Shoalwater bay





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Press release
31st August 2008
Shoalwater Protection society

Huge Rally Planned in BYFIELD to show Shoalwater Bay Coal Port proposal is “CLEARLY UNACCEPTABLE”

The Shoalwater Protection Society has organised a protest rally and information day in the small Central Queensland community of Byfield on Saturday 6th September at 11am. The rally will show regional opposition to Waratah Coals port development proposal in Byfield next to the Byfield National Park and in the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Offers of support have been coming from across Australia and it was a tremendously boosted by Australian Greens Senator Christine Milne’s moving speech in the senate on Waratahs proposal. The speech calls on Minister Garrett to act now declaring the proposal a “clearly unacceptable” one and not condemn the Australian community to years of environmental assessment approvals, appeals and frustration. The National Liberal Party has also been offering support with the Qld Shadow Minister for the Environment, David Gibson, offering to take a personal interest.

The Byfield rally is expected to attract hundreds of supporters on Saturday 6th September at 11 am at the Raspberry Creek Homestead. Visitors will be able to have an update of developments, a chance to have their say, see audiovisual displays on the beautiful Shoalwater Bay area and to hear live music. There will be a sausage sizzle organised by the Byfield Rural Fire Brigade and pony rides provided by Waterpark Eco Tours. There will be raffles and a prize of $100 gift voucher for Nob Creek Pottery for the best banner.

A huge group photo will be taken at 12noon and anyone who is concerned about this proposal is encouraged to come to the rally. It is hoped that everyone who cares about Five Rocks, Stockyard Point, Waterpark Creek, Corio bay and the Capricorn Coast, including fishermen, four wheel drivers, bush walkers, conservationist, campers, yachties and surfers, will attend the event.

Some local councillors will attend, as will representatives of the NLP and Greens. Unfortunately Mayor Brad Carter is unavailable, as is the State Member for Keppel Paul Hoolihan and the Federal Member for Capricornia Kirstin Livermore.

Shoalwater Protection Society spokesman Steve Bishopric said, “Saturday’s Byfield Rally is a great chance for people to show that this project is clearly unacceptable. Our elected representatives need to hear the message loud and clear that we expect them to strongly represent the people who voted them in. This is about a community, indeed, a whole region, coming together
to protect itself, its environment and its basic right to clean air and water.”

Local groups participating include the Shoalwater Protection Society, Shoalwater Wilderness Awareness Group, Capricorn Conservation Council, Committed 2 Change, Rural Fire Brigade, and the Byfield Business Group.

Further information.
Shoalwater Protection Society
Interim Committee members;

Steve Bishopric 07 4935 1161
Bill Gannon 0417 793 800

 

Just a brief message with a media release that Greens Senator for
Tasmania Christine Milne released today:
Garrett's Choice: Mega Coal or Shoalwater Bay

The Australian Greens have called on Environment Minister Peter Garrett
to use his existing powers to protect Queensland beautiful Shoalwater
Bay from the environmentally destructive Waratah Coal mine, pipeline,
rail and port facility.

Greens Senator Christine Milne said the $5.3b. Waratah Coal project was
projected to produce 50 million tonnes of coal per annum from an area 20
kms from Byfield town, linking by rail to a proposed port wholly located
within a RAMSAR-listed wetland in Shoalwater Bay. "The Queensland
Government has agreed to the project however the one person with the
power to stand up for the environment is Minister Garrett - who is on
record in 1992 as saying Shoalwater Bay is 'one of the last
opportunities that we have in Australia and probably on the planet, to
actually hold onto an entire coastal ecosystem." (Peter Garrett,
Documentary - Shoalwater - Up for Grabs)

"The question for Minister Garrett now is: he has the power - does he still have the passion?"

Senator Milne said the Waratah Coal project would lock in for the next
50-100 years, the extraction of a huge quantity of coal that would
ultimately end up in the atmosphere contributing to dangerous climate
change. There is no carbon capture or storage option before 2020.

The mine will be linked with the port via a rail line. The port itself is
located wholly within RAMSAR wetlands - and the company admits that
disturbance will occur to many endangered terrestrial and marine species
including the dugong, the loggerhead turtle and of course the Great
Barrier Reef both directly, and indirectly, through climate change.
Senator Milne said that under the Environmental Protection and
Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Minister Garrett could deem the
project to be 'clearly unacceptable' as it is likely to have a
'significant impact' on six of the seven matters of national
environmental significance including nationally listed threatened
species, migratory species, RAMSAR wetlands, the Commonwealth marine
environment, World Heritage Properties, or National heritage places.


"Minister Garrett cannot duck this one: he has the power to halt the
assessment approval process now." "Clearly this gargantuan project,
which locks in a massive carbon pollution contribution for the world, is
also against the Federal Government's climate change intentions - and
Minister Garrett has the power and must act."


To keep up to date with the Greens' Senators' campaigning work, please
refer to their new website at www.greensmps.org.au,
Kind regards,

Anna Sildever
Office of Senator Bob Brown
GPO Box 404
HOBART TAS 7001
anna.sildever@aph.gov.au
ph: 03 6224 3222
fx: 6224 2999
www.bobbrown.org.au
www.myspace.com/bobbrowngreens

Parliament of Australia - Senate Hansard – 27 August 2008
QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Question by Australian Greens spokesperson on Climate Change, Energy and World Heritage Senator Christine Milne to the Minister for Climate Change and Water Penny Wong regarding Waratah Coals' proposed coal mine, pipeline, railway and port in Shoalwater Bay.

Senator MILNE (2.31 p.m.)—My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, Senator Wong, and relates to the proposed Waratah coalmine pipeline railway and port facility in the Alpha and Shoalwater Bay areas of Queensland. Given, firstly, that the mine will generate exports of more than 50 million tonnes of coal per year increasing to upwards of 100 million tonnes with consequent greenhouse gases and in the absence of carbon capture and storage and, secondly, that the port will be wholly located in Ramsar wetlands and will impact on the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef and endangered species like dugongs and loggerhead turtles, will the minister inform us whether the minister for the environment will use his powers under the EPBC Act to declare the project clearly unacceptable right now and so stop any further assessment and approval of this project?

