germin

ate

a colle

ction of

environmentall

y-minded tidbits

edition 1 2008

We recognise that our struggles are bound up in the struggles of indigeonous peoples. This issue was made on gadigal land.

Over 500 indigenous nations lived on this land for over 40 000 years. We affirm our solidarity and continued commitment to working with indigeonous peoples, both in Australia and around the world, in their ongoing struggle for land rights, self-determination, recognition and compensation for past and present injustices. This land was never

ceded and if you are reading this you are on aboriginal land.

1. Hi, we’re ASEN!

2. Tasmania’s Southern Forests: Still Wild, Still Threatened

4. Five Days in the Kokatha Mula Region

7. Actions Around APEC

11. Locked Out: Dehumanising Imperatives of the Criminal ‘Jutstice’ System

14. Turning Back the Terrorism Tag: Organ-ising Against APEC

17. Climate Camp Call-out

18. Sydney Energy Co-Operative

21. Action Alert!

24. Recipe Circle!

25. Support and Struggle

30. Global Food: Community Food for a Clean Climate

31. Find Your Co-Op!

32. Trading Away Climate Change

34. Maybe One Reason Why it Sometimes Seems Like No-one Gives aShit

37. Driving Without a License: Uranium “Trial” Mines

39. SOS call-out

Contents

AS E

N

The Australian Student Environment Network is the na-tional network of students active on environmental

justice issues. We are made up of the state environment networks, which are made up of campus environment collectives.Because we are a non-hierarchi-cal grassroots network, directed by the people involved, ASEN is constantly evolving! ASEN was created by and continues to be organised by young ac-

tivists committed to change. Students use

campaigns, and work alongside Indigenous peoples in their ght for sovereignty and an end to genocide.Although environmental destruction grows and injustice thrives worldwide, these problems are nding their match in the energy of students and youth willing to ght for our future. We direct our energies, involve new students, and empower our generation to uproot environmental injustie and create remarkable commu-nities and social change!Germinate is the bi-annual publication of ASEN. We creat Germi-

our network to organise local campaigns, share information and resources, embark on national

nate to inform of issues and campaigns, reect on our move-ments for change, and facilitate communication between grass-roots student activists and environment collectives throughout Australia and beyond.We’d love submissions for the July edition! germinate@asen.org.au

Tasmania’s Southern Forests - Still Wild , Still Threatened

from WazThe Federal Election, held amidst the wreckage of broken promises and burnt stumps, marks a key point in the further destruction of Tasmania’s ancient forests. Labor and Liberal have colluded to allow the clear-felling and woodchipping to rage unchecked, and both parties support the construction of a pulp mill which will double the amount of forest logged annually in Tasmania. This unquestioning support for theindustrial forestry status quo is preparing to put the world unique rainforest, tall eucalypt forest, and wilderness areas of the Southern Forests on the chopping block.The last remaining areas of magic, hidden forest in Southern Tasmania are about to be disturbed with the sounds of bulldozers and chain-saws for the rst time. The noise of machinery and falling giants will echo through areas that were formerly dominated by peace, nature, and the unique qualities of pristine wildlands. In the forests of the Lower Weld, Upper Floren-tine, Picton, and numerous others unknown to many, this peace is about to be shattered.

In the forests of the Lower Weld, Upper Florentine, Picton, and nu-merous others unknown to many, this peace is about to be shattered.Upper FlorentineIn the Upper Florentine, front line forest defence resulted in a six month moratorium on logging and roading. This expires on election day, once again freeing Forestry Tasmania to assault the amazing rainforests and tall eucalypts of this area.Forest Defenders re-estab-lished the blockade the day after the election.Despite Forestry assur-ances to the contrary, activists are expecting police raids and logging operations at any time.Adjacent ar-eas of the Styx and Wedge forests are also under immediate threat.WeldIn The Lower Weld, after years of committed direct action and community occupation, this year has seen 8kms of wilderness destroying tax payer funded roads built, and several hundred hectares of ancient forest clearfelled.

A pristine section adjacent to the Weld River is planned for clearfelling any day, with the construction of a bridge over the Weld Valley and several other clearfelling operations expected soon. Activists are occupying the forest to protect the ancient forests of the Eddy Creek and Weld River catchments, and will continue their uninching committment to the protec-tion of these areas.

Picton In the Picton Valley, site of many famous blockades, includingFarmhouse Creek, Tasmania's rst forest blockade, Forestry Tasma-nia plans to build a three kilome-tre long road into the heart of a wilderness area that was once part of the Hartz National Park. Other old growth forests in the Little Denison, Arve,Peak Rivulet and other areas face destruction in the coming months.

Last week saw the 60th direct action in the Southern Forests since the raid-ing of the Weld Ark blockade just over one year ago. To maintain this unprec-edented level of community action, we need your help. If you have ever wanted to come to Tasmania to join in defending your ancient forests, the time is now. If you have ever wanted to see what goes on outside the city limits of Hobart or Launceston, or in the backyard of your community, the time is now. There are many, many ways to help. Our elected representa-tives have sold us out to the woodchip-pers. We need to demonstrate that our will to see the amazing areas protected is strong, and that we will be there when the machinery and chainsaws come. For more information,see <www.huon.org and www.myspace.com/stillwildstillthreatened>To nd out how to help or where to go, contact <centre@huon.org> or< camporentine@gmail.com>

This is a story of wild dogs, wild peaches, camel carcasses, rockholes, starry nights, sacred places, mining, wombat and goanna meat, bush medicine, the largest stunted mallee forest in the world and a beautiful land and people, all just a day’s drive from Adelaide. This is a story which should concern everyone. Recently I went to Yellabinna Regional Reserve and Yumbarra Conservation Park near Ceduna, a nine hour drive north-west of Adelaide, on a rockhole recovery trip with indigenous custodians of the area, the Kokatha Mula people (pronounced Googatha Moola). The purpose of the trip was to clean water rockholes which sustain birds, animals and people. The rockholes accumulate soils and the carcasses of animals that are unlucky enough to fall in during their search for water in the dry landscape. These sites have huge cultural signicance for the Kokatha Mula people, as does the rest of the land. The trip ran for 6 days during which thirteen people from were involved in the cleaning of many different rockholes in the area. Sue Coleman Haseldine, the winner of the 2007 Premiers Natural Resource Management Award for Indigenous Leadership took the group out to learn about the land, the culture and to help with this special form of Aboriginal

land management. In the past one or two families would have lived around each of the rockholes and maintained them but currently expeditions are carried out twice a year, in March and October, to do the work.The trips are open to anyone and are amazing; they provide a better understanding of the traditions and stories of the people who have inhabited Australia for tens of thousands of years, while eating delicious food, four wheel driving through dunes and experiencingspectacular ora, fauna and scenery.

