Dear Guardians

hope you can make it to what looks like a great night, and the beginning of an important campaign with the launch of Stop Adani Tweed – invite friends and print/pass on the poster if you can ?

Dear friends
Northern Rivers is front and centre in what is set to be Australia’s biggest people-powered campaign since stopping Tasmania’s Franklin Dam in 1983. The Stop Adani Tweed, Byron and Lismore groups have joined over 2 million people worldwide to oppose the biggest coal mine in Australia’s history, Adani’s Carmichael project in Central Queensland’s Galilee Basin.

Northern Rivers is the only region in Australia to achieve coal seam gas-free status. Stop Adani Australia has asked us to rise up again and establish a Northern Rivers Adani-free zone. They say if it can be done anywhere, it can be done here. This would send a resounding message for the rest of Australia to follow. It is only through people power that this mine will be stopped.
You are invited to the Stop Adani Tweed campaign launch and the screening of ‘Guarding the Galilee’, a documentary film that takes us inside the fight to stop Adani coal. Hosted by award-winning actor Michael Caton, the film features farmers, dive instructors and boat operators all concerned about the impacts that Adani’s Carmichael coal mine would have on water resources, climate and the reef.

Also participating in the programme are keynote speakers Mandy Nolan (local comedian, artist, journalist and conservationist) and Tony Barry (renowned TV and movie actor, environmental, indigenous rights and political ‘actorvist’). Local singer/songwriter Sophia Fletcher’s musical performance will include her original song ‘Mine Games, a Message to Adani’. The audience will be invited to join a Q&A session, with expert panelists including recently retired NSW Environmental Defenders Office CEO and environmental lawyer Sue Higginson.

WHERE: Regent Cinema, Brisbane Street, Murwillumbah
WHEN: Wednesday, 13 December [7-9pm with delicious food by Khanthaly and drinks for sale and live music between 6-7pm]
If you wish to book your ticket online, go to http://www.trybooking.com/337282 or RSVP to diceileen@gmail.com . For more information go to https://www.facebook.com/Stop-Adani-Tweed-1982858885325813/ . Attached is a flier with details of this event.

If this mine goes ahead it would open up a coal resource that, if burned, would double Australia’s carbon emissions. Each year 60 million tonnes of coal would be transported along a 388km rail line to a new coal export terminal at Abbot Point on the doorstep of the World Heritage Great Barrier Reef, with an estimated 500 extra coal ships travelling through this area. GetUp has reported that in 2011 a ship carrying Adani coal sank off the coast of Mumbai, devastating beaches, tourism and marine life and Adani did nothing to clean up the mess for five years.

The foreign-owned Adani mine is a local issue. It is our home, our farm, our family, our business, our kids, our grandkids and our Great Barrier Reef that will be affected by the climate change legacy this mine will bring. We can expect more extreme weather events such as the recent floods if we continue to unleash carbon pollution into our atmosphere.

In October thousands of people (including a large gathering at Cabarita Beach) partook in a national day of action to send a strong message to Indian billionaire Gautam Adani that they do not want this fossil fuel-intensive and destructive coal mine. As a result of local ‘Stop Adani’ activism, Tweed and Lismore Councils have resolved that civil construction tenders disclose any involvement they have with the Carmichael mine and that a policy position be considered on trading with entities that provide services to this mine. Byron Council has resolved not to award contracts to companies involved with the Adani mine, and not to contract or engage in services under any existing contract with Downer EDI Ltd or its subsidiaries until they publicly renounce any involvement with the mine.

Please come along to this event, bring your family, and invite your friends. Learn more about what’s at stake and what we still need to do to STOP ADANI.

Looking forward to seeing you for what promises to be a wonderful evening!

Kind regards
Lynette Dickinson
On behalf of Barry Firth
Spokesperson for Stop Adani Tweed
Phone: 02 6676 0615
Mobile: 0413 752 450
Email: diceileen@gmail.com