A delegation of unionists travelled to the Pilliga forest, in Northern NSW, in solidarity with the Gomeroi people resisting Santos' Narrabri coal seam gas mining operation. Jim McIlroy reports.
Pilliga Forest
We arrived at twilight and put up our tents using the headlights from the car. A young man at the camp helped us with threading those damned rods with elastic bits through the tape slots on the tent. We had just got it up when we heard a bell ring for the evening meal. The meal was delicious, catering for both vegetarians and meat eaters.
In the Pilliga Aboriginal land rights, water supply, farming, local economies, world-leading astronomy research, the night sky, biodiversity and endangered species such as koalas are all under threat.