Senator WONG—I thank Senator Milne for her question and acknowledge she has a longstanding interest in EPBC issues. The advice which I have been provided with is this, Senator Milne: that a referral was received on 31 July from Waratah Coal Inc. for the proposed coal development under the act, and the minister has yet to make a determination on this proposal. Obviously some of the issues you raise may be amongst those the minister will have to consider in the context of that EPBC consideration. I am advised that the proposal will be closely examined for potential impacts in areas such as Commonwealth Defence land, the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area, the Shoalwater and Corio Bays Ramsar sites—I think two of those were mentioned in the senator’s question—and on habitats for listed threatened and migratory species. I am also advised that the public were invited to comment on the referral for a period of 10 business days which ended on 14 August. It is the case that the government and this minister are committed to proper and transparent administration of the EPBC Act and, because of her interest in these issues, the senator will no doubt be aware that the minister’s decision is within the context of a statutory framework and he has to have regard to issues under the act accordingly.

Senator MILNE—Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Given that the government promised a greenhouse gas trigger in the EPBC Act and given that such a trigger would automatically see this process assessed and would be clearly unacceptable within any climate change context, when is the first possible date that the minister can make his decision that this is clearly an unacceptable project and therefore save the community from what will be a long and difficult assessment process which ought not to be entered into because this is such a clearly unacceptable project?

Senator WONG—There are a number of aspects there that Senator Milne has asked, and I am not sure which aspect she wants me to address. I have given her the information I have been provided with in relation to this referral. I think she asserted in her question something like that the act said there would be an automatic rejection. I make the point that in the context of statutory discretion there is no such thing as an automatic rejection, and I am sure the senator would be aware of that. I am not sure I can assist the senator much further in relation to this issue. I have provided the information that I have.

QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE: TAKE NOTE OF ANSWERS
Senate speech by Australian Greens spokesperson on Climate Change, Energy and World Heritage Senator Christine Milne regarding Waratah Coals' proposed coal mine, pipeline, railway and port in Shoalwater Bay.

Senator MILNE (Tasmania) (3.33 p.m.)—I move:
That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister for Climate Change and Water (Senator Wong) to a question without notice asked by Senator Milne today relating to proposed developments in Queensland.
The moment is now for Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, Peter Garrett. People around the country have been waiting for this minister to make one strong, unequivocal decision for the environment, and now is his opportunity—and that is in relation to this megaproposal for a new coalmine, pipeline and railway port development in Queensland. This is a mine which has a reserve of something like four billion tonnes of coal, and the port will be in Shoalwater Bay, wholly contained within a Ramsar wetland, with impacts on the Great Barrier Reef, a World Heritage listed area. I have just mentioned two treaties. Thirdly, we have impacts on endangered species like the dugong or the loggerhead turtle, for example. There are many of them.

Under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, there is a very clear provision that the minister for the environment on receiving a proposal can decide that it is, under the act, ‘clearly unacceptable’. There is no way you could look at this massive proposal for a coalmine in Queensland other than to see it as an environmental disaster. It is an environmental disaster from a greenhouse gas point of view. It will start off exporting 50 million tonnes of coal a year, going up to 100 million tonnes a year, and there is no carbon capture and storage in China, India or wherever they are going to export this coal. There is nothing there.

We know the crisis of climate change. The government promised to have a greenhouse trigger in the EPBC Act. That has not happened. But, regardless of that, because this coal facility—both the mine and the port—is going to trigger six out of the seven national considerations under the EPBC Act, it would have to be the clearest example of a case where the minister would say it triggers six and the only one it does not trigger is nuclear. It triggers all of the others: national heritage listed properties, World Heritage listed properties, endangered species, Commonwealth waters—you name it, it is all there. This is a very clear case.
If the minister squibs this one, what he is doing is condemning the Australian community to years of environmental assessments, approvals, appeals and frustration. We have already seen the completely irresponsible Queensland government of Premier Anna Bligh make this a project of state significance, which puts it on the fast-track of approvals in Queensland. It is clear that the government there is totally in favour of this greenhouse gas generating project. She and the Prime Minister got a letter earlier this year from James Hansen, who is a globally renowned NASA scientist. He wrote to the premiers and to the Prime Minister, saying:
Yet there are plans for continuing mining of coal, export of coal, and construction of new coal-fired power plants around the world, including in Australia, plants that would have a lifetime of half a century or more. Your leadership in halting these plans could seed a transition that is needed to solve the global warming problem.

He went on to say:
Prime Minister Rudd, we cannot avert our eyes from the basic fossil fuel facts, or the consequences for life on our planet of ignoring these fossil fuel facts.

That is a challenge to Minister Garrett. He, in a documentary in the early 90s, said very clearly that the community must decide what happens to these special areas of wilderness significance like Shoalwater Bay. He knows more than any other person in this parliament how special Shoalwater Bay is. He also knows his responsibilities under the act. He has the power; is he going to use it? The whole country is going to be looking to see whether he has the personal strength to recognise his powers under the act. I will read what he said about Shoalwater Bay. He said:
Shoalwater Bay represents one of the last opportunities that we have in Australia, and probably on the planet, to actually hold onto an entire coastal eco system. It’s already recognised on the Australian heritage Commission list and we have to make up our minds...
(Time expired)
Question agreed to.

PRESS RELEASE 23 August 2008
National Climate Torch Relay shines light on coal port proposal

Photo Opportunity: Families running/walking together from Main Beach Stage to Village Fesitval.

