Over 130 people gathered in front of Barnaby Joyce’s office in Armidale to tell him loudly and clearly to “Stop Adani”.
The action was one of over 45 events held across Australia with thousands of people creating human signs to spell out “StopAdani”, from Bondi to Bells Beach, Suva to the Whitsundays, Melbourne to Airlie Beach, Adelaide’s Henley Beach to the Gold Coast, and Perth’s Cottesloe Beach to North Queensland’s Port Douglas. (Full list here)
The mine Adani wants to build in the Galilee Basin in Central Queensland would be one of the world’s largest coal mines. Our governments have promised Adani free coal, free water and around $1,000,000,000 in public money.
Bea Bleile, one of the organisers of today’s event in Armidale, said “So many people find it really difficult to believe that our Governments are still supporting Adani despite the overwhelming evidence that this project is a really bad idea — environmentally, socially and economically.
“This is reflected on the polling by ReachTEL which was today released by the Stop Adani movement. It shows that
- A clear majority (56%) of Australians now oppose the Adani coal project going ahead, with 18% undecided.
- Two thirds (66%) of Australians believe the Queensland Government should keep its election promise to not spend public money on Adani’s private rail line. They want the Queensland Government to use its power to veto the $1bn loan to Adani.(Poll here.)
“Major banks that formerly supported the project have backed away.“The threat Adani’s project poses to water, agriculture and the climate is unacceptable. This coal must stay in the ground, just like the coal seam gas under the Pilliga Forest.”
The Stop Adani Alliance has more than doubled its membership since it was launched in March 2017. It now has 31 member organisations and more than 160 local Stop Adani groups.
The local campaign to stop Adani is organised by a network of individuals and community groups, including Sustainable Living Armidale and its action group Armidale Action on Coal Seam Gas and Mining, the New England Knitting Nanas, March Armidale, Progressive Cinema and Socialist Alliance New England.
The next event in the campaign to stop irresponsible mining is the Progressive Cinema screening of “Chasing Coral” at 6:30pm on Thursday, 12 October, at Kent House in Faulkner Street, opposite Central Park. The screening will be followed by a community dinner — screening and dinner are free.
