Pages tagged "climate"
#StopAdani - A Mighty Force!
#StopAdani: A Mighty Force reveals an unstoppable movement for change in action.
This 30-minute documentary captures the power and passion of people taking extraordinary action to stop Adani from building one of the biggest coal mines in the world, on the doorstep of the Great Barrier Reef.
From remote central Queensland where the mine is proposed to be built, to rallies in metropolitan Melbourne and Sydney, this David and Goliath battle is one of the most determined and focused campaigns in Australia’s recent history.
Come and find out why so many people all over Australia, and right here in Mackay, are speaking out against Adani's unbankable mine!
Guest speaker and Mackay Cane Grower, Michelle Ready, features in the film and works to raise awareness of the importance of stopping Adani from draining precious water resources.
The film launches with the People’s Premiere in communities across Australia on Thursday 22 February - don't miss out on this huge local premiere!
- WHEN: Thursday 22nd Feb - 6:30pm
- WHERE: Mackay City Cinema, Gordon St Mackay.
- COST: $10 - including entry and a complimentary drink or pay at the door for $15 (cash only).
- Book your ticket now.
Media Release: Adani accused of doctoring Abbot Point results
MEDIA RELEASE - 2 February 2018
Adani falsifies Abbot Point wetlands pollution lab results
Revelations Adani corrupted pollution evidence as part of $12K fine appeal
Stop Adani Alliance poll shows 3/4 of Qlders think Adani should drop its appeal and pay fine
On International Wetlands Day, findings uncovered by the Queensland Environment Department that Adani doctored laboratory reports of coal-laden polluted water spilt during Cyclone Debbie from Abbot Point Port shows yet again why governments should block Adani’s project, says the Stop Adani Alliance (Guardian Australia today: “Suspicions Adani altered lab report while appealing fine for Abbot Point coal spill”).
As part of court proceedings by Adani challenging the $12,900 fine imposed by the Environment Department for polluting Abbot Point during Cyclone Debbie, it has been revealed that the company falsified laboratory reports by leaving off results submitted earlier.
Mackay Conservation Group coordinator, Peter McCallum, who visited Abbot Point with department officials in April 2017 to inspect the pollution said, “If Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is looking for one more reason why the Adani mine does not stack up then here it is.”
Adani Group companies have a well-documented record of environmental destruction and prosecutions overseas, including illegal dealings, bribery, environmental and social devastation and allegations of corruption, fraud and money laundering.
“On International Wetlands Day this shows once again why Adani can’t be trusted with the sensitive Caley Valley Wetlands, our precious natural environment, or our Reef. These new revelations show they also can’t be trusted with scientific evidence.
“Queenslanders are understandably concerned that Adani is even challenging this puny fine. A Stop Adani Alliance ReachTEL poll of residents across Queensland, conducted in October 2017, found three quarters thought that Adani should drop the court action and pay the fine”.
The ReachTel poll of 1,652 Qld residents conducted on the night of 24th October 2017 is below. (Full poll can be provided on request.)
Adani admitted to the Queensland Department of Environment that it released more than eight times its licensed concentration of pollution in March 2017.
For further information and interviews: Peter McCallum 0402 966 560
Mackay Conservation Group, a member of the Stop Adani Alliance, is a volunteer based organisation established in 1983 that works to protect Central Queensland’s environment www.mackayconservationgroup.org.au
ReachTel Poll Question:
Adani has been fined $12,900 by the Queensland Department of the Environment for polluting the Reef coast with coal during Cyclone Debbie from the Abbot Point Port terminal it operates. Adani is now contesting the fine in court.
Should Adani drop the court action and pay the fine?
More to do to #StopAdani
#StopAdani is undeniably a hugely powerful movement.
At the end of 2017, the wins were coming thick and fast;
- The Queensland Labor government retained power, with huge influence coming from the promise of vetoing the $1billion taxpayer loan to Adani.
- They held their promise and blocked the loan.
- Four Chinese banks, some of the biggest banks in the world, plus the Chinese embassy, refused to support Adani.
- Downer, who was contracted to build Adani's mine, walked away.
All of these wins happened because our movement has grown so strong.
But - it's not over yet.
Adani is looking down the barrel of a huge stranded asset, so will do everything it can to push the Carmichael mine ahead.
The mine proposal is Adani's best chance of replacing its current coal-handling contracts, which are set to finish up in the next five years. Without ongoing contracts, Adani's Abbot Point coal port will be in real trouble.
There is also the possibility of Aurizon building an alternative rail line that could service the Carmichael mine and the rest of the Galilee Basin.
Adani is not done yet - and neither are we.
Already this year we have seen the price of renewable energy in India become cheaper than coal-powered energy, with minsters and leaders in India committing to rapidly reducing use of coal-power.
India was set to start the next coal boom - and instead we're seeing the country emerge as a renewable energy powerhouse.
With the vast majority of countries signing onto the Paris Agreement, we're seeing the fossil fuel industry declining. In the near future, there will be no market for the thermal coal that Adani so desperately wants, and Australia will have to deal with the mess left behind.
Mackay suffers when it puts all of its eggs in one [mining] industry's basket. Time and time again we hear pleas from the community for a diversification of our region's economy, so that we rely on highly fluctuating industries. Coal is coming to an end - and Adani is not the answer for Mackay.
