THE TWEED
ECHO READER SURVEY
www.tweedecho.com.au Volume 3 #40 Thursday, June 16, 2011
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Anti-coal-seam gas campaign heats up Luis Feliu
A national day of action is planned to fight coal-seam gas (CSG) mining in Australia after the peak Australian group set up to fight it laid out battle plans at its inaugural annual general meeting in Murwillumbah last weekend. Blockades, rallies, forums, festivals and hard lobbying will be the backbone of the Lock the Gate (LTG) Alliance campaign after more than 160 people representing community, environmental and farming groups from around the country converged at Murwillumbah Civic Centre for the two-day meeting. Re-elected LTG president Drew Hutton said his organisation, made up of over 90 affiliated groups from almost every state with hundreds of members and thousands of supporters, had in a short space of time grown into a ‘dynamic’ new social movement.
‘Final throes of the fossil fuel industry’ Mr Hutton said the rapid expansion of CSG industry was ‘the final and destructive throes of the fossil fuel industry’ and the recent rally in Murwillumbah which drew over 3,000 people showed just how strong the movement was getting. Groups in the alliance have been involved in fierce campaigning against coal and CSG projects in their local areas, setting up blockades, rallies, legal actions and non-violent, noncooperation protests. The strength of the Murwillumbah rally encouraged the alliance to hold its first official national meeting there. The Tweed has yet to be drilled for CSG, but around half the shire faces
that prospect if two mining companies with existing or pending exploration licences get the green light. The growing unrest prompted the NSW government to announce a 60-day moratorium on all new CSG exploration licences, but the Greens have been calling for a 12-month ban till the technology of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, used in CSG mining is proved safe. Opponents of the new gas-extraction method say its use of highly toxic chemicals can contaminate underground water supplies and is way too risky, especially for agriculture and food production. ‘We’ve taken on some of the biggest players in the world and therefore a hell of a fight, huge multinationals such as British Gas, Shell and here in the Northern Rivers, Metgasco, companies seeing Australia as the quarry of the world again,’ Mr Hutton told The Echo before the meeting. ‘The impacts on the rural environment could be catastrophic and we worrry about what will happen to rural Australia in 20 years if this goes on. CSG mining is increasing at a rapid pace, and agriculture and tourism will suffer… we really need to go with renewable energy now because the resource industry won’t be there in 20 years time.’ He said the NSW government’s 60day moratorium was ‘too short’ and in his home state of Queensland where up to 4,000 CSG wells had already been established and between 40,000 and 60,000 more were planned it was ‘all systems go’. ‘CSG mining has now come to the Darling Downs so it’s desperate times, that’s why we’re locking the gates to mining companies,’ said Mr Hutton, who was arrested during a
Tweed Hospital goes on red alert for women’s hearts
Kate McIntosh
Tweed Hospital staff were a vision in red as they helped raise awareness of heart health for women last Thursday. Heart disease is the number one killer of Australian women. But the Heart Foundation says women can significantly reduce the risk by leading a healthy and active lifestyle. Staff at Tweed Hospital hosted the Dress Red and Rock event as a way of raising awareness locally. Well known Elvis impersonator Dean Vegas was also in attendance at the rock and roll-themed event, which continued on page 2 coincided with the inaugural Cooly Rocks On festival.
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Nurse Rebecca Howlett gets down with Dean Vegas at Tweed Hospital’s Red Dress Day, as Duncan Stuart, acting director of medical services for Northern Rivers, cheers on. Photo Jeff ‘Vague As’ Dawson
Organisers of the Tweed event promoted simple methods of improving heart health for women including regular health checks, exercise, a balanced diet, abstaining from smoking, maintaining an active social life and destressing when needed. The event was held as part of the Heart Foundation’s Go Red for Women campaign that aims to raise awareness about ways women can reduce the risk of developing heart disease. More than 11,000 women die each year from the condition, with Australian women four times more likely to die of heart disease than breast cancer. All proceeds from the Tweed event will benefit prevention efforts for women’s heart disease. The National Heart Foundation is the leading organisation in the fight against cardiovascular disease, including heart, stroke and blood vessel disease, in Australia. For more information about improving your heart health visit www.heartfoundation.org.au.