term of office, the Minns government had amended the state constitution to take away the right of any NSW government to privatise Sydney and Hunter water supplies.
Labor also promised to rein in land clearing on private land, which was out of control when they came to office in 2022. But they haven’t acted on the clear advice of experts on how it can and should be done, and land clearing has increased.
Another early promise by Premier Minns was to restore the health of the inland rivers, but the government has not implemented the recommendations of the NSW Connectivity Expert Panel for restoring environmental flows. These recommendations are the minimum requirements for saving the Murray Darling.
Coal mining corporations are being allowed to pollute Sydney’s water catchment. Centennial is allowed to dump mine waste into waterways in the Gardens of Stone area, near Lithgow, while Peabody’s Illawarra mine continues to pollute the Hacking River and damage upland swamps.
If you would like to visit your MP in Sydney but don’t know how to go about it, contact us. We can help you set up an appointment, share information on relevant topics and accompany you if you need support.
Coal Update
Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) mine has refused to consider a shorter mine life in response to questions from the NSW Independent Planning Commission, insisting it must have a full 19-year extension. New public submissions have been submitted relating to new material. The Commission is expected to make its decision on 30 September 2026.
Coal miner Peabody has launched a bid to massively expand its Metropolitan coal mine at Helensburgh in a move the company says would extend the mine’s life by 12 years until 2044.
This US-owned miner has revealed it wants to add a new series of longwalls stretching west into the drinking-water catchment and under the Woronora River, to extract about 31 million tonnes of coal, continuing the employment of about 400 people at the mine.
Wilpinjong Continuation Project is an open cut coal mining expansion/extension that will surround Wollar, near Mudgee, and if allowed to go ahead, would mine until 2038. Open for public comment on the EPBC Public Portal until 24 September.
Boggabri Coal Mine’s modification 10 has been approved to increase the mine’s footprint and the mine’s life for seven years. (NSW Planning)
Ulan Coal Mine, near Mudgee — Expansion approved — Ulan Coal Mod 6 – underground mining extension (MP08_0184-Mod-6 ). The Proponent may carry out mining operations on the site until 30 August 2031.
That makes 13/13 approvals by the Minns government since coming to office in 2023.
Nannas are watching
The Beetaloo gas project finds a cheerleader in the NT News, with very little scrutiny.
3 mins into ABC Media Watch
Nannas are reading
Gas crisis divides industry amid claims Santos getting away ‘scot-free’ (ABC News)
Climate Authority’s “misinformation” report hit a nerve at News Corp for a reason (Renew Economy)
Australia’s climate hypocrisy on show as world braces for global warming “overshoot” (Renew Economy)
The world is living beyond its water means (Pearls and Irritations)
Global heating will hit at least 1.8C, UN warns, and there are ‘no good outcomes’
Forthcoming Events