More than 600 people rallied and marched in Brisbane’s CBD on October 16, as part of a national day of action to “Defend our water from coal and coal seam gas”. The rally in Queens Park was sponsored by the Lock and Gate Alliance and Defend Our Water Queensland.
Lock the Gate Alliance spokesperson Drew Hutton told the rally: “We live in the driest country on earth. To allow the mining industry to pollute our water and destroy our best farming land is a disgrace.
“Why is the Labor government allowing the mining companies to ruin our state? And the Liberal-National Party are no better.”
Ruth Armstrong, from Save Our Darling Downs said: “Our ground water is at risk from CSG. We urgently need to protect the aquifers.
“While we farmers have taken voluntary reductions in entitlement to water, the CSG companies can take what they like.
“Most Australian farmers are environmentalists. We need to support them. The CSG industry should not be allowed to go wherever they want, whenever they want.
“Enough is enough. If the government won’t protect our vital resources, we will do it ourselves,” she said, to rousing applause.
Ewan Saunders from Stop CSG Brisbane finished the rally by pointing to a green Eureka flag brandished by one demonstrator: “The Eureka flag is a symbol of struggle in our history. The miners at Eureka in Ballarat in the 1850s took an oath ‘to stand by the Southern Cross and unite in defence of our rights and liberties’.
“This flag can be a uniting symbol of defiance against great power,” he said. “We need sovereignty over our land. We’re not going to let them walk all over our land and water.
“Now, we're going to take this message to the streets of Brisbane.”
The demonstrators then marched through city streets, attracting support from passersbyers.
[For more information on the campaign email: lockthegateqld@gmail.com .]
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