| Dear Neville,
Did you know that this week Greg Hunt is going to choose between protecting a national icon and giving the tick of approval to one more polluting new coal mine?You probably know that the Liverpool Plains is the foodbowl of Australia, with rich black soils, productive aquifers and strong farming communities. But did you also know that it’s the “Koala Capital of the World”?
On the Liverpool Plains, it’s the Koalas or the coal mine, and Minister Hunt is the one that will choose.
We think maybe Greg Hunt can’t see the Koala for the coal dust, and that you should give him a call today to make sure he knows that the Liverpool Plains is more important than the huge Shenhua Watermark coal mine.
Hunt’s decision on the mine is due any day now. Can you call him today?
His parliamentary phone number is: (02) 6277 7920. Let the receptionist know that you would like a message to be passed on to Minister Hunt. Please be polite and friendly. Here are some points you might like to make:
- You are opposed to the Shenhua Watermark coal mine on the Liverpool Plains and you are asking Minister Hunt to reject it.
- We shouldn’t risk our water resources, our foodbowl, or the 11 nationally threatened species of plants and animals that make their home here.
- The Minister can and should reject this mine. It’s a national icon in more ways than one, and he needs to act in the national interest and protect it.
This morning, a group of people from the New England electorate at at Barnaby Joyce’s office in Tamworth, with some friendly koalas, to ask him to ensure the mine is rejected by Minister Hunt. You’re phone call will amplify their voice. Here are the quick Koala facts that will shock you:
- The Shenhua Watermark mine will make 262 individual Koalas homeless and clear over 800ha of Koala habitat
- The company behind the mine will forcibly translocate Koalas if they don’t move away ‘naturally.’
- Evidence from previous translocation projects shows that it causes Koala deaths, including one project where 80-100% of translocated Koalas died.
Can you call Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt today, and ask him to reject the Shenhua Watermark coal mine on the Liverpool Plains and to protect this national icon? Call (02) 6277 7920 today.
Thanks very much,
Lock the Gate Alliance
http://www.lockthegate.org.au/ |
