This Saturday 23 March, it's time for NSW to choose: do we want to dig up our state, burn more coal and gas polluting our air, water, land and climate? Or do we want to power our state with clean energy, and protect forests and farmland, for a future with clean air, clean water and a safe climate? 
 
After eight years of Liberal-National government in NSW, they still have no real climate plan. On their watch, carbon pollution has increased, land clearing has increased, new coal mines are being planned.  We deserve better! 

We've put together scorecards rating the candidates for the electorates of Coffs Harbour and Oxley (the small ballot paper) on five key climate policy areas - see below. 

If you'd like advice on how to vote in the upper house (big ballot paper), check out this info from the Forest and Climate Alliance.

The electorate of Coffs Harbour runs from Red Rock in the north, to Sawtell and Bonville in the south, and west to the Orara Valley.  It's been a safe National party seat, but now, with long-term MP Andrew Fraser resigning, we have an opportunity to vote in a new candidate who will work for climate action! Be sure to vote and vote wisely - your preferences will matter!  

.The NSW electorate of Oxley, stretches from Repton, Bellingen, Dorrigo, to include all of Nambucca Shire, Kempsey Shire and down to the western Hastings valley. 

Coffs Coast Climate Action Group is not aligned with any political party; we do not endorse any candidates; we do tell anyone how to vote.  We seek to engage with everyone, across the political spectrum, to work towards stronger climate policies.

The above scorecards aim to give a general indication of candidates positions on key climate policy areas, based on their comments at our Climate Candidates Forum on 5 March 2019 (Coffs Harbour) and 11 March (Oxley), as well as other information provided by the candidates or their parties websites. 

Sun = good policies, ahead of the pack!
Peeky sun/cloud = some positive policies, but not strong enough
Thundercloud = boo! bad policies or no commitments.

If you'd like more info on candidates policies, we recommend contacting them yourself.  They need to hear from their community that climate action matters!

A couple of weeks ago the Marine Science Centre held a free screening of Chasing Coral, a documentary about the global degradation and bleaching of coral reefs. I arrived wearing an inner-badge of rugged cynicism, confident that I already knew how badly we’d stepped in it. I wasn’t expecting much more than picturesque cinematography and a bit of misty eyed motivation. And in the beginning, that was exactly what I got. But as the film progressed I felt an increasing urge to latch onto the arm next to me. I didn’t realise that something as immense as the ocean could be so vulnerable to climate change. I didn’t know that coral was so magnificently alive, or that once bleached it left behind nothing but an underwater wasteland. By the time the lights came back up my hands were on my skull in clichéd despair. I massaged the roots of my hair, still wiry with salt water – a souvenir from the day I’d spent at Red Rock. Just this morning I’d been laying on the sand with clay baking on my skin. I’d been so peaceful, so content to do and think of nothing. How could the connection I’d felt there bring me here?

As I walked back out to the carpark I felt absent; an emptiness in my chest that moaned like hunger. I knew I could get in my car and drive, go to sleep, wake up and keep moving. But instead I lay on the cold sand by the ocean and lingered in my grief. With climate change, half the fight is to just keep looking at it. To not let it be swept under the rug of your own consciousness. Without even knowing it, I’d been looking away, and it frightened me that it had been so easy to do so.

In the days that followed I thought a lot about hope. How it is lost and salvaged. How it can be both active and passive. It is comforting to think of hope as a deep well within us; one that will always be there to draw on in times of need. But by those involved with climate activism, hope is often spoken of as a practice, a muscle that grows stronger each time you use it. Since Chasing Coral, I’ve been reminding myself to practise hope every day. Sometimes it’s through little things like making almond milk from scratch, or riding my bike to work. Other times it’s by taking part in collective actions that speak more loudly than I ever could alone.

On October 7th, residents from the Coffs Coast and beyond will be coming together to form a ‘Stop Adani’ human sign. Its purpose is to send a clear, and powerful message to our government – capturing our refusal to accept that now is the time to build Australia’s largest ever coal mine, and to ship that coal to India across the Great Barrier Reef. The event is organised by the Coffs Climate Action Group and will begin at 1pm at Park Beach, near the Surf Club. I’ll be there standing proud. If you care about our climate, and feel like your hope muscles could do with some flexing then please come down. You are so welcome, and even more than that you are needed.

Melanie Hunter.

Melanie Hunter has been a resident of Coffs Harbour for 18 years. She writes many things, and sometimes other people read them.
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
27 September 2017
 
Coffs resident arrested in Queensland Adani mine protest   
 
A Coffs Coast resident has been arrested as part of a major week of action in Queensland aimed at preventing Indian company Adani from beginning construction for its proposed mega coal mine in the Galilee Basin. 
 
Local native plant nurseryman, John Ross, was charged with contravening a police move-on order, after being involved in a sit-in at Adani’s Townsville office.  The sit-in was one of several peaceful direct actions last week which disrupted Adani’s Queensland operations.
 