Rocks at YellabinnaThe rockhole cleaning was not only practical and educational, but also a lot of fun. It involved pumping out the foetid water, bucketing what could not be pumped and then pulling out the bones of kangaroos and camels and in the process becoming a little fragrant yourself. The signicance of these sacred sites to the Indigenous people is humbling; an example is Dinah, one of the rockholes which can only be cleaned by women. For the Kokatha Mula people, the rockhole’s health affects the wellbeing of women and children around the world, so its vitality is essential to everyone. To be a part of caring for something so signicant is overwhelming.

five days in the Kokatha Mula Region

A rockhole at NarlaOther highlights of the trip were the opportunities to cook and eat kangaroo tail, goanna and wombat meat, pick bush medicine, as well as collect and eat bush bananas and Quandongs or native peaches. There were many sites of ancient workshops with rocks which had been chipped into tools and weapons. This semi-arid area is extremely ecologically signicant; it is 4 million hectares and the largest expanse of intact stunted mallee forest in the world. It supports a diverse ecosystem which depends on the interconnected underground water supply. It is home to rare, threatened and endangered species, including the Mallee Fowl, the Hairy Footed Dunnart, the Kularr, the Scarlet Chested Parrot, Pimpin Mallee, the Sandlewood tree and likely home to the endangered Miniature Marsupial Mole.

Goanna near Googs Lake‘Aunty Sue’, ‘Aunty Col’ and the other people on the trip took great care to make sure everyone was comfortable, enjoying themselves and learning. Aunty Sue is one of the most inspiring women I have met; she grew up in a mission near Ceduna and has a strong connection with, and understanding of, the land. Since her childhood she has roamed the area which acts as a “school, pharmacy, grocery store, garden and church.” Unlike the European concept of ownership, the indigenous people lived with the land, and are caretakers rather than owners. The aunties noticed things I never

would have seen, were passionate about protecting the land and were more than happy to share their knowledge with interested people. This amazing area is under threat from mining and the Kokatha Mula people are constantly ghting and campaigning against this incursion on their land. There are around 16 companies which have exploration leases in Yellabinna, Yumbarra and Pureba despite Labour’s 2002 promise of stopping mining in Yumbarra “if the current exploration lease proves fruitless and expires.” The lease expired in February 2003, but the government still granted further licenses. Iluka, one of the mining companies carries out most of the exploration in the area and there were signs of mining exploration throughout our trip; cleared roads, stakes and drill sites. If the underground water is tapped for mining there will be serious consequences for the already dry landscape; the rockholes, ora and fauna would all suffer. The excavation of heavy metals and toxic tailings could impact on the land, as could imported weeds and further land clearance. This land and its ecosystem is too fragile and precious to damage and as Aunty Sue points out “the wealth and the future of this country lies in the preservation of its beauty, not in the short term mining projects that have a legacy of problems for the environment and for the local community.” Not only will the mining impact on the land but it will further devastate

Aboriginal cultural heritage. By law mining can take place 200 metres from their sacred sites. The 200m measurement is taken from the edge of the visible site and often soils have covered up sacred rock which means the mining actually occurs on the sacred site. This kind of basic disrespect is inexcusable; mining 200m from a site such as Dinah could be likened to mining in Bethlehem or the Vatican, it just wouldn’t happen. However, because the signicance is for a minority of Australians it seems to be considered less important. While this sort of injustice may not directly affect us, the knowledge that it is happening in our society and the lack of action which occurs is, in a way, condoning what is happening. The Aboriginal history is ancient and full of life, far more than the brief history of European occupation in Australia and is something which should be embraced before more stories and traditions are lost. The past treatment of Aboriginal Australians by white Australia is a heritage we can’t ignore. The present conditions Aboriginal peoples live under remind us of that history.

Mining in places like Yumbarra and Yellabinna is something which affects us all as it degrades our environment and our heritage, we have a responsibility to care for it.I recommend going on one of the rockhole recovery trips, whether you know a lot or very little about these issues. You will meet friendly, open and inspiring people, who will share amazing teachings with you.The land needs people to care for it,with the looming possibility of the mines opening, and the Kokatha Mula people welcome all the support they can get.To learn more email Cat: catikah1@yahoo.com.auOr Check the website: http://kokathamula.auspics.org/ Sign a petition to support the Kokatha Mula people: http://www.petitiononline.com/googtha/ Write letters to the Premier asking him to honour his election promise.

As Indigenous activist Lila Watson said“if you have come to help me then you are wasting your time. But if you have come because you know your liberation is bound in mine, then come, lets us walk together.”

Actions around APEC

by wenny theresia with thanks to nicky ison

In the lead-up to the main Asia-Pacic Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum meeting in Sydney, September 7-9, there was: intense media hype about “violent protests”, the new “anti-terror” laws, the multi-million-dollar water cannon, the tens of thousands of cops and soldiers – the list could go on (the kilometres’-long security fence that snaked though Sydney city, the “Mao-style” loudspeakers that were erected atop signposts, the “excluded persons” list …). As much as APEC 2007 was another “moment in time” in global neoliberalism – another set of world leaders further carving up resources, people and prots – the approach of Australian rulers to public dissent about climate change, the war in Iraq and WorkChoices to name a few issues, was something new altogether.But at least within student environment spaces, something else was new: the conversations critiquing “conventional” means of “summit protests” (ie Seattle-

style [protests against the World Trade Organisation in 1999] mass rallies in the streets). The critiques were not about the outcomes – to the streets let’s go! – but the means. Of achieving in Australia similar goals as those in Seattle: mobilising, demonstrating and upping the pressure of a strong public demanding progressive alternatives. We tried something new – and pulled off two hot actions that achieved the majority of our objectives. This article outlines some of the background, outcomes and lessons from these actions.Decentralising Summit ProtestsIn the main APEC-organising space in Sydney, the Stop Bush Coalition, the central conversation was about building the largest rally possible, on September 8 in the middle of Sydney city. Some of the questions that arose: is it simply a matter of rallying

as many numbers as possible for … what? Even if we had huge numbers, how do we get heard outside of the iron discourse about protestors verses police, or “violent protests” met by the state’s show of force? Along with these questions were some of the lessons learnt from recent “summit protests” in Australia – the Forbes Global CEO conference in Sydney, 2005 and the G20 meeting in Melbourne, 2006. The few thousands that came, while vibrant, seemed to highlight the distance between these “anti-capitalist protests” and the campaigns that ght capitalism every day – missing at both protests seemed large segments of the Indigenous sovereignty, anti-war, refugee, public education and trade union movement – let alone signicant numbers of the “public”. Moreover, the repercussions for activists from disruptive protesting at the G20 protest were and are serious and ongoing. How can we organise our dissent in an effective and strong manner?

