International Statement from 'Coal River' Newcastle Activists

Statement from Newcastle activists to the Global Greens Conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1st-4th May 2008 which will be presented by John Sutton (representing the Australian Greens) and Carrie Jacobi, of Newcastle Greens.

It is endorsed by:
Climate Action Newcastle
Green Corridor Coalition
Hunter Community Environment Centre
Newcastle Greens
Rising Tide (Newcastle)
The Wilderness Society (Newcastle)

To all assembled at this Global Greens gathering, we bring you the greetings, solidarity and best wishes of caring citizens and grassroots activists of Newcastle and the Hunter Valley, in New South Wales, Australia.

Our community is at the centre of climate change. Our country is the world's largest coal exporter, and our city, at the mouth of the Hunter River, is the largest coal exporting port in the world.

Last year Australia exported 245 million tonnes of coal. A third of this (81 million tonnes) passed through the port of Newcastle, most of it mined in the Hunter Valley hinterland. Next year, authorities say this will increase to 95 million tonnes, and, in the near future, to 170 million. Current plans would eventually give the port the capacity to export more than 200 million tonnes each year.

For many years, local citizens have campaigned against the damaging impact of coal mining and transport on the Hunter Valley's eco-systems and human communities. Climate change has brought a global dimension to this struggle. The coal exported through Newcastle has been calculated to cause more than five times its export value in climate change damage.

Citizens throughout the Hunter region are challenging the social licence to mine, burn and export coal.

We have called on our state and federal governments to commit to a Just Transition to phase out the coal industry, and to help local coal-dependent communities restructure for a sustainable future.

In November 2006, more than 800 locals braved unseasonable cold and wet to write "Beyond Coal" in human bodies on the sands of our local beach.

The same month, in response to a grassroots campaign, Newcastle City Council formally resolved "to recognise the urgent need to protect local and global environments from increasing greenhouse gas emissions and to reduce Newcastle's role in that increase".

In a move that made news around the world, our city council called on the New South Wales state government to cap coal exports, declare a moratorium on new coal mines, adopt mandatory renewable energy targets, and establish a community trust to support a transition to a clean energy economy, funded by a levy on coal exports through the Port of Newcastle.

In September last year, local citizens organised a Smart Energy Expo attended by more than 2000 people to demonstrate sustainable energy alternatives. The city council is now moving to make this an annual signature event.

In November last year, a flotilla of hundreds of activists blockaded the port for more than four hours. Hundreds of local citizens marched in a Walk Against Warming to urge other citizens to "Vote for the Climate" in last year's national election.

In December, as part of a Global Day of Action against climate change, local activists occupied the site of a proposed massive expansion of coal-loading infrastructure at the port.

In this struggle, we are pitted against some of the world's most powerful transnational corporations, including BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Xstrata, and AngloCoal. These companies are supported by the government of our state, which owns the port and regulates the coal industry, and continues to approve massive new coal mines and coal-loading infrastructure, and by the government of our nation, which approves the export licences and subsidises the mining operations.

We know that our struggle is shared by local communities around the world. We know that we are a small part of a rising tide of humanity demanding that our governments take the action necessary to stop runaway climate change and set our planet and our communities on a course to a sustainable future. We base our hope for our planet in the capacity of ordinary citizens taking local grassroots action to demand that our politicians and governments place people and the planet before profits.

We take heart that gatherings such as the Global Greens conference in Sao Paulo bring together activists from around the world committed to this cause, to make decisions that will guide our politicians and governments to take the actions necessary to meet the great global challenge of climate change.