Mr Ross said he was not deterred and would continue action to stop the mine, which is a major threat to the Great Barrier Reef, groundwater and the climate. He emphasised that the campaign is supported by a large majority of Australians: “The Stop Adani Alliance is made up of 30 major environmental groups and over 160 local groups, including our own Coffs Coast Climate Action Group.  A huge cross section of people are taking actions ranging from letter writing to peaceful actions at MPs offices and companies linked to Adani, and a big national day of action coming up on October 7.”
 
“Despite polls repeatedly showing overwhelming opposition to the coal mine and to the taxpayer-funded $1billion loan for the project, the Government and Adani appear determined to pursue this climate- and reef-wrecking mine.” 
 
“This disregard for the community is why so many locals and concerned citizens converged in Queenland last week to take non-violent direct action. The key message to Adani is that “This is just the beginning”.  There is so much at stake for all of us, the climate and the Reef.  We simply cannot let Adani build that mine,” Mr Ross explained.
  
“Not all of us can take direct action on the frontlines, but we can all join in the national day of action to Stop Adani,” invited Mr Ross, “We’ll be forming a giant human sign on Park Beach 1pm Saturday 7 October, one of dozens around the country.  This is a family-friendly action and we invite everyone to come and spell it out for our politicians.” 
 
WHEN: 1pm 7th October 2017
WHERE: Park Beach, Coffs Harbour (near Surf Club)
WHAT: Giant human sign spelling “STOP ADANI”, hundreds of people dressed in red – great visuals and sound for media
 
ATTACHED: two photos featuring John Ross after at the Townsville #StopAdani action. 
 
Media Contacts:
John Ross                    0427 071 354
Sarah Wood                0431 299 707
Marnie Cotton             0422 982 436

MEDIA RELEASE
18 September 2017
 
Prime Minister greeted by Climate Protesters in Coffs Harbour
 
Members of Coffs Coast Climate Action Group today disrupted the Prime Minister’s visit to Coffs Harbour, attempting to get him to answer questions on the proposed Adani mega coal mine in Queensland. 
 
“I’m here with my 10 year old son today, who wants to know why half of the Great Barrier Reef is dead, yet the Government is still backing a giant coal mine on its doorstep. Extreme weather is lashing large parts of the globe, fuelled by climate change, yet our PM still wants to give $1billion of public money to Indian billionaire Adani for this destructive coal mine.  A massive majority of the community prefers renewable energy, and the big banks have distanced themselves from Adani, but when will Turnbull and Hartsuyker get with the times?”, said local mother, Liisa Rusanen, a member of Coffs Coast Climate Action Group.   
 
“It’s shameful that Mr Turnbull moved his morning tea today, to hide behind the barbed wire, rather than answer questions from the community.”
 
The protesters chanted “Stop Adani! Save the Reef” and received a wave of acknowledgement from the Prime Minister. 
 
The locals involved were fresh from a #StopAdani Summit in Port Macquarie on Saturday [photo below], which brought together people from across the Mid-North Coast to ramp up the campaign against the mega mine.  “It was inspiring to see the broad range of people who are a part of this massive, growing movement.  It’s clear that ordinary people are prepared to do whatever it takes to stop this mine and move Australia beyond coal.  Turnbull and Hartsuyker should expect protests like this wherever they are,” said Ms Rusanen.
 
Coffs Coast Climate Action Group are planning a giant human sign as part of a national day of action to Stop Adani on 7 October, 1pm at Park Beach, Coffs Harbour.  Everyone concerned about the impacts of this mega mine are encouraged to attend. 
 
Media Contacts:
Liisa Rusanen     0403 646 787
Marnie Cotton   0422 982 436

Media Release
For Immediate Release
25 August 2017
 
Council Divestment Move Celebrated at Climate Film Screening
 
Last night, Coffs Harbour City Council passed a motion to divest all its funds from banks which finance the fossil fuel industry, including controversial coal, oil and gas projects.  The Council joins a list of 32 other local governments who have already passed similar motions, representing a combined total of over $7 billion.  This growing divestment movement is fuelled by concerns about climate change, as well as the risk of exposure to declining industries. 

Coffs Coast Climate Action Group’s Sarah Wood said, "This is a win-win decision for our community and the Coffs Coast Climate Action Group is thrilled with the outcome".

Mrs Wood spoke at last night’s regional premiere of Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Sequel”, and was delighted to be able to announce the outcome just minutes after the motion passed.  Film-goers received the breaking news with much cheering and applause.  Mrs Wood, herself a graduate of Gore’s Climate Reality training programme, said that the Council’s move demonstrated that active community groups can make a positive difference on climate change. 

"The Coffs Coast Climate Action Group has been working on this issue for 12 months, since the Candidates Forum for the Coffs Harbour City Council elections, where Council's investment in financial institutions that invest in and finance fossil fuels was a major concern for the public. We received over 400 signatures of support from the public and over 100 people attended the Forum last year."

Mrs Wood also emphasised that the move to divest was a sensible one from an economic and legal perspective: "This was a prudent decision made by the Coffs Harbour City Council where they have ensured that in moving funds away from financial institutions that continue to support and fund the fossil fuel industry they have done so where there is no risk to public funds, and in fact a financial benefit, whilst tackling the important issue of Climate Risk." 

