On October 7, 123 residents of Orange (including one on crutches after a recent hip replacement, one using a walker, several handling small children and others with their dogs) came together at Lake Canobolas to clearly ‘spell it out’ via a human sign, that they oppose the proposed Adani Coal mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin, because it will affect us here in Orange.
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As reported on the day, Orange was one of 160 Stop Adani groups across Australia making human signs that day. Many groups were in Queensland, where the project puts at risk 65,000 tourism jobs that rely on a healthy Great Barrier Reef, but there were massive human signs involving thousands of people in Melbourne and on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, as well as in Darwin, Adelaide, Perth and many far-flung communities in between.
The fact that communities all over Australia are voicing their opposition indicates the level of understanding among Australians everywhere, about the nature of climate change. In fact, anyone in the world has the right to oppose such massive fossil fuel projects as this one in Queensland because no one state or country owns the atmosphere.
While the benefits of such projects, mainly in the form of jobs and local area economic boosts are confined to the physical area where the development occurs, the adverse impacts are felt globally.
In Orange, local farmers, wine-growers, orchardists, other primary producers and now increasingly hospitality, event and tourism businesses, operate with the uncertainty of weather. While it is true to say that weather has always been unpredictable, it is now possible to confirm what climate scientists have been predicting since the 1970s and even earlier, that the extremes in weather events are becoming more frequent and more severe.
On a beautiful mild, spring day, it is hard to bring to mind the searing 40 degree plus days of last summer, extended droughts in recent years and the occasional deluges of rain. Yet if we look up global temperature records for the last 15 years, 14 out of those 15 years were the hottest on record, with each consecutive year outdoing the one before.
This is why in electorates all over Australia, people now turning their attention to their local Federal MPs, to stand up for them and voice their concerns over the choices our Federal Government is making when it comes to climate policy versus economy.
#StopAdaniOrange invited Calare constituents to use its Facebook Page to send messages to our MP Andrew Gee, explaining why they are worried about the Adani mine. Comments ranged from. “it’s a poor decision to allow this to go ahead” to detailed comments of how people would rather see $1 billion of taxpayer dollars spent, to the shock people felt after seeing the Four Corners Episode, “digging into Adani” which exposed the dodgy corporate and environmental practices of Adani historically. You can find #StopAdaniOrange and add your message for Mr Gee.
Look out for more local information events and opportunities in Orange to have your say on this issue in the coming weeks.
