Thread by @davesgas

My resignation letter from #MaulesCreek CCC - for the #Whitehaven AGM today.
"It has become clear over the last year that my participation in this committee was not achieving anything worthwhile for my community @IPCC_CH @WhitehavenCoal @RobStokesMP @AustSharesAssoc @MayneReport

Most questions for Whitehaven I had put remained unanswered, or inadequately answered, and so participation on the Committee had become a fruitless exercise of playing ‘run around' with the company.

While I had been pre-occupied with this, Whitehaven have been breaking just about every rule they could break, breaking noise and dust limits, illegally taking and holding water, using Santos’ produced water, contaminating natural drainage lines, breaking worker safety guidelines

... illegally clearing bushland in exploration areas and lastly maintaining ongoing clearing in Leard Forest (a public forest) all the while resisting finalizing their offset commitments as outlined in their Commonwealth consent.

Using information gathered by concerned local citizens, it is apparent that Whitehaven go through the motions in relation to their rehabilitation and offset commitments, poor follow-up for plantings, use of exotic species, poor site preparation and poor seeding practices.

Having spoken to other community representatives on other mining committees, it seems my experiences are not isolated, other representatives have not only been ‘stone-walled’ to obtaining information but have experienced bullying and threats while trying to obtain answers.

Reporting of incidents has often resulted in poor follow up by regulatory authorities, both at the State and Commonwealth levels. The ongoing granting of extensions for Whitehaven to finalise their offset commitments for Maules Creek has been a source of great frustration.

This has confirmed that neither the mining company nor the government are serious about ensuring no net biodiversity loss. A biodiversity corridor in the forest separating Maules Creek from Idemitsu’s Boggabri Mine now will be undermined by the actions of both companies.

I am asking all community representatives in Australia now to boycott continuing participation in coal mining and gas CCCs. We are being used to fulfill mining companies community commitments, without the reciprocal transparency by companies to meet community aspirations.

It is up to each community member to make their own call. Combating the greenwashing spin of mining companies is important now in the shadow of COP26 and Australia committing to reputable international carbon emissions reductions.

Coal mining is no longer sustainable as an option for Australia to meet its international obligations on greenhouse emission reduction as laid out by the IPCC. At the recent class action against Whitehaven's Vickery Mine expansion, lawyers stated:

“The court has found that the minister owes a duty of care to younger children, to vulnerable people and that duty says that the minister must not act in a way that causes harm – future harm – from climate change to younger people”