Greens protest offshore mining

By Melissa Grayson
Bondi locals joined the Greens last week to protest against a proposal for coal exploration off the eastern coast.

Six thousand square kilometres of NSW coast could drastically deteriorate if Energie Future P/L gains a licence to explore seabed coal deposits. Areas of coastline from Sydney’s Royal National Park to Port Stephens would be targeted, with activity occurring within five kilometres of the coast in Sydney’s far south, and at points along the Central Coast, Lake Macquarie and Stockton Bight. 

If approved, risks of leaks and spills would be an ongoing threat to marine life and water quality and impact on tourism.

The process involves offshore underground coal gasification; coal is dumped in the seabed, set on fire, which draws off gas, and creates an explosion of noise.

These explosions would pose a major disturbance for marine life, particularly whales known to communicate through sound and likely to be frightened away from the coastline.

Renee Ferster Levy from the Marine Discovery Centre in Bondi said that approximately 1400 humpback whales would be affected and drawn away from the coast, and sightseers, during the 10-week October and November migration season. ‘And that’s not considering the thousands more that aren’t in vision from the shore,’ she said.

Marine ecologist Will Jones adds: ‘Southern white whales are another breed that communicates through echoing sound, as well as dolphins, another major tourist attraction that’ll be drawn away from the shore if the mining goes ahead.’

This could have an impact on the huge number of tourists who visit Bondi every year which would also affect local businesses.

The protest, held at Bondi Beach on September 26, was spearheaded by Greens MP Lee Rhiannon. Locals, Greens supporters and mining protestors joined the rally, and speakers included Ms Rhiannon, Waverley Greens councillor Dominic Wy Kanak and Julien Lacave from Renewable Energy.
 

onathon Doig from the NSW Department of Natural Resources warns of the potential effects, pointing to the impact on beaches overseas.

‘At the beaches of Los Angeles, the sand is grey and the water is murky. Compare that to the glistening quality of Bondi which is a major tourist attraction,’ he said.

‘In five years if nothing is done, our beaches will resemble the beaches of LA.’

While the NSW government has carriage of the application process, the Rudd government has the final say.

People were urged to lobby against granting of the licence by writing to Environment Minister Peter Garrett and the local MP, Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull, demanding that they act to protect our coastlines.