That's why this year it is so important that we continue to grow and strengthen our movement.
Let's work together to strengthen regional Queensland for generations to come.
We can't stop (and we won't stop) until we #StopAdani forever.
Read more from Market Forces and the #StopAdani Alliance.
ABC 4 CORNERS EXPOSES ADANI
This week, ABC 4 Corners exposed the web of opaque company structures, dodgy dealings, environmental vandalism and political protection that surrounds Adani’s operations in India.Media Release: Report finds Adani polluted sensitive wetlands
Mackay Conservation Group says a new Queensland Government report confirms Adani’s coal terminal has polluted the nationally significant Caley Valley wetlands during Cyclone Debbie and shows the company cannot be trusted to operate a mine, rail and port operation in Queensland.
A report commissioned by the Queensland Department of Environment & Heritage Protection (DEHP), which relied on samples taken four weeks after the cyclone, has found up to 10 per cent of sediment in the wetlands near Adani’s Abbot Point coal terminal was actually coal that the company allowed to leave its site. This follows Adani being fined $12,900 for polluting the Reef coast. Adani is currently challenging the fine in court.
Mackay Conservation Group coordinator, Peter McCallum, who visited the contamination site at the invitation of DEHP to observe the contamination first hand, said “It was clear to me that there was coal everywhere we looked when we visited the site a month after Cyclone Debbie. This report confirms those observations and makes clear that Adani is not fit to operate a massive coal project in Queensland,” Mr McCallum said.
Read moreMackay says No to Adani
A community survey released today by the Mackay Conservation Group has uncovered overwhelming opposition in Mackay to the Adani Carmichael mine and the special treatment it is receiving from the government.
Almost 80 per cent of Mackay people do not support the $1 billion taxpayer funded loan to Adani. Even greater numbers (86 per cent) oppose the Queensland government giving Adani access to free, unlimited water. Eighty-five per cent of people were also opposed to the royalty free period that the State government has granted to Adani.
All of the graphs and figures are available here.
You can join the Stop Adani movement right here in Mackay! Find out how you can get involved and help to protect our land, water and air for generations to come!
Read moreParliament calling for submissions!
Parliament is inviting individuals and organisations to make a submission to help strengthen and support their inquiry into the current and future impacts of climate change on our built environment.
As temperatures rise to levels unprecedented in human existence, it is questionable if Australia’s current housing, building and infrastructure will withstand the predicted climatic changes and the extreme weather events that it will entail.
From the recent devastation of cyclone Debbie, causing approximately $2 billion of damages to private and public infrastructure, to the life shattering impacts of the 2008 floods leaving nearly two thousand residents and businesses inundated with water, the Mackay community is definitely no stranger to the costly wrath of Mother Nature.
With various climatic scenarios predicted, you can help support the resilience of the region by making a submission. Sharing your opinions and proposals will greatly assist the Mackay community, and beyond, to be more adaptable and manageable in the face of an inevitably changing future.
Water is life
Stop Adani Mackay and the Mackay Conservation Group joined groups from across Australia in a #waterislife roadside protest last weekend.
In drought stricken Queensland, water is one of our most precious resources, and the Adani Carmichael mine directly threatens the water sources that thousands of farmers and regional communities rely on.
With a track record of environmental destruction in India, the Adani company cannot be trusted with our water.
Water is life - and Mackay locals are going to keep fighting to protect Queensland's water!
If you would like to keep up to date with Stop Adani Mackay, like their Facebook Page or contact Maggie on 0434837774 or by emailing [email protected]
Adani and Qld Government conceal dodgy deal on royalties
As you would have seen in the media, the Qld Government is making dodgy deals with Adani. The new deal on royalties is being kept hidden from the public. Queensl
anders are not being told the details of this deal, let alone how much it is going to cost them.
Prior to the 2015 election, the current Qld Government promised that "Adani must ensure its project is viable in an open, competitive marketplace. Labor will not do any secret deals." But yesterday the Qld premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, did just that, she signed a secretive royalties deal that could cost the State hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds, dressed as a ‘loan’ for the first five years of the mine’s operation, in Central Queensland. How much Adani is expected to pay and how much they will actually pay back, is in a realm of uncertainty. Exactly what this deal entails, only Adani and the Qld Government knows.
Read moreSolar Makes Sense for Business
Some of our regional businesses have invested in rooftop solar energy and are reaping the rewards. Langfords Hotel, Porters Cannonvale, MacDonald & Murphy are among the businesses that are benefiting from solar installations.
Most businesses in Mackay use most of their electricity during daylight hours so solar is a great option. Large users of electricity are slugged with an extra tariff, called a demand charge, when they exceed a threshold average consumption per month. By installing solar they can reduce average consumption and avoid the extra tariff. Even small businesses can cut electricity bills to almost zero by installing solar.
It makes real economic sense for all businesses to consider renewable energy. The investment will pay for itself in five or six years and most installations are guaranteed for 20 years. There are many great environmental reasons to consider installing solar power but the economics alone should be enough to convince you. However there is a long way to go to make our businesses ecologically friendly.
Sign our 100% renewable energy petition to Malcolm Turnbull