Convention Centre, Brisbane, 12 March, 2012
Hearing Steve Austin (612 Radio) interviewing two of the women who were to feature in Alan Jones’ panel at the Convention Centre at noon, I was singularly impressed. One woman was an ecologist, the other a vet and they spoke compellingly about the effect of Coal Seam Gas on their family, and, primarily, on their children. The stress this bonanza industry was placing on their farming community was intelligently articulated. Anyone hearing this programme would have wondered why Australia was traveling down a path that was going to degrade or destroy our agricultural lands and deplete and pollute our precious life-blood water supplies. Moreover, they spelled out the health issues sustained by those in the immediate vicinity and these reactions were eerily reminiscent of those reported in “Gaslands” in the United States.
Realising there would be an influx of protestors in the city, I decided to catch a bus. Every little step was an adventure and an opportunity to share the concerning information I had gathered over the few months of my involvement in the anti-CSG movement. Sitting next to a white-haired woman who was traveling in to the city to have lunch with ex-colleagues, I was blown away by her capacity to remember so precisely back to the 1950’s. Another woman sitting on the side seats joined in our conversation until a penny dropped. My white-haired companion said “You were one of the Beach girls, weren’t you?” to which the other woman replied in the affirmative. What an acute memory! My companion remembered this other woman from when she was a young woman and her photo was on the front of the telegraph paper in the 1950’s! What a magnificent memory! The “Beach girl,” as she was known, explained that she was down at the coast with her family when they noticed a hub of people. She and her boyfriend went to investigate and he persuaded her to get her photo taken as well. Although this elegant lady explained, “I didn’t win, I came second”, it was the detail of how she had to take the skirt off her bridesmaid dress and make a new one for the formal part of the contest, that fascinated me. Two remarkable women..
Hearing Steve Austin (612 Radio) interviewing two of the women who were to feature in Alan Jones’ panel at the Convention Centre at noon, I was singularly impressed. One woman was an ecologist, the other a vet and they spoke compellingly about the effect of Coal Seam Gas on their family, and, primarily, on their children. The stress this bonanza industry was placing on their farming community was intelligently articulated. Anyone hearing this programme would have wondered why Australia was traveling down a path that was going to degrade or destroy our agricultural lands and deplete and pollute our precious life-blood water supplies. Moreover, they spelled out the health issues sustained by those in the immediate vicinity and these reactions were eerily reminiscent of those reported in “Gaslands” in the United States.
Realising there would be an influx of protestors in the city, I decided to catch a bus. Every little step was an adventure and an opportunity to share the concerning information I had gathered over the few months of my involvement in the anti-CSG movement. Sitting next to a white-haired woman who was traveling in to the city to have lunch with ex-colleagues, I was blown away by her capacity to remember so precisely back to the 1950’s. Another woman sitting on the side seats joined in our conversation until a penny dropped. My white-haired companion said “You were one of the Beach girls, weren’t you?” to which the other woman replied in the affirmative. What an acute memory! My companion remembered this other woman from when she was a young woman and her photo was on the front of the telegraph paper in the 1950’s! What a magnificent memory! The “Beach girl,” as she was known, explained that she was down at the coast with her family when they noticed a hub of people. She and her boyfriend went to investigate and he persuaded her to get her photo taken as well. Although this elegant lady explained, “I didn’t win, I came second”, it was the detail of how she had to take the skirt off her bridesmaid dress and make a new one for the formal part of the contest, that fascinated me. Two remarkable women..
Joining another two women who had traveled from Lismore for the event, we walked down Melbourne Street to the Convention Centre. They were wearing their anti-fraccing tee-shirts and received lots of support especially from young ones walking along the street. An old chap stopped us at the lights and asked how June Norman was – clearly an admirer of her walking prowess and her determination, he said he had been one of the organizers for her walk from Brisbane to Canberra. She was certainly a celebrity and it would be good to see her today after she had finished her 550 km walk to Gladstone along the proposed gas-pipeline. We entered the long Convention Centre and my spirits lifted to see the swell of people walking down the length of the carpeted hallway – sadly, most (predominantly males) branched off to attend a Food Exhibition. At the far end, however, there was action. A diagnostic group MAFIA (Mothers Against Fraccing In Australia) dressed in black flamboyant outfits, welcomed everyone down near the escalators. People began to flood in as noon approached. One woman from Emerald approached us to hand out a pamphlet about the Golden Triangle near Rockhampton. An old woman in a wheelchair joined the audience. There was a preponderance of young adults and more mature folks as well as children and youngsters.
Alan Jones introduced Lee Kernigan who sang “Boys From the Bush” to the applause of the 600-fold group – a great start! Each of the four woman who spoke brought to us a new aspect of living with CSG or alongside an open-cut coal mine and there was a palpable calm in the room as the serious nature of their revelations hit home. All were mothers and they recounted how their children were affected – three-day headaches for a little one of four years old, youngsters bleeding profusely from the nose and ears: all without medical explanations. The constant intolerable noise on a 24-hour basis, the insecurity of having trucks traversing their land and impinging on their children’s freedom all added to the stress felt by these families. Alan asked what response they had had to their interminable letters to the government to get some answers – the answer was overwhelmingly zero. And this infuriating silence came from a government that gave permits for these interlopers to totally disrupt the farming existence of those families sitting on quality land? The social ramifications of this intrusion was clear as these mothers detailed devoting forty hours per week to their fight against the CSG incursion. Specific inquiries by these women to the State Government produced zero results. Clearly, government constraints on these mining companies are non-existent, despite all the rhetoric. It was revealed Oakey is a divided community between those who are for the CSG and those against. Money and employment prove to be effective blinkers for looking at issues from a long-term or environmental perspective.
