Coal targetted in huge protest
Media Release
12th July 2008
Coal targeted in huge protest
Who: climate protesters
What: march and coal train blockade
Where: Islington Park, Islington, Newcastle
When: 10 am, Sunday July 13
Hundreds of people from all over Australia will attempt to peacefully prevent coal trains from reaching the port of Newcastle tomorrow morning to protest the expansion of the coal export industry and the prospect of climate catastrophe.
Protestors will gather at Islington Park at 10am and march to Carrington coal terminal where they will attempt to peacefully occupy the coal train line on its way to the port.
The action will be the biggest direct action protest against coal and climate change in Australia’s history. NSW Treasurer Michael Costa yesterday criticised the protest, saying that shutting down the port at Newcastle for just one day would cost $34.5 million dollars.
The protestors have been taking part in the “Camp for Climate Action since Thursday, and further protests are expected.
“This protest is part of a growing movement of people calling for a rapid and effective transition away from Australia’s dependence on coal for power and coal exports”, Georgina Woods said today.
“Climate change is the challenge of our time, but so far the Australian Government has refused to face up to the fact that coal exports are our biggest single contribution to the problem. Until we move away from coal, we won’t solve climate change.”
“Peaceful direct action protest has the power to create change. More and more people are standing up to tell the Austlrailan Government to take urgent action.”
Further comment:
Georgina Woods 0438 223 771
Holly Creenuane 0417 682 541
www.climatecamp.org.au
Inspiring follow-up action and some good coverage of yesterday
This is all very inspiring.
Its interesting how the coal industry has refused to respond. Here's this morning's blog from me, summarising some of the coverage so far:
Newcastle Climate Action Camp's coal protest coverage
The Newcastle Climate Action Camp will be buoyed by solid newspaper coverage of yesterday's arrestable protest, which should be a prelude to wider coverage tomorrow following new actions today.
At 6:00am this morning four climate activists have locked on to the fourth coal conveyor belt at Koorgang coal export terminal in Newcastle. Five others have attached themselves to coal loading machinery. More protests in the Hunter Valley coal region are expected later.
Yesterday's protest is appearing online internationally, on climate blogs and coal industry websites (from a story by Bloomberg). It was also filed by Reuters and Agence France Presse though I do not know what the press coverage has been like yet from these stories.
In Australia the big environment stories today are the Federal government's carbon market (ETS) scheme and the Murray Darling ecological crisis.
The biggest press coverage of the Newcastle action is in the Sydney Morning Herald (p.4 with photo), The Australian (p.5) quoting Friends of the Earth's legendary Cam Walker.
The Daily Telegraph (p.10) quoted rising star, the camp media contact Georgina Woods. There are small mentions in the Canberra Times, Melbourne Herald Sun, The Advertiser.
ABC Radio AM had a story from Simon Santow about a new Make Poverty History report calling for immigration quotas for climate refugees, with a focus on Pacific Island states.
Go,go solar!!
dan
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There is enough light for those whose only desire is to see, and enough darkness for those of the opposite disposition | Blaise Pascal