Category: mining

When Joh went to Uni

In 1980 or 1981, Bjelke-Petersen went to University of Queensland guarded by Qld Special Branch. Joh’s visit was controversial as the questions from the news media suggest.… Go to Article

Gomeroi elders pull no punches on Whitehaven coal

From Gomeroi Traditional Owners

Gomeroi people protest at Whitehaven Coal office

Gomeroi Traditional Owners will this morning hold a protest at the Whitehaven Coal office in Boggabri after what the Elders describe as Whitehaven’s failure to respect burial sites and allow them to salvage cultural heritage artefacts at the controversial Maules Creek coal mine project.… Go to Article

Lost film of the street marches

History is an angel being blown backwards into the future
History is a pile of debris
And the angel wants to go back and fix things
To repair the things that have been broken
But there is a storm blowing from Paradise
And the storm keeps blowing the angel backwards into the future
And this storm, this storm is called Progress.… Go to Article

End of Country — Energy Policy in Queensland

“If we don’t change direction soon,
we’ll end up where we’re heading”

— IEA Energy Outlook, 2011

PShift Broadcast (4ZZZ) & 4PR Podcast

Interview with Trevor Berrill on Energy policies in Queensland

Over the past five years, the Queensland government has spent over $6.9 billion subsidising port, rail, road and other infrastructure for the benefit of the fossil fuel industry.… Go to Article

Face to Face with Fukushima

Face to Face with Fukushima: Brisbane
Public Forum
March 12, 2013 11am
The Premier’s Hall -Qld Parliament House
Alice St @ George St, Brisbane

As the Qld government makes motions to open a uranium mining industry in this state, the anniversary of the ongoing disaster at Fukushima serves as a timely reminder of the dangers of the nuclear industry…

The Fukushima Delegation will share firsthand accounts and experiences of the Fukushima nuclear disaster that occurred following the Tsunami that devastated East Japan on March 11, 2011.

… Go to Article

Is West Papua being split up to marginalise the Papuan people?

West Papua (called Irian Jaya by the expansionist, military-backed Indonesian regime) is rich in natural mineral and precious metals resources, making it a target for foreign trans-national corporations such as Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.… Go to Article

Failing Energy Policy and Climate Change – Why can’t Australia get it right?

Failing Energy Policy and Climate Change – Why can’t Australia get it right??

My take on this is that what we are seeing in Australia is a complete failure to implement good long term energy policy to support the development of the renewable energy industry (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) industries.

… Go to Article

Campbell Newman and Bligh – a ‘quinella’ of losers

“In the courtroom of honor, the judge pounded his gavel
To show that all’s equal and that the courts are on the level
And that the strings in the books ain’t pulled and persuaded
And that even the nobles get properly handled”

In horse racing, when you pick two winners in any order it is called a ‘quinella’.… Go to Article

The Fire on the Sand

Wild waterspouts put tendrils down to naked sea.
White water sucking bait-fish into the heavens
Migloo, puffing whale, meanders northward
As Minjerriba slumbers under a soft molten sky

Island serpent hidden in sand takes refuge from mining
Pumps, centrifuges and scoundrels building castles
Standing high on dune called Bippo Penbean
Overlooking Vance – a mining ruin
Grass trees planted in rows by machine

Sovereign rights held by Quandamooka people
Always was, always will be, aboriginal land
Mining leases rigged as security cameras set up on bush tracks
To deter walkers

Government practices simple arithmetic in mine and space
Foreign machines process coloured sands without a worker in sight
Upside down swimming dolphin calf at North Gorge
Sun become amber and then crimson

Finally wind worn sea eagle, Karboora, dies
And there was fire on the sand

Gannets poised aloft dive for fish
Winter whiting arrived at last,
Braminy Kite lingers as the moon rises,
Wild whales encrusted pass Point Lookout
Followed by despot yatch on a democratic sea
And wet suited surfers are bonding beyond the waves
As fishermen jag fish out of crowded schools

A low necked gull asserts dominance in the flock,
Picking over carcasses
And Dolphins murder mullet on the edge of a cruel sea


Ian Curr
Straddie
June 2011

[Music accompaniment and photo by Trevor Berrill on rythmn guitar.… Go to Article