Where: The Climate Torch Relay will begin at Yeppoon Main Beach Stage, When: 30th August 08 and will progress through town to the Village Festival.
Starting at 12.30pm.
What: Climate Torch Relay (www.climatetorch.com)
Created by the designers of the Sydney Olympic Torch, the Climate Torch is an iconic symbol of our national determination to avert dangerous climate change. The torch itself features solar-power, a wind-turbine, people power, and a lemon battery!

For nine weeks from August to October, the GetUp Climate Torch Relay will tour right across Australia – through rural towns and capital cities in every state and territory – on its way to Parliament House, Canberra on October 12. Along the route local communities are hosting legs of the relay, which calls on our leaders to halve Australia’s greenhouse pollution by 2020.

The Relay will reach Yeppoon on August 30 where members of the local community have organised a leg of the relay and are acting as torch-bearers.

Local organisers Margaret Nouwens and Elliot McPherson said the relay will highlight that the people of the Rockhampton Region want to see real action on climate change. "When we hear politicians enthusiastically supporting new mining proposals in the area, including one that will involve a coal port within the environmentally significant Byfield area, we wonder how serious they can be about making real progress on the issue of climate change?" 

“The torch is a challenge to our representatives at all levels – from local councilors to the Prime Minister – to halve Australia’s greenhouse emissions in a decade” said GetUp! Executive Director Brett Solomon, “they ignore that challenge at their electoral peril”.

The Climate Project Presenter, Natalie Hatch, asked, "Will our legacy to the next generation be an environment plundered for the sake of feeding the worlds fossil fuel addiction, or will we take action now to reduce emissions and move to alternative technologies?"

The torch was designed to embody four solutions to climate change. “The torch uses wind and solar power, a ‘people power’ hand crank, and also draws power from a lemon-battery, representing the innovation and creativity we need to support to find new energy solutions” said BlueSky Creative head designer, Mark Armstrong. The four energy sources power an onboard microprocessor and LCD display, showing the message ‘halve Australia’s greenhouse pollution by 2020’.

Members of the public are welcome to participate in the climate change torch relay as torch bearers. You can run, walk or push a pram individually or as part of a small group. Please contact Michelle on 0413 945 640 by midday Friday to register your interest.

For more information please contact
Margaret Nouwens ph 49221969
or Elliot Macpherson ph 49250103
or Sam Mclean, National Climate Torch Coordinator, on 0403 510 038.
About GetUp: GetUp.org.au is an independent movement to build a progressive Australia. GetUp brings together like-minded people who want to bring participation back into our democracy. GetUp has over 280,000 members nationwide.

Coal a 'tight' commodity that will continue to see skyrocketing prices: CEO
Published: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 | 2:39 PM ET
Canadian Press: Kristine Owram, THE CANADIAN PRESS

TORONTO - Skyrocketing demand combined with a shrinking supply is making coal a "tight" commodity right now, causing prices - and profits - to soar, says the CEO of an Australian mining company that lists its stock in Canada.

Peter Lynch, president and CEO of Waratah Coal Inc. (TSXV:WCI), said in an interview Tuesday that "hot demand" for coal used to fire power plants in emerging markets such as China and India is benefiting his company and the industry as a whole.

"Essentially, thermal coal isn't as easily available as it used to be, so the price of thermal coal has skyrocketed," said Lynch, adding that the commodity, which was selling for under US$50 a ton just a few years ago, is now going for close to $200 a ton.

"The commodity's in hot demand, it's not waning at all, because the demand for the product is continuing to grow. Irrespective of other economic conditions, the energy demands of India and China will continue unabated."

The rising price of coal has also led to a consolidation trend in the global industry as companies that produce coal used to make steel or to fuel power production try to get bigger to raise output to become more competitive and cash in on rising prices.

Last week, Ohio-based miner Cleveland Cliffs struck a nearly US$10 billion deal to acquire Alpha Natural Resources, creating a company with the largest reserves of iron ore and metallurgical coal in the United States.
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The merged company will have more than 60 coal mines and nine iron ore mines in North and South American and Australia.

Earlier this year, the world's two biggest miners, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, discussed a possible merger of their far flung operations, which include metals, mineral processing and coal mining assets around the world. However, the BHP bid, now valued at about $170 billion, was rejected by Rio Tinto and has turned hostile.

As prices for everything from iron ore to coal rise, the value of companies that produce such commodities also goes up.

Lynch said coal is increasingly seen as a cheap alternative to oil - another reason for the price increase.

"As oil prices go higher, the attraction for coal-fired electricity is even more so," he said.

Lynch added that supply issues will continue to push prices up.

"There are bottlenecks developing in the supply side of the industry, which has resulted in significant price increases, yet the demand will not go away because people don't like cold showers and they don't like being in the dark," he said.

Waratah Coal is hoping that the development of a new coal mining region in Queensland, Australia will ease the supply crunch.

The area, known as the Galilee Basin, is largely untouched because of its remote location and lack of supporting infrastructure.

Waratah has 15,000 square kilometres of exploration permits in the region, and started drilling in March 2007.

The company's proposal of a coal mine project, worth about C$5.2 billion, has been declared a "project of state significance" by the Queensland government. With the new designation, the company will be fast-tracked through the regulatory process and the government will support the development of the mine and a related rail and port development.

The new 495 kilometre rail line and deep-water port would carry the coal for export to thermal power plants in China, India and Southeast Asia.

Lynch said drilling in Waratah's properties in the Galilee Basin has inferred thermal coal resources of more than four billion tonnes.

The company and government will carry out an assessment of the environmental impacts of the project.

Jim Elder, a former deputy premier of Queensland, said the government of Australia and the country's coal companies are leading the way when it comes to reducing the environmental impacts of coal use, and Canada should take note.

Elder said the government and mining companies like Waratah have agreed that coal companies have to take some responsibility for the "global CO2 agenda." He added that between A$1 billion and $2 billion have been committed over the next five years to fund emission reduction technologies, and coal companies will then work as partners to help introduce that technology into the countries that buy their coal.