Be creative. Consider how we organise – from the bottom up, in local collec-tives. Think about what is needed in the climate movement – for instance, a big dose of direct action on coal to push out the parameters of the debate about what type of action is necessary on climate change (serious one on the root causes of climate change!). Some dening elements of the Seattle protests were of surprise; increasing numbers of groups and campaigns or-ganising their own resistances to the WTO; alliance-building at its diverse, heated best. In getting back to our basics, ideas emerged for protests against APEC that would build our part of the movement at least; this objective seemed a good enough place to start!Shutdown! Rising up at the roots of climate chaosThe call went out quietly through grassroots environment networks to organise direct actions against cli-mate change in the week of the main APEC meeting. Our media messages would be similar; everything else we

worked on autonomously. Two direct actions were organised – at the Loy Yang power station in Victoria on Mon-day September 3 and at a Newcastle Coal Port Terminal in NSW on Tuesday September 4. Activists climbed fences with equipment to lock on with and hung banners; other activists rallied outside and liaised with the media.Both actions succeeded in: shutting down coal infrastructure for 4-6 hours; achieving national and broad media coverage in a (very) busy media week; achieving issue-based protest cover-age around APEC (it was pretty hard to avoid mentioning climate change); building direct action and afnity group organising experience in our networks; helping to normalise direct action as a tactic to achieve social change; send-ing a message about the beginnings of mass direct action on climate change!; inspiring people around the country!The actions maximised the reward and minimised the risk – we aimed to mini-mise the legal consequences for the people arrested while also planning arrests strategically. We succeeded in undermining the massive police build-up to stie protesting APEC by thinking outside of the box: outside of the locked-down area and outside the weekend of the “main” protest. We were smart, unexpected and effective!There were difculties with the organising of the action and of course, criticism. The political thrust of the criti-

cism was that we couldn’t organise the actions publicly – not only because of their direct action nature, but also of activist security concerns in the lead-up to APEC. This meant that we weren’t able to provide public opportunities for involvement like with a rally. We also didn’t prioritise mobilising for the main rally; even if a lot of us disagreed with the politically simplistic messag-ing of the rally – ‘Stop Bush’, ‘Stop Howard’ – we prioritised organising alternate actions instead of trying to inuence the politics of the main rally.Many people involved would agree that we could have improved the in-ternal democracy of our afnity group-style organising. For the Newcastle ac-tion, we were particularly challenged by the difculty of organising securely and inclusively between separate net-works of people who didn’t necessar-ily know each other, and across two main cities (Newcastle and Sydney). However, a sense shared by many people involved in the actions was that we don’t need to employ the same tactics for every protest (eg a rally). In the lead-up to APEC, only helping build the main rally didn’t

seem the most strategic approach for many grassroots environment activ-ists. The actions we organised built our networks, and the movement.We saw our actions as helping to build the political impact of the main rally. We still promoted the rally and there was a strong student environment presence at the rally on September 8.Future Tactics - Out of Present StrategiesThe direct action nature of our decentralised “summit” protests emerged from our analysis of the gaps in the climate movement. Our approach to APEC sought to translate our daily campaigning into an opposition that could be demonstrated to a manifestation, like the APEC forum, of the corporate agenda we ght.

For once, our mobilisation seemed to build the strength of our dissent, by working from inside out, instead of disconnecting our strategies to attend a rally where the dominant narrative is about protestors and police. Many of us saw our actions as a practice run for Climate Camp 2008. Climate camp will be a week-long camp of mass direct action at the coal face of climate disaster in Newcastle directly after the 2008 Students of Sustainability conference also in Newcastle in July. We also invite debate about the value of decentralised actions as a template for future “summit protests”. One thing is certain – keep asking what it is going to take! We can be strategic, creative, effective and shut down coal infrastructure!

Locked outDehumanising imperatives of the 

Criminal ‘justice’ SystemThe colonisation of Australia began as a penal colony and just as the Aboriginal genocide and environmental destruction of that time continues today so does the imprisonment of people. To bring about social and environmental justice oppressive institutions such as prisons must be made a thing of the past.There are currently around 25 000 prison-ers in Australia. In the popular imagination prisons are assumed to be inevitable in the creation of public safety. They are an institution few publicly critique and as such occupy a position of almost unquestion-able permanency in our society. However, prisons are an ineffectual, isolating and dehumanising institution. Prisons have little chance of delivering anything more than punitive justice and institutionalised people. Prisons are justied by common represen-tations of those who commit offences as morally corrupt and dangerous individuals. High prole cases picked up by the media dehumanise people and create a “crimi-nal” other. This creation of the “criminal” creates a scapegoat for society, a way to defer any social responsibility for crime on to an inherently “bad” and “dangerous” individual. It is much easier and politically advantageous for governments to legiti-mise the imprisonment of people than it is to examine the social and cultural tensions

cause crime.The over-repre-sentation of struc-turally disadvantaged groups is evidence that crime is largely produced by socioeconomic factors. The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in 1991 reported that Aboriginal people were fteen times more likely to be in prison than non-Abori-gnal people . Another over-represented group within the prison system are those suf-fering mental illness. In NSW the twelve-month prevalence of ‘any psychiatric disorder’ (psychosis, anxiety disorder, affective disorder, substance use disorder, personality disor-der, or neurasthenia) identi-ed in the prison population is substantially higher than in the general community (74% vs. 22%) .

Imprisonment is synonymous with a curtailment of rights as it corresponds with a tendency within the criminal justice system to view criminal acts as the for-feiting of any right to be part of society. It is a model of punish-

ment and deter-rence. The move to disenfranchise prisoners made by the Howard govern-ment in 2006 was an example of this. Prisons are spaces of total social con-trol from personal nances and visita-tion rights to the food that is consumed. In a controlled and hidden environment such as a prison, discretionary power is easily abused.Prisons are also ex-tremely ineffectual in their touted “correction-al” aims. This is perhaps most clearly indicated by increasing recidivism (re-offending/re-imprison-ment) rates. The current recidivism rate in NSW is 44% and in 2003 nearly 76% of all Indigenous prisoners had been previ-ously imprisoned .

One of the most important factors in the rehabilitation and successful reintegration back into the community of prisoners is maintaining community ties. This is a constant struggle for prisoners who are at times estranged or are isolated from their existing loved ones who’s visits are compli-cated by restric-tions imposed by prison policy. Without these ties returning to the general com-munity with the minimal post-release support provided by the state or com-munity is made even harder.

The punitive justice system and imprisonment can be replaced by alternatives which surround perpe-trators with supportive communities to rehabilitate rather than isolate them.

There is much we can do to bring an end to the current system and to show our solidarity with those affected by it. By act-ing in solidar-ity for prisoner’s rights, writing letters to prison-ers and visiting them ourselves we can assist in maintaining ties between prison-ers and their communities outside.

Lara Daleyutopia@riseup.net

The ght to abol-ish prisons and for prisoner solidarity is not about excusing harmful behavior or actions. It is about recognis-ing that this behavior needs to be addressed not only by the perpetrator but by the community as a whole. If we truly seek to create safer com-munities and prevent crime we should focus on building communities which take responsibility for their inequali-ties, divisions and social problems.

