Leards Forest Blockade

Yesterday (Sunday July 25th) West Papua Freedom Flotilla Land Convoy dropped in
for a cuppa and some delicious scrambled eggs with Muzza & the crew at the Leard State forest blockade.

The blockade will clock it’s first year August 5th and has maintained a constant vigil to protect this critically endangered box gum woodland from the ravages of multiple open cut coal mines which span one whole length of the forest clearing an estimated 5500 hectares in total.

The mines have been operating for 6 years and run 24 hours a day. Muzza told when we got there we had just missed a huge explosion. The noise is so deafening that blockaders must wear ear plugs to sleep at night. It’s horrifying to imagine the impact such a disturbance is having on the 396 native species of plants and animals that live there, including 34 that are threatened.

Just one of the mines (Bogabbri) will destroy the existing forest carbon sink and produce 16.9 million tones of green house gas every year – equivalent to 10% of total NSW produced greenhouse gases.
This is a sobering thought for the West Papua Freedom Flotilla as we head northward to Cape York and the Torres Strait and on to Papua New Guinea & West Papua where many Islands and low lying coast land are facing the dire threat of rising sea levels and rogue weather patterns related to climate change.

we wish we could have stayed longer at the blockade and participated in some actions but our schedule was too tight. We absolutely stand in solidarity with this staunch frontline mob and see our struggle to protect the environment and sacred indigenous land from the relentless insanity of multinational mining corporations like Whitehaven that are running amok on this beautiful land.

If you want to get up there and join the blockade go to http://frontlineaction.wordpress.com/