"It's a global challenge, and companies like us have a responsibility," said Elder.

Rising coal prices have also led to increased activity in the sector in Canada.

Certain companies are looking to re-open production at old mines to benefit from the higher prices: Xstrata Coal Donkin Ltd., a subsidiary of Xstrata PLC, and Erdene Gold Inc. (TSX:ERD) are looking to re-open the Donkin project in northeast Cape Breton Island to sell its coal to the domestic market and export thermal coal for power generation.

Sherritt International Corp. (TSX:S), plans to buy back the outstanding units of Royal Utilities Income Fund (TSX:RU.UN), owner of Canada's largest thermal coal producer, in a $704 million deal that will allow it to invest more money in its coal business.

Fording Coal (TSX:FDG.UN) is reviewing strategic alternatives for the Calgary company, a major produder of coal exported to Asian steelmakers.

Meanwhile, Coalcorp Mining Inc. (TSX:CCJ) rejected a takeover offer by Switzerland-based advisory firm Pala Investments AG, which argued some of the company's upside had been capped because of contracts they had entered into.
© The Canadian Press, 2008

Media Release
Dr Zohl dé Ishtar
Australian Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Queensland
Nobel Peace Prize Nominee 2005
14th August 2008 Waratah Coals Initial Advice Statement.

It is with great dismay that I learn about Waratah Coal’s plans to build a huge Coal Port 20 kilometres north of Byfield and near Yeppoon. As someone who has had the opportunity to enjoy the rare beauty of the Byfield area I am deeply impressed by what will be lost to the people of your region and to the people of Australia, and indeed the world, if such a project were to go ahead.

I am concerned for several reasons among which are the health of the people (particularly the children) resident in the area, the impact on the local Darumbal Peoples and their rightful relationship to their ancestral lands, and destruction of the unique wilderness of your region and the impact this will have the potential tourism industry opportunity your area offers its people.

The dimensions of this project are entirely humungous: a 1.7 kilometre wharf birthing two 400,000 tonne capacity ships; a 24hour railway, stockpiles of 2.5 million tonnes. I won’t labour in repeating the promised statistics of this project as I am sure you are already aware of them.

What alarms me is that the development of such a project would threaten life (human, animal, and plant) in your region in a way that is completely unprecedented, even given the impacts (actual and latent) of the Shoalwater Bay Military Training Area.

I am also concerned that this project will impact negatively on the economic value of your beautiful region robbing its residents of their rightful financial enjoyment of their natural assets. Rather than the coal industry, your region would benefit most from a strong tourism industry.

I am reminded of a story of how one small, marginalised community missed out on the exceptional economic value of their unique wildlife and wilderness because a huge pulp mill was built in their vicinity. I know that there are many stories and that this is but one, but ... It took place in Valdivia, Chile.

The building of this $1.5 billion pulp mill promised to employ 180 local civilians: it employed 10 – and then mainly in menial jobs. The remainder came from outside their region, and their arrival in the local town caused additional problems for what was already an overworked and under-operating infrastructure (water, electricity, roads, schools, hospitals, etc.).

Most ominously, the local tourism industry, built on the backs of the black-necked swan (along with other wildlife), was destroyed. This was because the wetlands which attracted the birds were devastated by the waste effluents being discharged into the rivers by the pulp mill. Tourists, who used to flock there from all around the world just to see the black-necked swan, simply stopped coming. The town lost its attraction for the tourist dollar and the local people lost their incomes.

As a consequence of the collapse of the tourism industry, local Indigenous Mapuche people became demoralised because tourism had provided employment and self-pride to them. The social problems which impacted their people, particularly their youth, increased.

Before the pulp mill had been built the local people had been continuously told that the pulp mill was going to provide their region with “economic growth”. They had heard this promise so many times that they had begun to believe it. They overlooked the impending problems and their own common sense. They decried the local people among them who warned of these coming problems and accused them of trying to take their livelihoods away.

What the concerned citizens of Valdivia were trying to say was that perhaps there was a better way – a way where the local people would have a win-win situation. They argued that the $1.5 billions being spent on building the pulp mill might better be invested as $1 million in 1500 small business enterprises which would enhance the lives of the local people and maintain the local environment such that a tourism industry could not only operate but would actually flourish.

It is significant that like Valdivia, the Shoalwater Bay area, is a RAMSAR site. Ramsar is the city in Iran where in 1971 the international Convention on Wetlands was signed to give a framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. Within one year of the pulp mill beginning operation 7000 black-necked swans to Valdivia, the largest population of this bird in South America, had been wiped out. This left the local tourism industry with nothing left to offer. The industry collapsed.

In response, Chile’s internationally-renown economist Manfred Max-Neef challenged the local business community about the Valdivia pulp mill: “Some might argue that this is the inevitable cost of progress. But progress surely means that circumstances are better than before. How can any sane person call this progress?”

Professor Max-Neef was awarded the prestigious Right Livelihood Award in 1983 for his pioneering work on economics as if people matter. He stood for the Chilean Presidency in 1993, is Rector of the Universidad Austral de Chile in Valdivia, has worked on projects for the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organisation (among other bodies), and is the founder of the Chilean Centre for Development Alternatives. He has published widely, including the book From the Outside Looking In: Experiences in Barefoot Economics (Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, Sweden).

Professor Max-Neef was brought to my attention by social worker John Clarke who is a Board Member of the Sustaining the Wild Coast Association of Xolobeni community in the East Cape Province of South Africa 250 kilometres south-west of Durban.