1. HREOC (2006) A statistical overview of Aboriginal and Tor-res Strait Islander peoples in Australia http:// www.hreoc.gov.au/Social_Justice/statistics/index.html#toc9 2. Allnutt & Butler (2003) Mental Illness among NSW Prison-ers, Corrections Health Service 3. NCOSS (2007) Hot Issues: NSW budget 2007-08 http://www.ncoss.org.au/hot/budget2007/analysis07-08.html 4. HREOC (2003) Incarceration rates for Indigenous Women a National Shame http://www.hreoc.gov.au/about/media/media_releases/2003/12_03.html

Turning Back the Terrorism Tag: Organising Against APEC

The day George Bush arrived for the Sydney meeting of the Asia Pacic Economic Cooperation (APEC) was the 30th anniversary of the Joh Bjel-ke-Petersen ban on street marches in Queensland. The coincidence was not lost: a ve kilometre long, 2.8 me-tre high fence was being erected in Sydney, police were applying to ban protest routes in the NSW Supreme Court, and activists were notied of their inclusion on the notorious “black list” and exclusion from the city.In organising to challenge the outlaw of protest and the meeting of APEC, we remembered how social move-ments de- feated the Bjelke-Petersen ban thirty years ago. Rather than seeing a disap-pearance of street march-es in Queensland, thousands of people took to

the streets in deance of the ban for two years. By the end of 1978, over 2000 people had been arrested and the ban was dissolved.It was difcult to build demonstra-tions against APEC. It was not easy to counter the huge fear campaign rolled out against the people of Syd-ney. We experienced intense repres-sion throughout 2007, including police attacks on February rallies when Dick Cheney came to Sydney, dawn raids in March by riot police on homes in relation to G20 protests, concentrated surveillance, and daily media stories exposing leaked documents revealing intended violent protests from cti-tious sources. In a $300 million se-curity operation, Premier Iemma and Prime Minister Howard mobilised 3500 police ofcers, 1500 military person-nel, thousands of security person-nel, a $600,000 water cannon, navy ships in the harbour, jet ghters and helicopters circling the skies, teams of snipers, capsicum spray, tear gas launchers, tasers, 500 prison beds, and thirty buses converted into mobile prison cells.Days before the demonstration, John Howard appeared on YouTube asking protestors to “stop for a moment and consider that if they really are worried about issues such as poverty, security and climate change, [to] then support APEC, not attack it”, blaming the secu-

rity lockdown on “people who threaten violence as part of their protest”. La-bor leader Kevin Rudd called for “any violent protests [to] be met with the full force of the law”.Activists attempted to reclaim media and public discourse in APEC week with successful blockades of the Loy Yang coal-red power station in the LaTrobe Valley and of Newcastle Coal Port, demanding real action on climate change and exposing the non-binding, “aspirational” and business-as-usual policies proposed by APEC. Friends of the Earth Sydney held a multi-venue exhibition “Trajectories of Dissent”, documenting the history of protests against APEC in Kuala Lumpur, Santia-go, Jakarta, Vancouver, Osaka, Hanoi and more, inviting artists, researchers and activists from across the Asia-Pa-cic to contribute art and dialogue.Many of us were initially ambivalent toward organising against APEC. For anarchist collective Mutiny, “police preparation seem[ed] to strengthen the arguments against summit pro-test, especially doubts about the value of challenging the state on their terrain and when they are most prepared. On the other hand, they also strengthen feelings that it is important to defy po-lice attempts to frighten us.” NGOs explicitly distanced themselves from protest organising, with Green-peace, Make Poverty History and Cli-mate Action Network Australia forming an NGO media centre, holding daily media briengs and offering commen-tary on APEC decisions.

Under police, state and media attacks, Stop Bush Coalition responded with public statements and posters persis-tently reiterating they were planning a “peaceful protest”, believing it would be easier to build the demonstration and keep trade unions involved. Ac-tivists challenged the discourse, ask-ing: if we intend to assert our right to dissent and we know the police are preparing to attack us, how can we advertise “peaceful” protests? Some argued declaring the protest “peace-ful” was a capitulation to media hyste-ria about violent protests – regarding Stop Bush Coalition pledging “obedi-ence” to police, distancing themselves from G20 protests, excluding diversity of tactics, and positing the “responsi-bility to ensure a peaceful protest in a police state” on activists. Anarchist col-lective Mutiny wrote that insisting on peaceful protest “amplies the wedge politics of the police and media: and it doesn’t stop police violence. It seems downright irresponsible to promise – or demand – peace.” When police leaked to media photos of the “excluded persons list”, the po-litical response was more coherent. Blacklisted people immediately vowed to defy the restrictions, which meant they could be excluded or removed from any “declared area”, and liable to immediate arrest and detention. Supported by the Maritime Union of Australia and Fire Brigades Employ-ees Union, excluded persons were marched to the demonstration en bloc. But before leaving Trades Hall, a union ofcial warned excluded persons and protestors “not to cause trouble” if they were marching with them.

This self-policing continued from the platform with rally MC Alex Bainbridge cautioning demonstrators several times between speeches to be peace-ful. The decision of Friday’s 500-strong convergence meeting was unambigu-ous: voting to publicly reject the ex-clusion zones, refusing to accept the route dictated by police, and marching to the police lines for a sit down and speakers at the barricades. However, “Peace Monitors” (rally marshals) and MCs chose not to tell the rally, instead defying the decision of the meeting, and conning the march to a three block police-assigned route. This breakdown in communication and an-ti-democratic action by some protest organisers raises real challenges if we are to have any condence in collec-tive decisions we make in the future.The ten thousand people at the Sat-urday demonstration against APEC demanded workers rights, justice for Indigenous peoples, a nuclear-free future, real action on climate change and an end to the war on Iraq. People came out onto the streets with a real sense of urgency, demonstrating their opposition to over-policing and fear mongering.Policing at APEC illustrated a leap in the strategy of repression. For Prime Minister Howard, “a decision was clearly taken - the right decision - that pre-emptive and forward action was better than retaliation and it worked brilliantly, it really did”. Assembling $300 million of resources and using a sustained pre-emptive police and

media attack on “peaceful protests”, it is reasonable to assume the state will continue to pursue the same strategy.In our own strategies, there is a real risk of self-policing, of limiting our tactics and keeping a lid on dissent. There is a real risk – as the Howard government and media attempt to further marginalise social movements, aligning them with violence and ter-rorism – our protests will simply be for the front page of the Daily Telegraph, not to build movements capable of stopping wars and dangerous climate change.

