2023-02-07
Last month I joined the fearless and staunch Gamilaraay people in Coonabarabran in their ongoing fight against Santos's Pilliga Narrabri gas project. The Gamilaraay people had gathered alongside activists, farmers, locals and the community on 14 January in response to the National Native Title Tribunal's decision to green-light this destructive project. Every time I travel to Gamilaraay country in central west New South Wales, I am in awe of the strength of the community in defiantly resisting the ruthless, predatory fossil fuel giants.
Santos's Pilliga Narrabri project fails on every single count. It is a giant climate bomb waiting to detonate. The project will open up the floodgates on decades of climate damage and terrifying disasters like the fires and floods that we have seen in recent years. The project will extend the life span of a greedy, dying industry that has lost its social licence. It will have disastrous and irreversible impacts on the forest, threatened species, farmland and groundwater. There will be mass deforestation of the mighty Pilliga and the destruction of cultural and spiritual places of First Nations people.
Mining and burning coal and gas is the leading cause of the climate crisis. To avoid climate collapse, we must keep coal and gas in the ground. Right now, there are 118 coal and gas projects in the pipeline, and 27 of these are in New South Wales. The Pilliga Narrabri project alone will produce 120 million tonnes of climate pollution across its lifetime, pushing us ever closer to critical climate tipping points. This toxic project will further delay the shift to renewables.
There is no justification for this unconscionable and widely opposed project. The traditional owners have made it clear that they don't want the project. They have clearly said that 'gamil' means 'no'. Yet, despite these risks and rejections, despite the clear evidence of the destruction this project will cause, state and federal governments—and now the National Native Title Tribunal—have only seen dollar signs and given it the tick of approval. It is because of the tenacity of the mighty Gamilaraay people, joined by so many others in the community, that this dirty project has been kept at bay so far. They have bravely stood their ground for more than a decade for country they have cared for for centuries. All of us, as well as future generations, owe a great deal to the Gamilaraay people for their resistance.
The gathering I joined on 14 January issued the Coonabarabran statement, which, amongst other matters, called on Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus and environment minister Tanya Plibersek to immediately declare the Gamilaraay native title determination invalid and cancel the licences of the Pilliga Narrabri gas project. I urge the government to listen to the community. Unfortunately, while we have a new government, we still have the same old fight with a government whose pockets get filled with dirty donations by the same old fossil fuel industry. The Albanese government loves to make a big song and dance about caring about climate but has not taken the strong actions needed for change. They have refused to rule out an end to new coal and gas. Resources minister Madeleine King voiced approval of the Pilliga Narrabri gas project just a month after the election. Worryingly, the New South Wales Premier, Dominic Perrottet, has recently committed to this gas project being up and running in his next term of government, should New South Wales suffer the blow of yet another term of the scandal-ridden and corrupt Liberals. Disgracefully, the Perrottet government has signed off on survey work starting on the Hunter gas pipeline. That pipeline threatens the rich, black soils of the Liverpool Plains, as well as several of the most significant koala habitats in New South Wales. The people of New South Wales have an opportunity on 25 March this year to kick out the Liberals and to put the Greens in the balance of power so that this fossil fuelled project can be rejected and coal and gas phased out once and for all. Santos has no business in the Pilliga or in the Liverpool Plains. The National Native Title Tribunal's decision was a setback, a significant setback, but people will keep fighting. The Gamilaraay people have lodged an appeal against the decision, and we are with them. We will not back down until justice is done. Let's not forget there can be no environmental justice without First Nations justice.