The concerned citizens of Xolobeni community are currently striving to protect their eco-tourism industry based on their pristine coastal terrain from strip mining for titanium by the Australian mining company Mineral Resources Commodities (MRC). The Xolobeni Mineral Sands Project threatens the grasslands and dunes of one of the world’s thirty-four biodiversity hotspots: the Pondoland Wild Coast. The concern among the Indigenous citizens of Xolobeni, one of the most impoverished places in South Africa, is so intense and widespread that they have engaged in a variety of highly popular creative non-violent resistances. They are attempting to convince the economic sector that there is benefit in supporting their cultural lifeways, including their traditional knowledges regarding the area, as a key contribution to the tourism industry. Not insignificantly to the citizens of Byfield and Yeppoon, South African human rights lawyer Richard Spoor has made a parallel between Xolobeni and your area: “Mining the Pondoland Wild Coast is the moral, cultural, and aesthetic equivalent to quarrying Ayres Rock for granite or the Great Barrier Reef for calcium carbonate”. (Referring to the Australian company which is involved here). Byfield and Yeppoon are gateways to the Great Barrier reef and although it may not be calcium carbonate that is being mined the effects will be similar.

In returning to the Waratah Coal project in the Byfield and Yeppoon region, I remind you that there are alternatives to the negative impacts of imposing large industries on remote wilderness areas and their populations. The citizens of your region have a remarkable resource which could and should be tapped to the benefit of all. You have the opportunity to develop your economy so as to draw on the skills and capacities of all your residents by establishing what your area is most suitably positioned to offer – a sustainable and productive eco-tourism industry which protects, enhances and advances the wilderness of the Byfield region. The $5.1 billion dollars scheduled to be poured into the Waratah project might be far better spent if it was used to encourage the local tourism industry and advance the wellbeing of your community.

I encourage you to speak against the Waratah Coal Project.

Yours sincerely,
Dr Zohl dé Ishtar
Australian Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies,
University of Queensland
Nobel Peace Prize Nominee 2005

Responses to Talisman Sabre 07 Public Environment Report

Public Environment Report Submission (PDF)

Public Environment Report - SWAG Response (RTF)

DoD verbal responses to submission re Talisman Sabre 07 Joint Exercises with US Military PDF

Flooding in Capricorn Coast water supply increases military toxic contamination risk. 27th June

The small community of the Capricorn Coast on the Central Coast of Queensland ,Australia is currently feeling the effects of Talisman saber 07, the largest joint training exercise conducted between US forces and the ADF now taking place in the Shaolwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA). With nearly 30,000 foreign troops, an aircraft carrier fleet and nuclear armed and powered vessels off shore and dozens of aircraft arriving from all over the world, residents are alarmed at the lack of information available.

Local community research body Shoalwater Wilderness Awareness Group (SWAG) is particularly concerned about pollution from undisclosed military toxins as has occurred in most US bases and training facilities world wide and in mainland USA. The local water catchment is inside the SWBTA and live firing is currently occurring. High intensity and high impact bombing is about to commence at Mt. Hummock, just 10 km from the catchment, with airborne drift of toxic residues certain.

"June has been exceptionally wet, with the biggest flooding I've seen in my 30 years here, and run off from the entire catchment, including the military's largest facility at Samuel Hill (located under 1 km from tributaries) is currently pouring into the Waterpark Creek reservoir " said Steve Bishopric, SWAG spokesman and researcher.

SWAG has been asking for testing and the release of known data for two and a half years and has received no information or facts. Local Authority Livingstone Shire Council has now promised to test the water supply but the undisclosed nature of existing and new weaponry being used at SWBTA means there is uncertainty as to what to test for. SWAG has been asked to, and has provided, some preliminary toxins data and advice about other communities world wide that have suffered severe health problems from military training.

"Federal funding is needed to provide independent, expert air and water monitoring and to research health problems being suffered by other communities. Without disclosure and substantial funding, as is provided for military access roads, the community has real reasons for concern about their environment and health and safety".

White whale "MIGALOO" faces possible death with war games sonar. 26th June

Filmmaker and whale/peace activist, Dean Jefferys, who just returned to Byron Bay after a week of peace protests at Shoal water bay says, "THE WHITE WHALE "MIGALOO" FACES POSSIBLE DEATH BY SONAR at the Talisman Sabre war games now occurring in central Queensland".

TV news tonight (26-7-07) shows the white whale Migaloo passing the Heron Islands today just south of where 30,000 soldiers are training at Shoal water bay and may swim into this area tomorrow or the next day. The US military have said they plan to use Low frequency active sonar from their nuclear submarines. Earlier this month at the International Whaling Commission meeting in Alaska, delegates released a report condemning the use of military sonar in the Great Barrier Reef marine park because of its dangerous effects on whales and dolphins as part of the Talisman Sabre 07 U.S.

Dean Jefferys said "Low frequency active sonar, the type used by U.S. submarines, is a known cause of whale and dolphin beachings. Scientists are so sure that active sonar kills cetaceans that they have banned the use of sonar in the oceans off Hawaii. Even the U.S. navy admit that sonar causes beachings and whale deaths. I would hate to see migaloo the icon of the humpback migration wash ashore dead at shoal-water bay. This sonar IS dangerous and potentially lethal to whales and all cetaceans. I am asking the US military as a matter of extreme urgency to stop all use of active sonar in this sensitive marine ecosystem."

Environmental spokesperson for the Peace Convergence, Kim Stewart, says, Sonar causes the animals to panic, surface too quickly and get “the bends”, brain hemorrhages and cause them to become disoriented and hence beach themselves. Sonar is also known to affect other species such a s turtles and fish, reducing the fertility of their eggs and resonating in fish swim bladders causing internal injuries.”

“The military are telling us that sonar does not travel far from it’s source, so they can monitor the presence of cetaceans. However, active sonar can travel hundreds of kilometres, making monitoring unlikely.”

“The military are giving the public assurances that their activities in the Great Barrier Reef will not harm the environment. But the fact is, they cannot avoid it. The everyday munitions and maintainence chemicals
contain contaminants including heavy metals and perchlorate and are known to harm the environment. The military’s Public Environment Report has basically ignored the concerns of environmentalists on this issue,” says Ms Stewart.