Holly Creenaune organised for APEC protests with the Australian Student Environment Network and Friends of the Earth Sydney, and spoke at Town Hall at the Saturday demonstration. holly.creenaune@foe.org.auThis article was initially published in the Friends of the Earth Chain Reac-tion Counter Terrorism and Human Rights Edition

Camp for Climate action The Camp for Climate Action will be an inspiring convergence of people from all over Australia who are serious about taking action on climate change. Newcastle is the world’s biggest coal export port and is set for a massive expansion. Coal is destroying the climate and threatening our future. Our choice is clear – we need ac-tion not more hot air. We need a just transition from coal to clean energy – not an expansion of the coal industry. If you’re tired of meaning-less rhetoric and inaction on climate change, come to the Camp for Climate Action and help shut down the world’s biggest coal port. The ve day camp will be a participatory, sustainable space, where people are invited to share, learn and take action. Timed to coincide with climate camps happening in Europe and North America, it will be an in-spiring gathering of people of all ages and from all walks of life who are standing up to-gether to take direct action for a living future. Climate Change: The State of PlayClimate change is the fundamental issue of our time. Over the past three years, thousands of people have taken to Australian streets and marched against global warming. Grassroots cli-mate action groups have sprung up all over the country. In 2007, we turned our backs on a gov-ernment that had failed to heed the calls for ac-tion on climate change. Now all eyes are on Labor.Distant targets, emissions trading and ratifying Kyoto are not going to solve climate change, and the Labor Party is still right behind Australia’s biggest contribution to climate change – coal.. Greenhouse gas emissions from our coal exports already exceed those we produce domestically. Yet state governments continue to approve mine after mine and fund new infrastructure for

the industry, while the Rudd government has promised more than $500 million to the coal barons for technology which does not exist.It is clear that if we, the people leave the re-sponse to climate change to politicians and cor-porations we are facing worst case and devastat-ing scenarios for the entire planet and the future.Why Newcastle?Newcastle, NSW, is the home of the world’s big-gest coal port. We are at the coal face of climate change, with recent approvals for new coal infra-structure that will more than double the annual export capacity from 80 million tonnes to 211 million tonnes. That’s equivalent to Australia’s domestic greenhouse pollution from all sources.The Hunter Valley coal chain that supplies New-castle Harbour continues to devastate the land-scape with vast open cut coal mines. Threat-ened species, tight-knit communities, rivers and aquifers are all sacriced at the alter of coal, by governments incapable of saying “no” to the coal lobby. The NSW government recently approved a huge open cut mine for Anvil Hill, an iconic and biodiverse site in the Hunter. The mine will contribute 10 million tonnes of coal a year (the greenhouse equivalent ofthe entire transport sector of NSW) to Newcastle’s output. The Hunter Valley is fast proving a contested space, as the community begins to challenge the entrenched dominance of coal over this region. We invite you to converge at the heart of the coal industry’s lair, to help us reclaim the Hunter, for the future of the rest of the world.What: Five days of inspiring workshops and direct action Where: Newcastle When: July 10th –15th 2008 Who: You, your friends and family

www.climatecamp.org.au

Sydney Energy Cooperative

So what do a pair of protesting, rat-bagging, unhinged radical environ-mentalists do when they nish a solar energy engineering degree? This was on our minds and joining our mates at Energy Australia didn’t sound like the answer we were looking for, so we kick started an Energy Cooperative. Now we’re nding ourselves setting up solar arrays to power festival par-ties, planning sustainable power for Climate Camp, running workshops at conferences, installing solar panels on nice people’s roofs and bulk purchas-ing sexy energy efciency products for our members – and all of it not-for-prot.So what’s it all about? The main aim of the cooperative is to get ordinary peo-ple involved in energy-related activi-ties to help the environment. We want to help out by providing the technical know-how, spotting opportunities and running programs, like free energy audits for low-income housing. In the longer term, we hope to be building much-needed sustainable energy in-frastructure, based on people.

Want to get involved? We’re looking for all sorts of people to help out – tradies, nerds, accountants, merchant bankers, artists, you! We need people for market and festival stalls, for help on the website, to promote solar in-stallations and for anything else you can imagine. You can join the coop from the website, or just send an email letting us know how you want to get involved. And don’t forget to spread the word!

Website: energycoop.com.auEmail: Maurice@energycoop.com.auPhone: 0433622640

Action Alert!

So here’s a list of some of the actions that people have taken this year in the struggle for social and environmental justice. Of course this is just a fragment, and by its nature ignores the many struggles that people engage in every day (calling out your friend on sexist behaviour, learning how to really support and care for your friends and lovers, dumpstering a crate of avocados and delivering them to your friends’ homes, 3am missions scrawling stories on walls for the rab-ble masses, reclaiming moments of joy and abandon in our day to day etc etc)… but as limited as this is, it’s an attempt celebrate all the amaz-ing things we do, and to remember the power that we can share…

Actions takeno 25.01.07: Action Highlights Government Hypoc-risy on Climate Change - Forest Protection First Step to Reducing Emissionso 29.01.07: Four Arrests in Tasmania’s Threatened Old Growth Southern Forestso Wednesday, January 31, 2007; Largest youth mobilization on global warming: Events on 575 campuses

o 2nd February, 2007; People’s occupation of world’s biggest coal port in Newcastleo Tue, 13th February, 2007; McArthur River goes National; Protests in Darwin and Sydney at Parliament.o 15.02.07: Protesters Halt logging trafc, Weld Valley Ancient Forest Destruction Continueso 19.02.07: Weld Valley Ancient Forest Machinery locked downo Mon, 26th February; Barricade at NSW ALP Head-quarters; Climate change activists set up a barricade at the headquarters of the NSW ALP, demanding the Iemma Government make an announce-ment on the expansion of Newcastle coal exports before the March 24th election.o Tue, 13th March, 2007; Environmentalists charge Parks Victoria with illegal logging; 35 people occupy Parks Vic ofce in Melbourne.o Wed, 14th March, 2007; House raids and arrests of G20 protesters: Defence campaign launched in Sydney; A “G20 Defence Collective”, demanding imme-diate release of the protestors and the dropping of all charges is formed.

