By SAT News Desk
MELBOURNE, 25 October: The anti-Adani coal mine stir today took a dramatic turn with several people attaching themselves to construction machinery, vowing to continue the protest against the coal mine in Central Queensland. The protest, says a media release, stopped the work for many hours.
Supported by over a dozen people, one person got attached to a front-end loader, another to an excavator and a third person attached themselves to a grader, stopping construction work.
The protest action took place where the state development area crosses the Gregory Highway, approximately 35km / 25 minutes south of the Belyando Roadhouse.
“I’m scared about my children’s future. I think our government is seriously underestimating the potentially devastating impacts of climate change. Now is the time to take a stand. I’m an ordinary person taking extraordinary action to stop this mine.” said, Gail Hamilton, an engineer and former council employee from Townsville.
“My granddaughter has just turned five, I’m here to Stop Adani and protect the environment and our water for her future,” said fellow protestor Susanne Rix, from the Blue Mountains.
“I could not sit idly by and let Adani begin work. This is the line in the sand for me and thousands of people from all walks of life who will take peaceful direct action to stop this mine,” said John Brinnand, a retired psychiatrist from the Sunshine Coast.
The mine would be one of the greatest coal mines in the world, releasing billions of tonnes of carbon pollution into the atmosphere. The Great Barrier Reef would be badly affected, already facing large-scale blenching due to rising ocean temperatures, caused by climate change.
Recent polling indicates that the majority of Australians do not support the mine. Despite this, the Queensland and Federal Governments are gearing up to hand Adani Australia a $1 billion taxpayer-subsidized loan for the project.
All photos: Front Line Action on Coal (FLAC), Australia.
