Yesterday there was a rally led by a coalition of environmental groups and Traditional Owners at the entrance to the Albanese government’s ‘Global Nature Positive Conference’ in Darling Harbour, Sydney, calling on the government to protect land, water and climate from the dangers of new coal and gas projects.
Supported by GetUp, Garawa and Yanyuwa Traditional Owners travelled from the Beetaloo basin in the Northern Territory to call out the Albanese Government’s hypocrisy, with federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek currently refusing to halt fracking in the Territory.
The groups were also protesting the recent approval of three new coal mine expansions that will be responsible for 1.3 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
Garrawa and Yanyuwa Traditional Owner Gadrian Hoosan said, ‘The Albanese government is talking about protecting nature, while they let fracking tear up our Country and poison our water in the NT.
‘If this was happening on whitefellas’ land, they would have stopped it by now.
‘The Albanese government needs to listen to us, stop the fracking, and protect our water, our life, now,’ said Mr Hoosan.
Greenwashing
Carmel Flint, National Coordinator for Lock The Gate Alliance said, ‘From refusing to introduce a climate trigger, to failing to apply the water trigger to fracking projects in the Northern Territory, to approving koala killing coal mines in NSW, the Albanese government’s actions have left Australian nature worse off.
‘We can’t let them get away with such an extraordinary level of greenwashing.’
Larissa Baldwin-Roberts, Widjabul Wia-bal woman and GetUp CEO said, ‘Hosting a nature positive summit whilst approving new coal and gas projects that accelerate climate change and devastate water resources is hypocritical and shameless.
‘If the Albanese government wants to show real leadership on the environment, they must stand with First Nations communities who have been fighting for generations to protect their water, Country, and culture from fossil fuel extraction.’
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