Email,
Environment Minister Murray Watt is about to decide whether mining giant Glencore can bulldoze 600 hectares of critical koala habitat to expand one of Australia's dirtiest coal mines.
Public submissions close in just days – and we've got an expert GetUp submission ready to send in. But to really make an impact, we need thousands of GetUp members to sign on and endorse the submission – to send the clearest signal possible to the Minister that the public is paying attention.
Can you add your name today to GetUp's submission calling on Minister Watt to reject Glencore's Hail Creek coal mine expansion? It takes less than 30 seconds.
The Hail Creek coal mine sits on Widi country, southwest of Mackay in Central Queensland. Here's what's at stake in the Minister's decision:
A nationally significant koala population. Glencore's proposed "Eastern Margin Extension" would push mining right up to Homevale National Park, clearing 600 hectares of habitat in the Clarke Connors Range – home to a koala population that University of Queensland researchers have identified as one of the most important in Australia. Recent thermal drone surveys found koalas throughout the areas marked for clearing.
Water that flows to the Great Barrier Reef. Hail Creek sits in the reef catchment. After recent floods, the mine released over 5,700 megalitres of contaminated water into local waterways – more than 2,300 Olympic swimming pools. Glencore's own monitoring shows elevated nutrients and possible metal contamination downstream, but they've refused to fully investigate despite being asked by the Queensland government.
Our climate. Hail Creek is a methane "super emitter" – satellite research found it pumps out 20% of Australia's coal mining methane emissions while producing just 1% of our coal. And UNSW research suggests Glencore may be underreporting these emissions by up to eight times. Methane is 80 times more potent than CO2 in its first 20 years – so this mine could be contributing 40 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent pollution every year.
Email, add your name to protect our koalas, our reef and our climate from the impacts of dirty coal.
This decision is also a crucial test of the government's new environment laws, which Minister Watt championed. Under the EPBC Act, the minister has the power to reject this project outright if it would have "clearly unacceptable" environmental impacts.
It's been done before. Former Environment Minister and current opposition leader Sussan Ley rejected a wind farm for "clearly unacceptable" impacts on koalas in similar Queensland habitat. Minister Watt needs to prove that he won't hold a coal mine expansion to a weaker standard than renewable energy projects – and reject this project outright.
We all know the power of the coal industry in this country. But we know that one of the few things that can challenge that power is independent groups and movements like GetUp. The coal giants don't like it – which is why we're currently being sued by Adani for speaking out against their coal empire. And it's why we have to keep stepping up, even when we're threatened.
Public submissions close on February 13. GetUp's submission is most powerful if we can say that thousands of GetUp members stand behind it – so please add your name today.
In solidarity,
Paul for the GetUp team
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GetUp is an independent, not-for-profit community campaigning group. We use technology to empower Australians to have their say on important national issues. We receive no political party or government funding, and every campaign we run is entirely supported by voluntary donations. If you'd like to contribute to help fund GetUp's work, donate now! We collect, store and use personal information and other data as set out in our Privacy Policy. If you do not wish to receive updates to emailnew...@googlegroups.com from us, please unsubscribe.
Our team acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we meet and work. We wish to pay respect to Elders - past, present and emerging - and acknowledge the important role all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to play within Australia and the GetUp community.
Authorised by D. Loasby, GetUp, 285A Crown Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010.
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