Recently Paul Flynn, CEO of Whitehaven Coal, appeared on nationwide ABCTV “Australian Story” and also ABC radio attempting to persuade the public that the controversial noise impacts of the Maules Creek coal mine are of less concern than birdsong, or the noise of a library.
When making these statements, Mr Flynn would not have counted on documentary filmmaker Dujon Pereira specifically capturing a high-quality recording of a typical morning at a farm in Maules Creek 8 km away from the mine on June 19th 2015.
One year on the noise levels affecting the local community would no doubt be substantially worse as the mine as expanded exponentially and contrary to any rhetoric from Whitehaven Coal.
Filmmaker Pereira last year released theatrically the highly acclaimed Black Hole feature documentary which recounts the community’s struggle to prevent the catastrophic Maules Creek coal mine from commencing, in the heart of the Leard State Forest in North West New South Wales.
“Only one and a half years after railing its first coal to Newcastle Port, everything that was feared about the ecological and social ramifications from the creation of the Maules Creek coal mine is coming to pass,” says the filmmaker, who is now launching Black Hole to DVD and Digital on Demand.
“While the Whitehaven coal speculators no doubt rejoice at the tripling of the $WHC share price in recent weeks, the farming communities have been polluted, their water supplies threatened, and Aboriginal communities torn apart by the destruction of the Leard Forest,” he said.
“People often ask, ’what does the mine sound like’, so here is a sound recording that answers that question. Paul Flynn’s attempt to convince people that birdsong in your garden or paddock is as bad as 24/7 mine noise from many kilometers away is simply ridiculous.”
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