o 29.03.07: Bridge sit and multiple road blockade halts all logging in the Weld Valleyo Mon Apr 2, 2007; Mining exploration activities stopped in outback Ceduna; Iluka Mining Corporation’s activities were disrupted by Indigenous Traditional Owners and their families and supporters.o 08.04.07; Water is More Precious than Gold - blockade shuts down world’s biggest gold miner; Over 80 people occupy the site ofce and disrupt work at the massive Lake Cowal Gold Mine near Condobolin in central NSW.o Thu, 19th April, 2007; Reality Rains on Howard’s Nuclear Parade; Sydney residents and activists stage a protest reminding “Half-Life” Howard of the radioactive legacy of the Lucas Heights reactor.o Mon, 30th April, 2007; Lockdown over radioactive future: a collaboration of community representatives lock down Victorian headquarters of the ALP headquarters to voice their disgust that the party is locking Australia into a dangerous nuclear future.o Wed, 2nd May, 2007; Global Day of Action Against Barrick Gold; People occupy the ofce of Australian Bar-rick Gold Corporation Headquarters in Perth. The action is part of a Global Day of Action Against Barrick Gold, the world’s largest gold mining company.o Wed, 2nd May, 2007; Environmentalists Occupy Mel-bourne Headquarters in Melbourne: Demanding Action on Climate Change; Environmental activists occupying the Liberal Party Headquarters in Melbourne.o 2nd-3rd June, 2007; Anvil Hill camp; Weekend of community action.o Fri, 8th June, 2007; Polar Bear Locks on At Dept. of Planning against Anvil hill mine; Students blockade the Department of Planning in response to the approval of the controversial Anvil Hill mine. A student dressed as a polar bear locks on.o Friday 22nd June - Sunday 24th June; Peace conver-gence opposing war games in Shoalwater Bay.o 13.07.07; occupation of Julie Bishop’s ofce in Perth about nuclear waste dumps in NT. Violent police attacks see hospitalisation of protesters and several arrests. o 14.0707; National Day of Action to stop geno-cide on Aboriginal lands.o Aug 16, 2007; Al Gore whinges that youth aren’t blockading new coal-red power-stations.o 27.08.07: Tasmanian forest defenders oc-cupy Gunns’ Launceston ofce this morningo Mon, 3rd September, 2007; Real action on

climate change; Climate activists halt work at the Loy Yang ‘A’ coal-red power station in the La Trobe Valley. It is one of numerous actions targeting the fossil fuel industry across Australia to condemn the APEC leaders lack of action on climate change. Four people attach themselves to the conveyor belts feeding coal to Loy Yang ‘A’, bringing operations on that conveyor belt to a halt.o Tue, 4th September, 2007; 11 Arrested at APEC Coal Protest; 20 young people enter and stop work at the world’s largest coal port in Newcastle. 5 people lock themselves to machinery. 11 arrests are made.o Wed, 5th September; 5-10,000 people rally against APEC.o 14.09.07; Indigenous Nations sign on to UN Declaration - Howard contin-ues to slash indigenous rights; The Aboriginal Tent Embassy and supporters demonstrate at Prime Minister John Howard’s Sydney ofce, in response to the Government’s refusal to sign the UN Declaration on Rights for Indigenous Peoples.o 18.10.07; Young Australians tackle Climate Change at Youth Conference; 100 students and young people from around Australia attend the country’s largest ever youth conference on climate change, “Switched On 2007”.o Thurs, 1st November, 2007; 600 students walk out of school in Tasmania to protest against the pulp mill.o Sat 3rd November, 2007; 400 People participate in the occupation of the world’s biggest coal port in Newcastle.o Sun, 11th November, 2007; Over 115 000 people Walk Against Warming in 60 locations across the country.o Mon, 19th November, 2007; Dump Turnbull, before he dumps nuclear waste; Actions take place in Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane, Darwin, Alice Springs, Perth and Melbourne confronting the Federal Government regarding its plan for a radioactive waste dump in the Northern Territory.o 19th November, 2007; Coal Train Blockaded; Grassroots climate change action group Rising Tide blockades a coal train on its way into the world’s big-gest coal export port, at Kooragang Island in Newcastle Harbour.o 19–20.11.07; 30 people blockade Liberal party HQ in Melbourne as part of the National Day of Action against the waste dump in the NT. Two people stay locked to a barrel for 40 hours blocking the entrance to the ofce.o November 27th, 2007; Labor Government commits to repealing the Com-monwealth Radioactive Waste Management Act that overrode Territory laws to force a federal radioactive dump on the NT.o Thu Dec 6th, 2007; Over 70 people stop logging in 3 coupes in East Gippsland’s forests. Thu Dec 13th, 2007; A Jarrah log truck is held up in Bridgetown to highlight the continual destruction of native forests in WA.o 10th December 2007; 35 people stop logging in East Gippsland’s old growth forests. 2 people lock themselves to a machine, while one person perches 40 metres up a tree suspended by cable attached to three machines.o 5th Jan, 2008: Tasmanian Forest Blockade launched.

Global Food:When you sit down at any meal, there’s a good chance that many of the ingre-dients are better travelled than you are. Over the last 50 years, economic glo-balisation has seen an increase in food trade across the world. However, this has been matched with an increasing concentration of food supply into the hands of fewer, larger suppliers and par-allelled with the centralisation of distri-bution and retailing through supermar-ket chains and their distribution centres.A consequence of a highly concentrat-ed food system is a massive increase in the distance food travels from farm to fork, and with it, a decrease in en-ergy efciency.Eating local is a cru-cial rst step to increasing control over what we eat and taking action for a more sustainable food system.With its emphasis on community self-determination, the global food sover-eignty movement offers an exciting model for a global food system that

respects the rights of local communi-ties and the environment. It is not against trade, but rather empha-sises the right of communities to determine just and equitable terms.The global food sovereignty move-ment introduces the concept of rein-habitation, which is essential in learn-ing the capacities of an environment, seeking to ground human cultures within natural systems, to get to know ones place intimately in order to t human communities to the Earth, not distort the Earth to our demands.Join the local food movement! *explore local alternatives*grow your own vegie patch*get informed! Check out Friends of the Earth’s website http://www.adelaide.foe.org.au, or http://localfoodfeast.blogspot.com

joel catchlove

for the full article please go to www.asen.org.au

Find Your Co-op!where to find eco-friendly tasty treats in your local area

NSW & ACT* The Broadway Food Co-op (also known as the UTS Food Co-op)*The Sydney Uni Food Co-op*Thoughtful Foods (UNSW)*Happy Bellies (Uni of Wollongong)*Sustenance (Newcastle Uni)*Better Health Food Co-op (UWS)*ANU Food Co-opQLD*Hot Banana (Grifth Uni)*James Cook Uni Organic Vegie Boxe Buying Group*UQ Food Co-opVIC*Organarchy (RMIT)*Wholefoods (Monash)*Melbourne Uni Food Co-op*La Trobe Food Co-opSA*Flinders Uni Organic Food Co-opWA*Murdoch Uni Food Co-opTAS*UTas Food Co-op