Media contact/interviews:
Dean Jefferys 02 66840002 Byron Bay or
Kim Stewart 0413 397 839 Brisbane or
Steve Bishopric 07 49351161 Shoalwater Bay

Two former Midnight Oil band members will perform at a protest concert against a joint US-Australian military exercise in central Queensland and the war in Iraq

Rock band Ghostwriters, featuring former Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst and guitarist Martin Rotsey, is headlining Saturday night's Brisbane "Peace Gig" concert opposing the Talisman Sabre military exercises and the Iraq war.

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Sydney-based Hirst said he was more than happy to use his high profile to oppose what he considered is the "totally unnecessary" Talisman Sabre exercise centred on Shoalwater Bay in central Queensland.

About 7,500 Australian personnel, 20 ships and 25 aircraft will take part this year, with US forces likely to include 10 ships, 100 aircraft and 20,000 personnel.

The preparation and deployment stage of the operation started this week before the exercise itself begins on June 19 and runs until July 2.

"We are horrified that we should be donating this beautiful part of the country to these totally unnecessary war games," he told AAP.

"The ecological damage to the wildlife and the fact that, although they may say so, the army has never properly cleaned up when they have held these exercises in the past.

"It also sends the completely wrong message to our northern neighbours and further embroils us into an alliance with the United States which led to the disaster in Vietnam and more recently Iraq."

The concert, staged at the Souths Leagues Club in inner-city West End from 7pm (AEST), is the first concert of the Ghostwriters' national tour promoting the band's new album Political Animal.

Hirst said he believed Australia "hadn't heard a peep" about the Talisman Sabre exercises from the federal opposition because Labor didn't want to hurt its chances of winning the next election.

"I think they are terrified before the election of creating a situation that (former Labor leader Mark) Latham did last time," he said.

He also said he thought former Oils frontman turned politician Peter Garrett hadn't toned down his anti-nuclear and anti-war stance since becoming a Labor MP.

Hirst said he was also taking part in a street march through West End from 10.30am (AEST) on Saturday protesting the Talisman Sabre operation.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/070614/2/13qx1.html

Three war ships are currently docked at Brisbane Port for Talisman Sabre. June 7th

This week the first contingent of US warships here for the Talisman Sabre 07 war games has hit Brisbane.

The USS Essex, USS Juneau and USS Tortuga are diesel powered war machines. It is highly likely they are carrying depleted uranium munitions as Essex and Tortuga are equipped with the Phalanyx missle system that uses DU shells. They have all participated in service in Iraq. All three are part of a "forward deployment" team of warships based in Saseba, Japan. They carry some aircraft and helicopter gunships.

more info on the ships:
Essex <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Essex_%28LHD-2%29>
Juneau <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Juneau_%28LPD-10%29>
Tortuga <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Tortuga_%28LSD_46%29>

Call Treena on 043 2563 967 or Robin on 04 1111 8737

Australian military to buy cluster bombs: is depleted uranium next?

MEDIA RELEASE from Peace Convergence
June 4, 2007

This week the Australian Defence Force (ADF) announced their intention to add cluster bombs to their arsenal. Cluster bombs have received international condemnation for their tendency to kill many non-target victims, especially children. They have been recommended for banning in the U.N and are the subject of a 68 country treaty. Yet the ADF choose to fly in the face of ethical conventions in warfare with this purchase. The Peace Convergence condemns the Australian government who made this decision, and asks “Will depleted uranium and other unethical weapons be next?”

Cluster bombs release many smaller bomblets that pepper a wide area and do not necessarily detonate on impact, but are designed to kill people who come in contact with them some time later, just like land mines, already banned in the U.N and by many countries.

Kim Stewart, speaking for the Peace Convergence says, “98% of the victims of cluster bombs are civilians. They are still blowing the limbs off children in Vietnam today. The U.S. dropped almost 30,000 kilos of cluster bombs in Iraq, which will go on killing innocents for decades.

”The U.S military, with whom the ADF are making increasing links, has no compunction about using munitions that cause unnecessary non-target deaths like depleted uranium, cluster bombs and white phosphorus. In our eagerness to follow the U.S military lead will we soon also see depleted uranium in Australia’s arsenal?”

“The Australian government is already trying to undermine the call for an international treaty to ban cluster bombs, by trying to secure different rules for themselves.”

Dr Zohl de Ishtar, from the Australian Centre and Conflict Studies, says, “This development signals to us that the Australian government and the ADF are willing to side with the international rogue state, the United States, no matter how unethical their practices may be.”

"Will we see cluster bombs used on Australian territory during war games like Talisman Sabre 07? Is this the kind of unethical ally Australians are comfortable with?"

Peace Convergence media contacts:
Kim Stewart, Friends of Earth Brisbane 0413 397 859
Dr Zohl de Ishtar, Australian Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies 0429 422 645

Nuclear Free Livingstone Shire motion - STALLED IN COUNCIL

Councilor Brett Svendsen's motion was tabled at the LSC meeting on Wed 23rd May but the motion was held over until a later date.

Shire Chairman Bill Ludwig spoke for the motion and saw no legal impediment to it being adopted.
He spoke of significant correspondence of support received on the nuclear free motion.

Before the motion was discussed Councilor Mike Pryor moved another motion to hold the matter over to a later meeting to allow councilors more time to consider it. (Councilor Pryor also spoke earlier in the meeting advising councilors to avoid passing any motions that could be seen as Council supporting criticism of the Defence department and thereby risk losing Defence road funding to the council. ) Council quickly adopted the motion to hold the matter over.

It is likely the motion may have been side lined until just after the Peace Convergence and tabled at the next LSC meeting 27th June. Alternatively this matter could be finalized soon, before the next general council meeting in a committee meeting. It is important to continue to lobby councilors and to provide your reasons for seeking their support to pass the motion when it next arises. Also please write to, send letters to the Editors and ring local media.

