MEDIA ALERT

Farms not fossil fuels

Rally against Bacchus Marsh coal mine plans

What: ‘Farms not fossil fuels’ rally against Mantle Mining’s plan to dig a large open-cut coal mine in Bacchus Marsh and establish a coal export industry in Victoria. Approximately 100 people are expected to attend, including Bacchus Marsh residents.
 
When: 12:45pm TODAY Thursday, 1 September 2011
 
Where: City Square, corner of Swanston St and Collins St, Melbourne.
 
Contact:
- Shaun Murray, Friends of the Earth, 0402 337 077
- Deborah Porter, Moorabool Environment Group, 0421 047 458
 
Why:
 “The community consultation process for this project is a farce and in breach of government guidelines. Locals are angry about the company’s failure to properly inform or consult them, and are strongly opposed to this project proceeding,” said Moorabool Environment Group secretary Deborah Porter.
 
“The world’s leading scientific experts say that we need to urgently transition away from burning coal to avert catastrophic climate change. We simply need to keep coal in the ground,” said Shaun Murray, Friends of the Earth Australia’s spokesperson on coal.
 
“The community will not accept these companies jeopardising our future for a quick buck, and if necessary, is prepared to engage in peaceful direct action to stop this project going ahead,” he said.

Background info:

    * Mantle Mining currently has a huge exploration license (386 km2) around Bacchus Marsh that includes black and brown coal and coal seam gas.
    * Mantle intends to commence test drilling in September to confirm the quality of brown coal deposits.
    * Once confirmed they will apply for a mining license through the Victorian Dept Primary Industries (DPI).
    * The application for the exploration license was advertised in local papers, which do not get delivered to the area the exploration is to occur in, so locals were unaware of the application and missed the 21 day deadline to lodge formal objections.
    * Locals first knew about it when they were contacted by Mantle telling them that DPI had issued them with an exploration license and they would be drilling on the road side, and may need to come into their land.
    * Residents report that when they said “I don't want you to access my land”, they were informed they had no right to prevent this, and that Mantle could take them to court to gain access.

 
More information about the project here:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Bacchus_Marsh_coal_project