Back in March I spent some time in the beautiful Victorian alps.
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At Mt Beauty village I was asked to sign a petition opposing a proposed Battery Energy Storage System, as it would be a noisy eyesore, a fire risk, and it would take prime agricultural land.
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This isn’t the first time I’ve read about local opposition to renewable energy projects.
Star of the South, a proposed Victorian offshore wind farm, will power 1.2 million homes. That’s a lot of renewable electricity! The project planned to construct turbines at Port Hastings, but Tanya Plibersek rejected the proposal due to likely impact on the Western Port (Warn Marin) Ramsar wetlands. (Oh, the irony. The EPBC Act (Issue 37) can be used to reject renewable projects due to the impact on the environment; but cannot be used to reject fossil fuel projects due to the impact on the environment caused by climate heating.)
Star of South was upbeat about the judgement. "We’ll find another port", it’s CEO, more or less said.
My friends Mary Anne and Michael are among 300 small landholders notified of transmission lines proposed to impact their properties. Their community attended an information meeting, where the VicGrid facilitators exerted control by stacking it with VicGrid staff and separating locals into small groups. They came away feeling there was no point trying to change VicGrid's mind, despite alternative proposals.
Better Transmission Gippsland argues
"An enormous and stark disparity has emerged between landholder wishes and rights, and the goals of government and corporates in the rush to meet energy targets and climate change objectives"…. All with scant regard to landholders’ wishes and rights which are increasingly diminished by the lobbying power of these vested interests."
Farmers and regional communities might feel pressured as renewables developers attempt to sew up land deals, sometimes pitting neighbours against each other. The haste and lack of planning is creating distrust, uncertainty, anxiety and consultation fatigue.
The moral of this story? If they are allowed, these companies will take the easy, cheap option. Just as mining and gas companies have done so in the past.
We urgently need the clean energy transition. But we need to do it right. ✔️✔️✔️
Community voices need to be heard, and their concerns addressed. It doesn’t surprise me, since coal and gas companies often ignore, marginalise or pay to silence community concerns. We are seeing an escalation in the use of mis- and dis-information, such as completely fictitious tales about whales being killed by offshore wind projects. With politicians echoing these fallacies for political gain.
Can we navigate our way through by respecting communities and keeping companies and governments accountable, while challenging mis-information at every opportunity? Let's hope so! A fair and speedy transition depends on this.
☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
Fortunately there are some terrific examples of everyone benefiting from renewables. Just ask Farmers for Climate Action. Farmers can supplement their livelihoods with stable income from renting their land to wind turbine towers and solar panels. Graziers report their animals are more productive when they can graze and shelter from sun and rain amongst solar panels. Having solar farms fenced in sections enables more rotational grazing. And the animals are free lawn mowers!
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Speaking of community opposition, how do you reckon the Liberal National Party will go finding sites for their proposed Nuclear Power Plants and nuclear waste dumps!!!
☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️
In Issue 45 we asked you to email Chris Bowen to request he fix our methane measurement rules. Almost 5000 emails have been sent!
In Issue 42 we asked you to sign a Qld Conservation Council petition asking for an end to deforestation. QCC Director Dave Copeman was able to present the petition with 15,500 signatures to Premier Miles!
But then last week, the NT Government approved fracking in the Beetaloo Basin. Even Tamworth’s Northern Daily Leader (Barnaby Joyce’s hometown) disapproves. So unfortunately, there’s still work to do!
What can you do today?
🐝 If you have 5 minutes:
We can stop Tamboran Resources and Empire Energy from fracking in the Beetaloo Basin if Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek uses her “water trigger” powers to assess impacts on water resources.
Action: Phone Minister Plibersek to ask her to use the water trigger on Tamboran’s fracking proposal.
Action: Email Minister Tanya Plibersek to “call in” Empire Energy and Tamboran's fracking plans for assessment under the water trigger.
Climate change is entwined with the cost of living crisis, driving up food prices, insurance costs and energy bills. But MPs are hearing more from gas companies than from people like you and me who expect governments to act in the interests of communities, not corporations.
Action: 350.org aims to meet with MPs so they will hear our voice loud and clear. Take two minutes to fill in 350.org's community climate survey so the results can be delivered to MPs.
🐮 If you live in Labor MP Graham Perrett’s Moreton electorate, summarise your survey into a testimonial for tabling at a meeting with Mr Perrett. Email your testimonial to info@movebeyondcoal.com.
🐮 If you live in Cairns, consider joining Table Talks, hosted by the Cairns and Far North Environment Centre, to share your story about North Queensland’s climate extremes.
APA Group, Australia’s largest gas pipeline operator, is planning to construct the pipelines for fracking in the Beetaloo Basin by Empire Energy and Tamboran Resources.
Action: Add your voice by signing an open letter calling on APA to not enable these destructive projects.
Action: If you are a UniSuper member, add your name to an open letter asking Unisuper to use influence to push APA out of these climate damaging gas projects.
