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I have been activating

Last weekend I went activating at Lismore Car Boot Markets. I helped to collect money for the charity of the day, CSG Free Northern Rivers.We raised a record amount on Sunday, showing that people of this region DO care. I chatted to many people, young and old and they were all disgusted with what CSG would do do to our region. CSG, for those of you who don't know is Coal Seam Gas mining mines gas in unstable soils, bringing saltwater to the surface and often creating lesions beneath the ground which allows gas to leach into the water supply. So effectively the water supply is poisoned and in many cases the gas escapes to the surface, which means even rain water is compromised....and they have put an exploration well a few miles up the road from me.
What is gobsmacking, is that the well is metres from Terania Creek, which flows onto Lismore and Ballina. The Northern Rivers water supply is pumped from this water further down river at Boat Harbour. Plus the valley floods at least twice a year, which means that any waste in holding tanks would be washed downstream.
But it is not just all about moi, basically the mining companies have all the power. They can come onto your land and do this, and you have no rights, the only leverage the private landholder has is the dictation of terms. That is, they can demand that the gas companies pay $10,000 per minute to access their land. (you get the gist)
So ultimately (at the moment) it comes down to money, and what is your price.
But there were many disturbing stories on Saturday. One bloke out at Casino was checking his fences. His high tensile five strand barbed wire fence had weakened. (This type of fence is expensive) He found that a mining company, WITHOUT PERMISSION, had cut the fence, installed some gates and had slashed the grass as road access.
Another bloke told me his 90 year old grandmother had been forced to sign a document by the mining company representatives. They told her she had no option and HAD to sign when they visited her in her house, scary the living daylights out of her. On Saturday there is going to be a big rally in Lismore to protest CSG mining in the Northern Rivers. If you are  local, consider participating. It starts at 10.00am with a march through Lismore and ends at Riverside Park where there will be music and food. I will be wearing my Keerrong Gas Squad t-shirt, with DON"T FRACK WITH ME. CSG hasn't got a good track record. The companies who have licenses in the Northern Rivers are Chinese subsidiaries of Shell, they don't care what poison they spread, they are only concerned with their profits. I historically have never been an activist, opting to change things in a different way...organics, self sufficiency, recycling, reusing, low impact on the environment etc. BUT now I am riled, and am ACTIVATING!
Posted by Nick at 10:54 AM Labels: coal seam gas, coal seam gas mining, csg, csg free northern rivers, keerrong, keerrong gas squad, lismore rally, no csg, riverside park Collecting Feathers Shop Laughing Duck Vintage Shop People like us once upon a time green thumb links