The frightening figures of 90% of the Darling Downs being under mining licence highlighted the idiocy of sacrificing prime agricultural land for a very short-term industry that had the potential to deplete and corrupt the water supply of this land. The forum was focused on food scarcity and how the present political decisions will impact on Australia’s future capacity to put food on the table for Australians, let alone contribute to the export market. Perhaps it will need the anticipated CSG intrusion to percolate into the upper-crust suburbs such as Pullenvale and Mt Crosby, to stimulate strong city opposition. Folks in these suburbs have sought refuge from the city, in the same way that “blockies” from Tara have invested in their small part of the bush. Yet the Tara estate image of continuous gas wells, is well known. If Redfern in Sydney is being drilled, who is to say where the parameters will be drawn in any city?
One particular speaker encompassed the sentiments of all. Heidi Ross, from the Scenic Rim, read a letter she had written to Arrow Resources, the Chinese consortium, that drilled at Kerry where they met strong resistance, resulting in fifteen arrests. Heidi’s composition was specific, strong and unambiguous; her delivery was forceful, unequivocal and intelligent – and the audience responded with overwhelming gratitude for her capacity to pull all the ends of the CSG argument together in a cogent, cohesive address. Heidi walked across the stage and there was a standing ovation and thunderous applause. I trust her children and her husband were able to be in the audience because she is one fearsome role model!
A short address by Aidan McLindon, Libby Connors and Drew Hutton emphasized that this CSG issue transcended all normal political barriers – the ramifications for the future are too great.
Alan Jones introduced Lee Kernigan who sang “Boys From the Bush” to the applause of the 600-fold group – a great start! Each of the four woman who spoke brought to us a new aspect of living with CSG or alongside an open-cut coal mine and there was a palpable calm in the room as the serious nature of their revelations hit home. All were mothers and they recounted how their children were affected – three-day headaches for a little one of four years old, youngsters bleeding profusely from the nose and ears: all without medical explanations. The constant intolerable noise on a 24-hour basis, the insecurity of having trucks traversing their land and impinging on their children’s freedom all added to the stress felt by these families. Alan asked what response they had had to their interminable letters to the government to get some answers – the answer was overwhelmingly zero. And this infuriating silence came from a government that gave permits for these interlopers to totally disrupt the farming existence of those families sitting on quality land? The social ramifications of this intrusion was clear as these mothers detailed devoting forty hours per week to their fight against the CSG incursion. Specific inquiries by these women to the State Government produced zero results. Clearly, government constraints on these mining companies are non-existent, despite all the rhetoric. It was revealed Oakey is a divided community between those who are for the CSG and those against. Money and employment prove to be effective blinkers for looking at issues from a long-term or environmental perspective.
The frightening figures of 90% of the Darling Downs being under mining licence highlighted the idiocy of sacrificing prime agricultural land for a very short-term industry that had the potential to deplete and corrupt the water supply of this land. The forum was focused on food scarcity and how the present political decisions will impact on Australia’s future capacity to put food on the table for Australians, let alone contribute to the export market. Perhaps it will need the anticipated CSG intrusion to percolate into the upper-crust suburbs such as Pullenvale and Mt Crosby, to stimulate strong city opposition. Folks in these suburbs have sought refuge from the city, in the same way that “blockies” from Tara have invested in their small part of the bush. Yet the Tara estate image of continuous gas wells, is well known. If Redfern in Sydney is being drilled, who is to say where the parameters will be drawn in any city?
One particular speaker encompassed the sentiments of all. Heidi Ross, from the Scenic Rim, read a letter she had written to Arrow Resources, the Chinese consortium, that drilled at Kerry where they met strong resistance, resulting in fifteen arrests. Heidi’s composition was specific, strong and unambiguous; her delivery was forceful, unequivocal and intelligent – and the audience responded with overwhelming gratitude for her capacity to pull all the ends of the CSG argument together in a cogent, cohesive address. Heidi walked across the stage and there was a standing ovation and thunderous applause. I trust her children and her husband were able to be in the audience because she is one fearsome role model!
A short address by Aidan McLindon, Libby Connors and Drew Hutton emphasized that this CSG issue transcended all normal political barriers – the ramifications for the future are too great.
The results of this State election will determine who has the mandate for our country’s future. Directions for the protest walk to Mary Street were given and it was re-explained that the symbolic throwing down of the hats would take place outside the Executive Building where so many catastrophic decisions have been made over the past decade. Walking across the bridge there was a sense of common-purpose as slogans were chanted, banners raised and strangers talked to strangers – the linking of disparate identities for this common purpose. It is to be hoped that as drivers sat in their cars watching the long procession, they appreciated the magnitude of the issue that brought us all together. This is undoubtedly a fight for our land, our children, our future, our Australia…
Di Perkins
Di Perkins
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