Please contact councilors immediately.
Rockhampton and Yeppoon media outlets contact list
Details of original motion

US, Australia, Japan: joint missile defence plan

AUSTRALIA will conduct research into a joint missile defence system with the US and Japan to boost security in the Asia-Pacific region, a Japanese Government source said yesterday.

Tokyo and Washington had already been working on a defence shield to ward off potential threats from North Korea, but the Japanese official said the new plan also envisaged a possible firing of Chinese missiles over Australia and Guam.

A basic agreement to jointly study the missile defence system had been reached in April when government officials from Japan, the US and Australia met in Tokyo.

A spokesman for the Defence Minister, Brendan Nelson, declined to comment on the report. But Australia appears set to join Japan and the US in researching the missile defence system which could eventually be deployed on three new air warfare destroyers.

Japan is acquiring both a land-based Patriot PAC-3 and sea-based Standard SM-3 missile defence capability. The Standard missiles will be deployed aboard Japan's four Aegis air-warfare destroyers from around 2011. Australia and Japan signed a security agreement in March.

Australia is acquiring three advanced air-warfare destroyers equipped with the Aegis combat system. One option is to equip them with SM-3.

This month, the commander of US naval forces in Japan, Rear-Admiral Jamie Kelly, foreshadowed co-operation between Australia, Japan and the US on a missile defence system should Australia choose to.

Any such deal would create tension with China, a critical export market for Australia.

Reuters, AAP

Discussion and film 1st June

The next SWAG event will be a public discussion and film screening of
“Vieques: worth every bit of the Struggle”
a case study into US Training Areas and Bombing Ranges, to be held at the Club House of Capricorn Cruising Yacht club at Rosslyn Bay, 7pm on June 1st.

Volunteer for the Peace Convergence 2nd June

2007 PEACE CONVERGENCE - Yeppoon 16th- 24th June

HELP PROTEST AGAINST TALISMAN SABER 07 WAR GAMES

Volunteers and Organisation Day

To help with Public meetings, March, Actions, Concert ,Exhibitions

2nd June meeting 2-5pm

To be followed by:
BYO BBQ and unplugged jam session around the fire at Waru Gardens on Tanby Road roundabout.
Get involved , meet nice peace loving folks, have fun and &
SAVE YEPPOON THE PLANET FROM Military MADNESS

Further info Shoalwater Wilderness Awareness Group - ph4935 1161. More details online here.

 

Support Councillor Brett Svensen's motion to declare Livingstone Shire nuclear free

Support Brett Svendsens's Move to declare the Shire Nuclear free.Brett's motion is based on the motion declaring Brisbane "Nuclear Free". Contact your councilors asking them to vote for the motion to make Livingstone Shire Nuclear Free. See details below .

Dear Councillor,

Livingstone Shire Councillor Brett Svendsen’s motion to declare the shire nuclear free is supported by many residents and has symbolic relevance and benefits for Central Queenslanders.

Nuclear Powered Submarines and Nuclear weapons capable and DU weapons equipped US warships will be off Yeppoon’s Coast next month.

Many LSC residents support the motion including e members of the Citizens Against Depleted Uranium Use (CADUU) formed to research and educate on the DU.

They have found parliamentary Hansard records proving,

  1. United States forces have Australia’s permission to bring DU into Australia. (Note: The DoD has not approved “DU weapons use” in the Talisman Saber 07 War games.
  2. DU has been purchased and used in training by the Australian Defence Force.
  3. The minister has said the Department of Defence (DoD) has no records showing where or when that DU was used.
  4. ADF ”Searches” of ”available” DoD records have “failed to find evidence of DU use” in Shoalwater Bay.

Cnr. Svendsen’s motion symbolises the communities desire to live in a healthy and safe environment. It is not a condemnation of the ADF but a call for the elimination of nuclear weapons, DU and a ban on nuclear power stations now being proposed in our region by the government.

The Shoalwater Wilderness Awareness Group also supports Cnr Svendsen’s motion based on:

  1. Dr. Zohl de Ishtar’s evidence of rapidly increasing nuclear weapons on U.S. bases on Guam and the Marshall Islands and linked to Joint training in SWBTA.
  2. Dr. Helen Caldicott’s belief that U.S. warships and nuclear powered submarines of the type visiting for TS07 routinely carry nuclear and DU weapons.
  3. The Australian Governments approving Gladstone as an approved nuclear port.
  4. The US weapons systems being used in SWBTA are those currently in service in Iraq using DU munitions and equipment is DU armored. The ADF continues updating its’ weapons systems to match the USA’s

The benefits of a nuclear free shire to residents and tourists far outweigh any perceived benefits of foreign nations nuclear activities in our beautiful shire or Australia.

I urge you to support Brett’s motion on behalf of concerned citizens.

Thank You,

Australian version of "An Inconvenient Truth" Yeppoon Town Hall 30th May

Sue Hayes from Australian Conservation Foundation will show an australian version of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" slide show on Wednesday 30th May (7:00pm) at the Yeppoon Town Hall.

Followed by a question and answer session with members of the public and a panel comprising of :

After the discussion ends we’ll have a cuppa and I’ve invited

to attend in the hope that people can be inspired to by the talk and start using local businesses that have products that will help combat climate change.

SWAG - Film night at Keppel Sands Savoy theatre has been cancelled (possibly postponed to a later date)

Hosts for the event Terry Sykes and Donna Littlejohn have just advised of the tragic death of Donna's 3 year old nephew, in a farm machinery accident at Eungella near McKay.

Our sympathy goes out to Donna and Terry who are particularly close to Donna's brothers family. Donna and Terry have been active and generous supporters of SWAG and the Peace Convergence. They will be out of Yeppoon until at least the 13th June.

