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1st August, 2007

Private forestry code undermined by “seamstress clause”

The Hunter Community Environment Centre is disappointed that the Code of Conduct for logging on private land released this week includes a so-called “seamstress clause,” which allows the Code to be tailored to cut out protected areas for individual landholders if they believe the impact on their logging operations is too great.

The NSW Government has taken the disppointing and cowardly decision to approve the controversial Anvil Hill coal mine proposal near Denman, just days after hundreds of people travelled to the Upper Hunter to spell out their opposition to the mine.

Anvil Hill has become a focal point for the campaign to reduce NSW's contribution to climate change from export coal but has also been fiercely criticised for the massive loss of remnant woodland it will cause, and its impact on regionally important waterways.

Logging to be assessed in Redgum forests -- but new parks are urgently needed

Following court action taken by the National Parks Association of NSW and a four-day blockade by NSW Red Gum Forest Action the NSW Government has agreed to prepare an environmental impact assessment for all red gum forestry in the Riverina (State Forests, TSRs and Crown leases).

3rd April, 2007

The Hunter Community Environment Centre has revealed today that coal reserves in NSW could run out in less than four decades, adding to urgent calls to cease coal expansion plans in the Hunter Valley.

Based on current industry growth and production rates, HCEC claims that the 10,600 million tonnes of coal under NSW will be exhausted in just 35 years.

HCEC spokesperson Georgina Woods said, “NSW is currently producing 156 million tonnes of coal per year, most of which is coming out of the Hunter Valley, and 70% of which is being sold for export.”

Mining industry lobby group the NSW Minerals Council has twice moved to bring down a satirical website launched by Rising Tide Newcastle to counter the Council's expensive pro-mining advertising campaign.

See the Minerals Council website here.

See Rising Tide's counter website here.

Greenpeace activists have locked themselves to the conveyor belts at the Kooragang coal terminal and are holding up coal exports in the world's largest coal port.

HCEC says Hooray for Greenpeace.

Here is their press release:

Greenpeace stops coal loading at Newcastle Harbour

Warns of post-election coal expansion including Anvil Hill

Newcastle, 21st February 2007

Greenpeace has just shut down the biggest coal terminal in Newcastle Harbour to warn of the NSW Government’s post-election expansion plans for the Hunter Valley coal industry, including approval of the controversial Anvil Hill proposal, which would be a climate change disaster.

The "Expert" panel appointed by the NSW Government to report on the Anvil Hill coal project have released their report. The report ignores mounting community demands that coal exports be capped and phased out, and the judgement of the NSW Land and Environment Court, which found that all greenhouse gas emissions from the proposed mine must be assessed.

You can view the report here.

Media Release: 9^th January, 2006

Newcastle Earthquake was caused by coal mining

National Geographic reported on Monday that the Newcastle earthquake was caused by coal mining, and that the human and economic cost of the quake, and the 150 tonnes of water that was removed for each tonne of coal produced under Newcastle, far outweighs the value of the coal extracted.

National Geographic’s Richard Lovett reports that Dr. Christian D. Klose of Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in New York presented his findings at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco in California last month. (see http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/01/070103-mine-quake.html)