"Coffs Coast Climate Action Group would like to thank all Councillors for their support, in particular Councillors Tegan Swan and Sally Townley for their leadership on this issue".

For information on which banks are exposed to fossil fuels, see https://www.marketforces.org.au/info/compare-bank-table/

For media interviews:  Sarah Wood 0431 299 707
 
Photos above and below from the opening night screening of An Inconvenient Sequel at Sawtell Majestic Cinema.  Photo credit: Rob Cleary, Seen Australia

Thank you to all the wonderful people who turned up to hand over our Adani Survey findings. The survey which was a collaboration between the Coffs Coast Climate Action Group and Climate Change Australia Hastings Branch, was completed over several weeks and aimed to get a broad section of the community to have their say on the proposed Adani coal mine. With 333 people completing the survey and 94% of those surveyed opposing the $1 billion loan of public money being invested in the mine and the Adani mine itself. It is clear that the Cowper residents who were surveyed do not want this mine to go ahead. 
The five questions in the survey also included "Do you want your local politician to take a stand to stop Adani’s proposed coalmine?" And "Do you agree or disagree that it’s time to make the transition to renewable energy sources like wind and solar? Respectively the results were 91 % and 94 %. It is clear that the Cowper electorate wants our Federal Member to take a stand against this madness and invest in the clean renewable energy future. 
Approximately 30 people gathered in front of our Federal Member's office to chant and watch some performances by our volunteers on Monday. We were there to demand that Luke Hartsuyker MP listen to his constituents and to remind Luke that we are not going away. We will continue to keep the pressure up until this coal mine is stopped. 
Thank you for showing up. ​

Over the day approximately 30 protestors gathered in front of the Coffs Harbour Showgrounds to send a clear message to the Federal Government that #WaterIsLife and our most precious resource. The local protest joined hundreds of others acting in this annual National highway demonstration.

Banners from Bentley were attached along the cyclone fence of the Showgrounds during the action. Protesters held signs saying "Protect our Water", "No CSG in Australia" & "Water Is Life". There was a clear sign of support from drivers passing by with lots of toots and waves. 

Check out this NBN news report and the media release below. Thanks to the "Korora Crew" who also set up North of the footbridge and to Rob Cleary who took some lovely shots at the end of the day. It was lovely seeing lots of new faces on the day and the support from the passes by was astounding.

MEDIA RELEASE
​
"We stand with landowners protecting our water, our food and our future from the unfettered unconventional gas and coal mining which is destroying our precious water. We live on the driest continent on Earth, only set to get drier as climate change becomes more extreme, we must protect our water," said Marnie Cotton, one of the organisers with the Coffs Coast Climate Action Group. 

Our farmers are facing undeniable hardships because of the impact mining is having on their water. Usually reliable bores have gone dry or become explosive in the Queensland Gasfields, Rivers can be set a light and now the proposed Adani coal mine has been given access to free unlimited water. What kind of future will be left for our children if the Great Artesian Basin is depleted?" asked Marnie. 

"The CSG industry in Queensland will take 70,000 million litres of Water from the Great Artesian Basin every year, add that to the billions of litres of groundwater the Adani mine will extract and we will see irreversible damage to the lifeblood of Australia, producing a permanent drop in the water table." said Marnie.

"In NSW we have our own battle. The Narrabri Gas project attracted a record breaking 23,000 submission but only approximately 300 are for the project. That is 98.7% who are saying 'No!' to the 850 coal seam gas wells planned in one of the major recharge areas of the Great Artesian Basin. It is clear that the public understands that this project is a Trojan horse, that will open up our fertile black soils to this ever expanding industry. We know our water is more precious than gas and that we cannot jeopardise our farmlands anymore. When will the government listen to us?" Marnie added. 
​

Today four representatives of Coffs Coast Climate Climate Action Group met with the Member for Cowper.  Our group included champions Marg and Susan, who were arrested three weeks ago in his office, trying to get this meeting (see here).

Hartsuyker began by declaring himself "a strong supporter" of the massive Adani Carmichael coal mine, stating he had no issue with $1billion of public money subsidising the project. Curiously, he also stated support for the Paris climate agreement and he saw no conflict between burning Adani's coal and limiting global warming to below 1.5 or 2degrees. He was equipped with his party's "briefing notes" which enabled him to repeat irrelevant arguments about how Adani's coal is cleaner than Indian coal [not as clean as solar, though!] and something about jobs [not as many as the Reef creates, though!] and strict environmental guidelines [unless those guidelines include NOT BURNING THE COAL, they're not strict enough!].  He repeatedly made false claims about the cost and unreliability of renewable energy - despite being presented with research and evidence to prove otherwise.

Hartsuyker was unconcerned by clear polls showing over 93% of Australians oppose public funding for coal projects and 96% of Australians want renewable energy to be our primary energy source. He also lacked any concern for the future of the Great Barrier Reef or the impact of rising seas on our special part of the coast, claiming his Government's weak targets and actions were sufficient.

This is not good enough for us.  This issue is serious and will not go away.

If you are disappointed or angry by your Federal representatives comments today, let him know by phone 6652 6233 or email luke.hartsuyker.mp@aph.gov.au

Stay tuned for more action soon.