World-renowned anti-nuclear activist Helen Caldicott will speak at Yeppoon Town Hall on Friday 22 June.
SWAG is grateful and Central Queensland is privileged to have Physician, Author and Speaker, Dr. Helen Caldicott, accept our invitation to be a keynote speaker at the Peace Convergence in June. She is the single most articulate and passionate advocate of citizens’ action to remedy the nuclear and environmental crises. She founded the USA group “Physicians for Social Responsibility” (membership of 23,000 Doctors) and the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize winning group “International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War”. Of her 5 books,” The New Nuclear Danger: George Bush’s Military Industry Complex” is most relevant to joint US Australian war games in Shoalwater Bay training area.
Dr Caldicott will bring vast professional medical and scientific knowledge to the debate on the risks of military expansion in Shoalwater Bay and Australia generally. Of particular importance she can speak from international experience about dangers posed by nuclear powered submarines and nuclear weapons capable aircraft and warships and operating around SWB, Yeppoon and the Australian coast. She can help fill in a information vacuum created by the USA forces' and the ADF's silence on the nuclear issues raised by Talisman Saber 07.
With both major political parties announcing policies that will increase the risk of nuclear proliferation I would urge people to hear Dr Caldicott speak at the Yeppoon Town Hall on June 22nd.

SWAG kicks off its June campaign with a Beatles v Stones night at WARU on Saturday the 2nd.

Celebrate the spirit of the 60’s at our very own be-in for peace! Come in costume, share information and ideas.

Cancelled
There will be a film night/fundraiser at the Savoy Theatre Keppel Sands on May 12.

Three films will be shown and a BBQ dinner provided. $30 tickets available from Nob Creek Pottery, Yellow Door Bookshop and the Savoy.

Did anyone read Kathleen Noonan’s ‘Last Word’ column ‘Setting the World on Fire’?

(The Courier Mail, April 28-29, 2007, p. 44) Good to see some interest in SWB and TS07 from mainstream metropolitan media. Makes us feel we’re not so isolated in the campaign.

Dr Zohl de Ishtar from Queensland University delivered an enlightening (if not frightening) paper at the Keppel Bay Sailing Club on April 18.

With the sounds of the sea lapping at the door it was a very timely reminder of the price we might have to pay for being implicated in the US military's strategic plan for the Pacific.

A copy of the paper will be posted here when it becomes available.

Re: gig @ Byfield Hall - a great night was had by all!

Thanks to the artists Biorhythms, Sandstone Hammers and Joe Coll. Thanks to all that helped and all who came.

David Suzuki supports demilitarization of Shoalwater Bay

"It is absolutely astonishing to me that today knowing the state of the planet's oceans and the importance of nature, that we would still use an area like Shoalwater Bay to carry out an exercise that endangers it. I suspect that this is far too well planned to turn around but I am with you in trying to stop this madness." David Suzuki

David Suzuki supports demilitarization of Shoalwater Bay

"It is absolutely astonishing to me that today knowing the state of the planet's oceans and the importance of nature, that we would still use an area like Shoalwater Bay to carry out an exercise that endangers it. I suspect that this is far too well planned to turn around but I am with you in trying to stop this madness." David Suzuki

Depleted Uranium Poisoning

Is everybody aware that 2 soldiers have proved positive to D.U. poisoning? An article in this weeks Courier Mail (28th March) documents Gulf War exposure in 1991 ....... tests done in Germany .... it's official ...... Let's use this sad news to discredit the military and call for a complete disclosure of where and when every DU shell has been fired by the Australian Military (we know that 43,000 rounds were purchased in 1981 and used in training - Hansard).

SWAG dance poster

Fundraiser- Byfield progressive dinner Friday March 23

You are invited to join a fundraiser progressive dinner at Byfield this Friday night. Tickets $35 for a really scrumptious meal (lots of courses and very healthily prepared with good karma and lots of love) with the local Byfield community and SWAG (Shoalwater Wilderness Awareness Group)supporters.
Help Save Shoalwater Bay Wilderness Area - Fundraiser for SWAG
THIS FRIDAY - 23RD MARCH AT 6.15PM - in the Byfield rainforest neigbourhood

FIRST COURSE - NOB CREEK POTTERY(COMPLIMENTARY DRINK ON ARRIVAL)
MAIN COURSE - BYFIELD GENERAL STORE
DESSERT - RASPBERRY CREEK HOMESTEAD

BYO - Live entertainment (IN ADDITION TO the great time had meeting the locals of course)

COST - $35 PER PERSON

ALL PROCEEDS TOWARDS SWAG'S CAMPAIGN FOR WORLD HERITAGE LISTING OF THE SHOALWATER BAY MILITARY TRAINING AREA

LIMITED TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE

TO PURCHASE TICKETS OR FOR MORE INFO:
- Email Patricia Stevenson p.stevenson@cqu.edu.au - Contact Steve Bishophric or Sue McBurnie on email: suziemcb@cqnet.com.au

New Slideshow: Paintings of Shoalwater Bay by Dieter Irving

Click Here to view a PowerPoint Slideshow (requires Microsoft PowerPoint)

If you don't have access to Microsoft PowerPoint then you can access the slides here

Yeppoon concert coordinator calls for expressions of interest from performers

Contact Steve Butler on (07) 49309217 or email s.butler@cqu.edu.au

Several fundraising events will be held in the Yeppoon area over the next few months.

A progressive dinner, a Beatles live music night are two of the concepts in development. Stand by for further announcements.

Internationally renowned film-maker David Bradbury is visiting Yeppoon on the 18th February

Internationally renowned film-maker David Bradbury is visiting Yeppoon on the 18th Feb to launch SWAG's TS07 campaign. See the article in the Feb 14 edition of the Capricorn Coast Mirror.

The next SWAG meeting

The next SWAG meeting is 7pm Wednesday the 28th of February at the Community Development Centre. All welcome.

Fundraising concert/dance 7th of April

A fundraising concert/dance will be held at Byfield Hall on the 7th of April. Music by Biorhythms, Red Jack and more. Bar, supper, door prize, raffles.

3 big awareness raising concerts on the horizon