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  • Finally setting sail for Townsville

    We’ve been anchored off Mackay for 3 days now, because late in the day after our coal ship painting protest we were notified by the Townsville Port Authority about ‘security concerns’, and other issues, that would have prevented us from docking at the port. Initially, there was a requirement that we would be required to…

    Greenpeace Australia Pacific

  • Why ‘Clean Coal’ Is No Excuse For Burning Coal

      Our coal ship painting action the other day put both Queensland Premier Anna Bligh and Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett on the spot, forcing them to respond publicly about their plans to expand the coal industry. Both politicians used the development of so-called ‘clean coal’ technology as their defence. ‘Clean coal’, or carbon capture…

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    Bligh’s Response To Greenpeace Coal Ship Action In Queensland

    Greenpeace activists finished their painting just moments before a police boat turned up this morning, with a final tally of 20 ships painted with messages like “Bligh exporting CO2”, “Coal is killing the Reef” and “Stop coal expansion”. While 10 activists were taken into custody by police, Premier Bligh was questioned about the protest in…

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    Greenpeace gives Hay Point coal ships a paint job

    As I write, 10 Greenpeace activists are painting the sides of coal ships waiting in a queue outside Hay Point terminal near Mackay. This is the largest coal port in Queensland and there are nearly 50 ships in line ready to be loaded. I’m on board the Esperanza, which is anchored nearby. We’ve been out…

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    More than 82% of Australians don’t want export coal expansion

    A poll we released today shows that 4 out of 5 Australians want our export coal industry to be capped or reduced. Nonetheless, at both state and federal government levels, there are plans for the massive expansion of the industry. The Rudd government has plans to double our national export capacity, while just 2 weeks…

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    Are we prepared to lose our Reef?

    It was sobering to have internationally-acclaimed reef scientist Charlie Veron on board the ship for the past few days. The campaigners and crew on board had the opportunity to hear from the man who has discovered 20% of the world’s coral species how dire the situation really is for the coral reefs of the worlds.…

    Greenpeace Australia Pacific
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    Queensland Government’s Coal Protectionism

    The latest evidence of the Queensland government’s blatant coal protectionism is a CSIRO report which has been sitting on Energy Minister Geoff Wilson’s desk for a year. The report finds that large-scale renewable energy plants could provide ALL of Queensland’s electricity needs, and recommends that the Queensland government start funding renewable technologies with some of…

    Greenpeace Australia Pacific
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    No shale mine! Community protest flotilla at Airlie beach

    Cruising up the Whitsunday coast, it seems absolute insanity that anyone could think of endangering this incredible environment to profit from an excessively polluting rock-to-oil project, which would turn local shale reserves into synthetic crude oil to be further refined into diesel or petrol. The local community at Airlie beach are running a well-established campaign…

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    Coal Industry Stranglehold

    It’s a balmy Saturday morning on the Esperanza and the sea is as calm as a lake. We are sliding past rugged southern Queensland islands and every so often a pod of whales breaches within a hundred metres of the ship. There’s a momentary illusion that all is well in the world. However, as we…

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    Queensland Plans To Export MORE Climate Change

    Premier Anna Bligh chose to announce plans for the massive expansion of Queensland’s export coal industry at the same time as the Rudd government was releasing its so-called Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme earlier this week. In hindsight, it was easy to see there was no contradiction between the two, because Penny Wong’s policy more closely…