NSW*Alfalfa House, Enmore*Manly Food Co-op*The Green Tucker Box, Forestville*Beanstalk Organic Food Co-op, Newcastle*Blue Mountains Food Co-op, Katoomba*Angophora Food Co-op, Blue Mtns*Armidale Food Co-op*Invernell Food Co-opVIC*Friends of the Earth Food Co-op, Collingwood*St Kilda Organic Food Co-op*Warrnambool Co-operative Society*Wholefood Co-op, GeelongNT*POD (Planet Organic Darwin)QLD*Community Foods, Cairns*Maple St Food Co-op, MalenySA*Goodwood Waste Not Want Not Co-op, Clarence Park*Clarence Park Food Co-op, Black-forest*Inner Southern Food Co-opTASHobart Organic Co-op

for more details contact monika at: willhof@yahoo.com or visit asen.org.au

Trading Away Climate Change

With governments nally coming to terms with having to do something about climate change they’re start-ing to realise that such actions may in fact conict with their trade com-mitments. The Kyoto Protocol explic-itly talks about how any measures that are undertaken to deal with climate change must not unduly impact upon trade or be seen as a barrier to trade.Welcome to the world where in the face of disasterous climate change we’re still sub-servient to the holiest of pursuits, trade.With the World Trade Organisation (WTO) being the only international body that has an enforcement mecha-

nism it’s important to see what impacts this will have on government’s respons-es to climate change. The WTO has copped a lot of shit over the years for its horrible neoliberal/free market ap-proach to everything. Everyone knows of the famous Seattle protests that managed to shut down the meeting of the WTO and give developing coun-tries the courage to stand up to the rich countries. This was part of a larger global justice movement that has con-tinued for many years following (just look at all the ongoing summit pro-tests, the World Social Forums, inter-national networks like People’s Global Action and Our World Is Not For Sale).So why does a trade body like this t into the climate debate? Well,

since measures that governments might undertake as part of want-ing a climate friendly society may be deemed as unfriendly to trade, the WTO can step in and over rule any decisions made. Yup, that’s right, the WTO can rule that climate change policies have to be changed.Given the WTO’s love of ‘market based solutions’ to all the world’s problems it follows that they see the solution to climate change as being based not in regulations and people led policies but left in the hands of supply and demand. This means pushing for things mostly on the consumer side of the equation,

so ensuring that there is access to ‘green’ alternatives for people to buy.So what does this all mean? Well say a government wanted to support a domestic renewable energy compa-ny by giving them a tax break. Oh no, you see that breaches the WTO rules on subsidies being industry or sector specic. As Gueye (2007) says “most subsidies in support of renew-able energies tend to be industry or sector specic, therefore actionable.”What about ensuring that South countries have access to renewable technology so they can shift to clean development? That depends largely on the holders of the patents and whether or not they’re willing to allow

the transfer of that technology. India was withheld technology to move away from CFCs because the patent holding company would only allow the licensing if they were given a majority control of the Indian company. All this is perfectly in line and reinforced by the WTO’s agreement on Intellectual Property.Ok so maybe we can’t subsidise or will have trouble getting technology into countries but boy can we TAX! Well actually maybe not so. There is a great amount of uncertainty about whether or not goods could be taxed for us-ing carbon intensive processes. Same goes for taxing one good because it’s more car-bon intensive (eg. Taxing coal energy but not wind), that becomes unfair under WTO rules.If there is going to be a shift toward climate friendly development there will need to be some drastic changes in the global trad-ing system. For starters we can invert the

priorities of tting in climate change mea-sures into trade commitments. At the very least there needs to be concession from the WTO on measures to address climate change that go beyond the free market.We need to start regionalising trade too. Given the impact of transporting goods on carbon emissions we need to start to look at ways to cut down on this. Export led growth and production can no longer be sustainable in a world facing dangerous climate change. Smaller scale, varied crops destined for domes-tic markets can have less reliance on oil based pesticides and also reduce the green house gas emissions from international transport.The promotion of sustainable technologies over dirty fuels is a priority. The failure of the market to include the costs of producing cli-mate change means that it can no longer be relied upon as a solution. Leaving the burden of action on consumers and voluntary label-ing standards will not act quickly enough to prevent the creation of dangerous emissions. Sustainable technologies need to not only be favoured and encouraged, but the transfer of such technology should not unnecessarily be hampered by intellectual property rights.Ordinary peeps from civil society are de-manding that real action on climate change be taken. The undemocratic nature of the WTO cannot hold civil society demands for real climate action hostage. In the face of dangerous climate change the space must be made available for people and governments to decide their own futures outside the con-straints of an international trading system that prioritises markets over environments.

adam wolfenden

References:M.K. Gueye (2007) Making trade contribute to tackling climate change, presentation made at EU Commission Civil Society Dialogue, 27 June 2007, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD).

Maybe One reason why it sometimes seems like:no-

one gives a shit... “Let me start with a story that I poached from a fellow from the states called Michael Albert…Let’s say I deliver a speech to a packed au-ditorium. The air bristles with energy as I take to the stage. I begin my speech about this thing that oppresses us and has killed more people than any other thing in re-corded history. I talk passionately about this horrible phenomenon, nobody can dispute the facts I present; it’s eloquent and engag-ing. Then, as my speech comes to a close, I make an appeal to the audience; “Come and join me in the struggle against aging!” What would be the likely reaction? I mean my speech was perfect…I outlined the issue succinctly…I was engaging and passionate...Wouldn’t you join me in my noble struggle? Take up arms against aging? …or would you mock me, tell me to get over it, get a life, “get a job”, and stop annoying you?I think that too often we make this exact mistake in our campaigning…if people perceive something as inevitable (such as aging) no matter how horrible it may be, and no matter how much information they are given about it, they’re only going to react with irritation and dismiss people who “educate” them about it or call on them to take action to resist it…

In my experience people are pretty aware of the crappier aspects of the society we live in. Many times I’ve found com-mon ground with people from very dif-ferent worlds through a shared distrust in authority (whether it be politicians or cops)…Many times I’ve found that peo-ple, with the right questioning, will admit many aspects of this society are utterly inhuman and degrading… People know that corporations are only out to make prot…People know that the government lies (“of course, they’re just trying to get votes”!)… People know about climate change and environmental di-saster…People know that whoever owns stuff in this society basically runs it and has a mas-sive inuence on de-cision-making and our ‘democratic’ processes…These things are ob-vious today, but from listening to people of my parents generation, these relative truisms were not at all obvious to people 40 years ago, when many actually be-lieved that the government was there to serve them, that corporations were just providing valuable goods and services to society etc. etc. It is only through many years of struggle and awareness rais-ing from activists (or people, whatever) that these myths were smashed, leav-ing a deep (and in my opinion healthy) cynicism towards the current system. So where does this leave us? Well, in a much better place than if people actu-ally still had faith in this system. This

satisfaction in current institutions is fer-tile ground for systemic change. There is clearly a desire for something different, for something more… However, what we must struggle against today is the belief that, to quote Maggie Thatcher, “There is No Alternative” (TINA). As long as people believe that the painful aspects of our society are inevitable, no matter how much we raise awareness about them people are generally going to react in the same way as the audience in the above story… Of course they’ll disengage, of course they’ll ridicule, of course they’ll get annoyed and frus-trated… What’s the point of giving your-self grief by learning more about depress-ing things you can’t do anything about?So what does it look like to transfer our collective cynicism and disillusionment into something con-structive? Well a good start would be re-writing the story that the situation we’re in is inevitable… Aging is inevitable (as far as I know anyway), dangerous climate change, wage-slavery, sexual assault, capitalism, centralised power are not… But to shake our congealed despair, we need more than words… We need our spaces, communities, networks, collec-tives, institutions, relationships and lives to be vibrant, breathing proofs that there are alternatives…that there are ways out, even if they are sometimes difcult to nd…we need to put the myth of TINA to shame with our uncompromising visions