In Issue 44, we reported that the Qld Supreme Court overturned a decision by Queensland Resources Minister Scott Stewart to block a proposal by Fox Resources to develop a coal mine in the Bundaberg region; and the Minister must now reconsider the application.
Action: Send your message to Minister Stewart to urge him to reject Fox Resources' exploration license.
Action: If you didn’t sign the Petition in Issue 44, consider adding your signature to the more than 1,000 people who have already signed.
Remember arch enemy Adani? They are raising billions of dollars with a dubious “green” bond sale, just days after Delhi hit a deadly 52℃. Although Swiss bank Lombard Odier wants to be “the leading independent firm for sustainable investing”, it has invested in these bonds.
Action: Sign the petition with 27,000 others asking Lombard Odier to rule out future bond investments in fossil fuel companies.
Save the date! Celebrate with Lock the Gate, and have a long lunch with farmers and like minded folk, who together are working to save the Darling and Western Downs from destruction by coal seam gas. Tickets are $50 and include a full meal plus beer, wine or non-alcoholic drinks.
Action: Buy your ticket for July 14 11:30am - 2:30pm at Northey Street City Farms.
Readers will recall our long running campaign to save our Channel Country from fracking; then in December Premier Steven Miles announced a ban on new oil and gas in that Channel Country. A few weeks back, local graziers, Western Rivers Alliance, the Wilderness Society, Lock the Gate, and Mithaka Traditional Owners presented the Premier with a thank you card. But we still need the promised protections to be implemented in strong laws.
Action: Send an email to Premier Miles asking him to act now and implement robust measures to properly protect the Channel Country once and for all.
🐇 If you have 15 minutes:
In Issue 44 we wrote about delays to reforming our Nature Protection Laws (the EPBC Act) by splitting the reforms into three stages. Stage 2 of the EPBC reforms has now been introduced to Parliament, but we cannot let the Government forget that they are not nearly enough.
Action: Compose an email to remind the Government that it must deliver its promised full reforms without more delays.
Now that the Northern Territory Government has approved fracking in the Beetaloo Basin by Tamboran Resources, it isn’t a great surprise that Tamboran will be selling the gas to the NT Government. We need to apply pressure so the same does not happen with Empire Energy’s fracking plans
Action: Compose an email to Empire Energy CEO Mr Alex Underwood.
💃🏽 If you have 30 minutes or more:
Several years ago I was speaking with then Shadow Environment Minister Terri Butler about Labor support for fossil fuels. She stated: “I’m not hearing it as an issue”. We cannot let MPs hide behind this excuse! In a recent interview (worth reading!) Climate Minister Chris Bowen said the way to influence an MP is by sitting down and having a chat with them.
Action: Learn about meeting an MP, developing a strategy to influence them, how to plan and run a meeting, how to make your ask, and the mechanisms they have available to stop coal and gas projects from proceeding. Register for this zoom event, Thursday June 13, 6 pm - 8:15pm.
The Cairns and Far North Environment Centre is hosting a discussion with Sam O'Connor, QLD Shadow Environment Minister, to learn about LNP policy on key environmental issues. Listen to a panel discussion with Sam and other experts on Nature Markets, Climate Adaptation & Disaster Recovery, and Protected Areas and Management.
Action: RSVP for Mon 17 June 5:30 - 7:30 at the Cairns Institute, James Cook University, or live streamed
Wild At Art is Australia’s wildlife art competition for children aged 5-12. Children have from Mon 17 June to Mon 12 August to create an original artwork of one of Australia's many threatened native animals or plants, along with a short written component on their chosen threatened species.
Action: Get your kids / grandkids / neighbour’s kids to start planning their art work. (Lack of talent? I’ve entered the Ekka Cake Decorating competition, with a vague idea of a “Lock the Gate” theme. I have never iced a cake, let alone decorated one……)
Recently, at Griffith University’s Enviro Week, I met Spencer from the Team Arrow Solar Racing Team, the only Qld solar car race team entering the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, a 5-day trip along the Stuart Highway from Darwin to Adelaide. These students and industry professionals design and construct the car in their spare time. Their mission is to learn, teach, and showcase the incredible technologies that exist in the renewable and sustainable energy space and begin integrating them in our communities. A worthy goal!
That’s all for today, folks 👋🏽 Thanks for taking action.
See you in two weeks, Ron
plus Malcolm, Robyn and Jan - The Climate Club Qld team
To help us keep these newsletters helpful, you can always reach us by email climateclubqld@gmail.com or check out the simple info on our About page.
We live, work and play on the lands of the Yuggara and Turrbal people in and around Meanjin - Brisbane. We pay respect to their Elders, past and present, and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded - always was, always will be Aboriginal land.
What a packed post! Thank you for your dedication in putting it all together. Thanks also for the giggle - if we can't agree over solar farms, how is Dutton going to go with his nuclear plant! Lol. The silver lining to NIMBY syndrome. xo