Leader of the Greens Party Senator Christine Milne says the actions of protesters at Maules Creek, 40 kilometres east of Narrabri, is causing the government to rethink plans to mine areas of agricultural production in NSW.
Senator Milne addressed 150 people at the Maules Creek protest camp on Sunday prior to the protesters’ coordinated campaign which inhibited work at four mines in the surrounding area.
Senator Milne said protesters were influencing government decision making.
“In NSW in particular, politicians are starting to realise that this will change people’s votes, and that people are fed up with the idea that fossil fuel companies can destroy the livelihoods and the future of rural communities.”
Senator Milne argues coal and coal seam gas production are not the best ways to meet future energy demands.
“People around the world recognise we have to get green house emissions down or we are going to destroy the planet, we need to get onto renewable energy systems as quickly as possible,” she said.
Mr Cliff Wallace owns the farm on which the protest camp has been based for the last eight months.
He grows wheat, barley, lucerne, sheep and cattle, on what he says is some of the most productive soil in the country.
“I’m about to harvest the best wheat crop I’ve had in 15 years, and Whitehaven want to turn this country upside down,” he said.
Cliff is concerned that Whitehaven’s Maules Creek coal mine, due to start commercial coal production in March 2015, will pollute the water table.
“This development is happening on top of a major water course, sooner or later there’ll be an accident,” he said.
“The water will be undrinkable in Narrabri in years to come; eventually a dog won’t be able to drink it, because of the pollution in tailings dams and runoff.”
On Monday, activists chained themselves to access gates and climbed coal loaders, demanding that work stop while an inquiry was conducted into the process that saw mining developments approved in the area.
Protester, Murray Dreschler, moved to Maules Creek from the Northern Rivers district two and a half years ago to try and stop mining developments in the Leard State Forest.
He believes the protesters are close to achieving their goal.
“We’ve built a very strong support base, we’ve encouraged a lot of people to stand up and take action,” he said.
“We’ll hang around long enough to see justice done and to see the mine closed down.”
The camp protesters have been living in is funded by more than 13 environmental groups, including Greenpeace, and has a kitchen, cooking facilities, recreational areas, toilets and showers.
Murray Dreschler defends the characters at the protest camp, saying most have full time jobs and keep themselves very busy while in camp.
“Each day we do a lot of research, reading news articles and sending out emails, there’s also normal housework to be done, the washing, cleaning the kitchen, cooking dinner, it’s a full time job.”
He said the Maules Creek Protest Camp only engages in non-violent direct action, and were not responsible for cutting explosive lines at Maules Creek mine last week.
“I’ll guarantee it wasn’t us, but when you have a company like Whitehaven destroying cultures and farmlands, people are bound to get cranky,” he said.
“Whitehaven Coal are panicked, they’re really starting to clutch at straws.”
Host Cliff Wallace says the camp has come a long way over the past two years.
“We never envisaged this, people would have laughed at us if we told them two years ago, that Greens senators Bob Brown and Christine Milne would travel out here to support our efforts.
“I’m hopeful it will stop, and protests like this give you heart.”
Acting Minister for Resources and Energy, Kevin Humphries, denies protests are influencing government decision.
He says the government is working towards the implementation of renewable energy systems.
“Specific initiatives include developing a Renewable Energy Action Plan for NSW to identify opportunities for investment in renewable energy sources," he explains.
“The Plan positions NSW to be open for business in renewable energy.
“Under the Plan, the position of Renewable Energy Advocate has been established. The Advocate, Ms Amy Kean, is working across Government, industry, academic institutions and the community to remove barriers to investment in renewable energy.”