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Police and courts misuse bail on environmental activists
On Tuesday December 3rd, two young men climbed on top of a stationary coal train near the Port of Brisbane and refused to come down. They had a banner draped from the carriage showing statistics from recent bushfires. They were protesting against government climate...
Spirit of Place in the Climate Crisis
It was a quiet afternoon at Camp Binbee - the exhausted recovery from the at times frantic activity of trying to stop Adani’s proposed mega coal mine. As the hot breeze rustled through the trees, a few of us sat down for tattoos. The medium was the “stick and poke” of...
Climate tensions coming to the surface
"We who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive." - Martin Luther King Jr. “Australia is taking real action on climate change and getting results,” Scott Morrison said...
Repeat a lie often enough – Lock on laws passed in parliament
You know the saying, “Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth”. Various psychological studies over the years have found some validity in the theory, and on a daily basis around the world people try it out for various reasons and to various extents....
Science, magic and the climate crisis
I’ve always been one of those people (you know, the artists, religious believers and flat-earthers) who believes not everything can be explained by science. Science is good for understanding the mechanics of how things work, but not necessarily why we should care how...
Living dangerously on the climate frontlines
Living at Camp Binbee, welcoming new people is a regular task. As part of the process introducing them to the camp, everyone signs a document saying they agree to the campaign’s protocol of non-violence – towards one another, towards people we come into contact with,...
Locking on – the great Australian political tradition
The first Australian political “lock-on” took place in 1908, in an auspicious location: the British House of Parliament. Muriel Matters grew up in South Australia, one of the first places in the world where women could vote. Moving to Britain and illegible to vote due...
Anniversaries, Anastacia and the Anthropocene – this week on the climate frontlines
Last week ended with a birthday. Not just anybody’s birthday – a celebration of 40 years of Australian environmental blockading. On August 16th, 1979; a group of locals from Nimbin, NSW went to the forest at Terania Creek and stood in the way of bulldozers set to...
The climate is heating up this week in Queensland – so is the resistance
The week began with dramatic reports of climate damage. The Arctic is on fire, huge ice melts in Greenland and Alaska, record temperatures, Pacific Island nations demanding Australia prioritises rising sea levels ahead of our own strategic concerns in the region. Just...
Fact check: Has Matt Canavan really been inundated with Indian mining companies?
On Monday, Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan spoke at a NSW mining conference. As part of his speech, he addressed industry concerns about China’s ongoing ban on Australian coal imports. “The obvious next, big hope for our coal is India... Since the election...
A dramatic week on the climate frontlines
Journalists arrested and harsh court rulings made for an eventful week on the frontlines of climate action around Australia. Monday morning began with two people blocking entry to Adani’s Abbot Point coal terminal just north of Bowen. Matilda Heselev and Emily Starr...
Clive Palmer court case shows the true nature of mining jobs
Though he hasn’t been quite as ubiquitous as he was in the leadup to the federal election, in the last fortnight Clive Palmer has been in the news for a couple of reasons. One was him claiming that, following his win in court against his former business partners CITIC...