Pat Miller, Tweed Water Alliance
Tweed Water Alliance (TWA) wants their sign back. The TWA sign on the eastern approach to Uki was vandalised on December 19, 2020 then stolen on or about 9 January, 2021. The old sign – the original we put up to notify people of the 99 per cent community opposition to water extraction for bottling – is in its place now.
On the basis of one complaint to Council we had to change the original sign to the one that has been stolen. Fair enough, that’s how political and environmental struggles work. We clearly made someone uncomfortable.
But our view is that if you have to resort to illegal, if not criminal, activity to make your point, you haven’t got anything left. TWA’s grassroots campaign is based on meticulous research, ethical lobbying, and a solid community desire to protect our groundwater.
A fence on a property at Kunghur was vandalised some time ago, the culprits hanging our stolen ‘Stop Water Mining’ signs on it in a clumsy attempt to blame us. Our members and supporters repaired the fence, quietly, at our own expense. It was the honourable thing to do.
It appears clear some of the supporters of the bottled water industry do not share those ethics. We have made a formal police complaint.
We are asking our community for information on our sign. We are sure you find trespass, vandalism, and theft as abhorrent as we do.
Please send any relevant information to [email protected].
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
