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New government. Same fight. Saving the Reef from coal.
Monday afternoon the text came through: the Federal Court had upheld the Abbott Government’s environmental approval for the massive Carmichael mine. The court challenge, brought by our friends at the Australian Conservation Foundation, was defeated. It’s times like this when our movement can be at its best. Within hours, snap rallies were called and preparations…
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What just happened to electricity prices in South Australia? 6 things you need to know
In case you haven’t heard, power prices had a brief but sizeable jump in South Australia over the last few weeks. There has been a lot of heated, and often misleading, commentary this week about what happened and why – some of which has blamed the state’s high level of renewable energy. Here are the…
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We put the Reef before coal before coal kills the Reef.
This year the Great Barrier Reef experienced its worst bleaching event ever and the Australian public didn’t let the Reef down. The public said loud and clear they support coral rather than coal. The Australian public know the fossil fuel era is over. The public know there’s never been a more exciting time to save…
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Damn the Dams: Why we need to say no to flooding the Amazon
Imagine, for a second, if your home was sunk under water. Not temporarily flooded, like a leaky roof after heavy rains, or water on your carpet that eventually receded. But permanently. Imagine your whole town under water. That is what is currently proposed for the lands of the Munduruku people, in the heart of the…
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Breaking: Greenpeace climbers at Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s office
As you read this, I’m suspended from a streetlight, 15m off the ground, right outside Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s Sydney office. With fellow volunteer, Christina, who is on another streetlight next to me, we just safely hung a banner with a strong message that Turnbull can’t miss. Here’s what it looks like: Turnbull’s legacy: Bleaching…
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We Painted the Town White
On the shortest night of the year, under a full moon, volunteers across Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane braved the night to change the ads in bus, train, and tram stops. The new image shows the Australian public the devastating impacts the coal industry has on the Great Barrier Reef. They painted the town white, just like the…
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The Reef is at the front and centre of the election.
The Great Barrier Reef is at the front and centre of the 2016 Federal Election. The Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, officially called for a July 2 election on May 8 2016. The formal announcement came after months of speculation by members of the media and months of calculation on the part of the…
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Is the Prime Minister’s transition fast enough to save the Great Barrier Reef?
At the Leaders debate at the National Press Club in Canberra on May 29 the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told the public that he had a practical plan for action on climate change and it was working. The Prime Minister didn’t mention the Reef once. In my last post I discussed the stakes for…
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The 2016 Federal Election: Who cares?
The 2016 Federal Election comes at a critical time for our environment and even human civilisation. The 2016 bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef is the worst ever recorded. (Justin Marshall Coralwatch.org) This is the first in a series of blog posts I will write to explain what’s at stake at this election or why…
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The Reef is indeed in danger – the truth behind the lies
Environment Minister Greg Hunt has tweeted the most despicable words of the election campaign so far. Across a picture of sparkling blue Great Barrier Reef waters, he has in recent days proclaimed: “Under Labor, the U.N. put the Great Barrier Reef on the in danger ‘watch-list’. Under the Coalition, it came off.” Incredibly, Hunt started…