of different worlds…and we need plans and schemes to get there…we need to celebrate the resistance that people en-gage in every day and remind ourselves of the victories people have already won through struggle…we need to remember that we deserve more…that we deserve to have lives in which our needs, de-sires, dreams and dignity are respected…we need our actions to be moments in which people can glimpse our slumber-ing potential…our simmering power…And we’ve already seen so many exam-ples of this; blockaded power-stations, autonomous social-centres, people nd-ing shelter according to need rather than property deed, the day-dreaming kid in the class-room, co-operative run businesses, indigenous communi-ties across the world struggling for and reclaiming their autonomy, communi-ty-gardens, rad geeks spreading free-ware/open-source software on the net, community-responses to sexual assault, radical networks such as ASEN experi-menting with direct democracy, people learning to really support rather than compete with each other, learning to be honest and raw with each other, learning to reject the roles they’ve been assigned and choosing to live their lives with un-bridled spontaneity and passion…all these things offer windows into new and different worlds…they are expressions of our power and potential and staunch refusal to simply accept the drudgery of “getting-by” in this society…each of them is a living mockery to the notion that anything about our society is inevitable…and if we are going to shake this collec-tive inertia, this rational apathy, it’s these things and more and more that we need…

in anticipation, fox

Despite the dryness of the arid plains northwest of Broken Hill, beneath stands of black oak and mulga trees, groundwater ows through a network of what were once ancient riverbeds. This is pastoral country, and habitat for an array of aptly-named birds like the Plains Wanderer, one of the many hardy animals that call these broad horizons home. Mining company Cur-namona Energy is expected to apply to the State Government for a “reten-tion lease” any minute now, turning this spot, known as ‘Oban’, into South Australia’s next so-called “trial” ura-nium mine. But there’s a catch. Due to a bizarre legal anomaly, mining companies like Curnamona are able to start work without being legally required to for-mally assess the impact of their “trial” mines on groundwater or the broader environment through an Environmen-tal Impact Assessment, or even to conduct public consultation. All this despite the State Government’s ex-pressed commitment to the “strictest environmental standards” for uranium mining in South Australia.Curnamona plans to mine Oban using the acid in-situ leach (acid ISL) min-ing method. Acid ISL involves inject-ing sulphuric acid into groundwater to dissolve uranium. The sulphuric acid, now containing the dissolved uranium,

is pumped to the surface. The urani-um is extracted and the bits left over, radioactive and heavy metals mine waste, are dumped into the ground-water.In an era of climate change, it’s irre-sponsible to belch pollution into the atmosphere without mitigation. How is it then, that in an era of water scar-city and drought, it’s somehow ne for mining companies to pump toxic pollution into groundwater, often with only a limited understanding of its po-tential impacts?Like smoke in air, when you pump waste into water, it doesn’t stay put. It moves, spreads, carried by the ow. Uranium that was previously nested relatively securely in the walls of an aquifer is now mobile, part of a cock-tail of acid and heavy metals that can drift as a pollution plume through groundwater, contaminating connect-ed aquifers or potentially discharging somewhere on the surface.As the Beverley and Honeymoon mines in SA’s northeast discovered during their “trial” phases, water is slippery stuff. It tends to leak and spill. Indeed, both mines experienced a number of signicant “excursions” – including one at Honeymoon where sulphuric acid pumped into groundwater unexpect-edly travelled upwards into another

Driving without a license: uranium

“trial” mines By Friends of the Earth Adelaide

patch of ground while they prepare to mine it. Strangely though, under a retention lease, companies can also begin mining uranium on a ‘trial’ ba-sis. If it ends up that the site is not to their liking and unsuitable for a fully-edged mine, they can simply walk away, leaving a radioactive legacy lin-gering beneath the surface. So, a real mining company can pump real sulphuric acid into groundwater, extract real uranium and dump real radioactive waste. All this without real legal guarantees of real environmental assessment or real public consultation – processes which fully-edged mines legally require. But that’s ok, we’re told, because it’s just a “trial”. The South Australian community has a democratic right to participate in de-cision-making regarding activities with signicant environmental impact such as mining. The history of leaks, spills and accidents that plague ISL min-ing worldwide emphasises the urgent need for full environmental assess-ment to before the commencement of any mining, “trial” or otherwise. Through a simple legislative change guaranteeing Environmental Impact Assessment and full public consulta-tion, we can ensure that state legis-lation appropriately acknowledges the unique risks and impacts of mining, while strengthening the accountability of mining companies. Such a change will allow the full participation in de-cision-making by all community mem-bers, and protect the environment and the integrity of our precious water re-sources.

aquifer closer to the surface. Spokes-people for Honeymoon were reported as saying that they ‘expect that [spills and leaks] will happen from time to time’, and that there’s ‘no guarantee against similar leaks in the future’.The experience overseas has been problematic. Commenting on his own experience attempting to rehabilitate groundwater at American ISL projects, geochemist and scientist Richard Abitz observes that once mining chemicals are injected into groundwater, ura-nium contamination ‘goes through the roof’. ‘Once it is there, the dam-age has been done,’ he says. ‘It takes hundreds, perhaps thousands of years to transform aquifer water back into a drinkable condition,’ and ‘regardless of the millions of dollars and years of efforts, the water has never been re-stored’.Mining companies may claim that the aquifer they wish to mine is isolated or sealed off from all other groundwa-ter. The truth is, often no-one knows for sure. Especially when no formal Environmental Impact Assessment has been conducted. Groundwater is one of the least understood elements of Australia’s environment. One of a trial’s claimed purposes may be to determine the nature and extent of a groundwater system, but injecting it with acid and radioactive waste with-out knowing where it goes is deeply irresponsible. All this can happen because of a clause in South Australia’s Mining Act. Under what’s known as a ‘retention lease’ a company is granted the right to a

#Students of Sustainability 2008

newcastle (heartland of the dirty coal industry) 5-9th july (just before climate camp)

www.studentsofsustainability.org.au

environmental justice organising

Fully catered vegan menuspecific high schools program

seminars on climate change, neo-liberalism, indigenous sovereignty and more

planning for a sustainable future with more than 600 people

skills, resources and planing sessions for campaigning and taking real action

land s of the pambalong, awabakal and worini peoples

bek marky mark

jenimr pickles

laura cashman

for the amazing

coverholly

tara

ness

usyd src

nicky

ben

all the contributors

mon

maia, for the lush centrefold

kanuka