website: www.climatecampaign.info
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Dirty AND Thirsty |
Walk Against Warming - Sydney, 2007
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website: www.climatecampaign.info |
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In spite of the fact that NSW's Greenhouse Plan states "In NSW and across the planet a concerted effort is required to slow and reverse the projected growth in emissions and to avoid dangerous climate change", the government continues to fall over backwards to accommodate the coal mining boom.
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Longwall mining has intensified during the past decade, to a point where nearly all major NSW rivers have been affected or are under threat.
(Total Environment Centre's Second Submission to the Southern Coalfield Inquiry) |
The mining industry is considered to have 'special circumstances' that put it outside of even the National Water Initiative Agreement.
Communities in all the coal-field regions of NSW are concerned about the long-term damage caused by longwall mining activities to water sources, aquifers, creek and river beds. The Department of Environment and Climate Change, the Sydney Catchment Authority and peak environment groups, have all called for a preventative approach to damage caused by mining.
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Much of the damage is taking place in the Southern Coalfields and the Special Area designed to protect the Illawarra's water supply and over 20% of Sydney's water supply. There are currently three new mines proposed for Sydney's water catchment, and one for the Central Coast's catchment. |
The current system of approval of new mines is biased in favour of mining. The Department of Primary Industries collects royalties from the mines it approves, creating a significant conflict of interest.
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New proposals invariably claim that subsidence can be managed but offer no assurance of monitoring or rehabilitation.
It is a routine practice of the mining companies and their government regulator to assume the most optimistic situation and to undervalue the extent of risk. However, the Department of Water and Energy has raised grave doubts as to whether remediation methods are working at all. |
Mining companies are not held legally responsible for damage caused to natural ecosystems and water supply catchments, nor are they required to pay compensation.
Regional and peak environment groups in NSW have called for a one kilometre mining exclusion zone around rivers and groundwater aquifers.
Australia is the developed country that will be most affected by climate change. January 2008 was Australia's warmest January on record, with a mean temperature 1.23°C above normal. (Bureau of Meteorology)
Can we afford to risk long-term damage to our water catchments for short-term financial gain from coal exports?
click here to create a prepared email to Morris Iemma, Premier of NSW
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A comment of your own at the beginning of the email would show your personal concern about this issue. Personalising the subject of the email would also make your email look different from the hundreds of others we hope will be sent. |
A copy of the email is shown below.
If you prefer to write (the only absolutely certain way to be sure your message is read), post to Parliament House, Macquarie St, Sydney 2000.
Regards from the Citizens Climate Campaign Committee
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Morris Iemma, The NSW Greenhouse Plan states that "in NSW and across the planet a concerted effort is required to slow and reverse the projected growth in emissions and to avoid dangerous climate change". How does your government plan to achieve this outcome if the coal mining export industry continues to expand, and 'clean' coal technology is still untried and unproven? I call on the NSW government to remove the conflict of interest caused by the current system of approval of new mines by the Department of Primary Industries. I call for the appointment of an independent regulator with the power and enforceable guidelines to prevent longwall mining in sensitive sites, and to halt mining operations that are having negative impacts on the environment. I call on the NSW government to take urgent steps to prevent damage to rivers, swamps and groundwater resources caused by longwall coal mining in NSW. I call on the NSW government to mandate a mining exclusion zone of at least one kilometre around rivers in NSW, to protect them from damage caused by mining operations. How does your government justify risking long-term damage to NSW's water catchments for short-term financial gain from coal exports? Name: |