Open Cuts: Tearing the Heart out of the Upper Hunter

Fiona Uncategorized

hunter-valley-coal

Another poignant – and timely – post from Janice. Thank you so much.

Open Cuts: Tearing the heart out of the Upper Hunter

Of her book Rich Land – Waste Land (published by Pan Macmillan, Australia), Sharyn Munro says:

I am talking of an invasion of our country, a taking over of land and clearing out of people.

… and

I mean this literally.

Sharon Munro’s account, exploring the real costs to the land we love and call home, is worrying and distressing. She paints a vivid picture of everyday Australians battling to defend their land and rights against the might of the corporate giants, often in the face of devastating personal consequences, shattered health and displaced lives.

A little more than 20 years ago the Upper Hunter was a beautiful rural valley where a few small mines and a couple of power stations co-existed with vineyards, horse studs and dairy farms. Suddenly, insidiously, the number of mines increased six-fold and grew bigger as they were bought out by international companies which imported bigger machines for higher production and profits. Then they began to merge and run feral across the Upper Hunter.

Export dollars was the driver, Big Business and Governments the enablers.

If you understand that one new mine will create disturbance over 2,000 hectares, then you can imagine the impact four or five of these open-cuts has on a small community/town in close proximity. The open-cuts, a hundred meters or so deep, surrounded by mountains of overburden, run across the landscape like gaping sores, belching millions of tonnes of toxic dust particles that are harmful, if not fatal, to human life.

Muswellbrook has become an island in the middle of the open-cut mines. Overburden mountains have risen up all around the town and the life has been squeezed out of it. Muswellbrook people were promised there would be jobs for locals and largesse provided by the mining companies. Of course, it was too late when it was realised that any ‘local’ jobs would be mostly for those who had such skills as the mines needed – plumbers, electricians, boilermakers, mechanics etc. etc. In a year or two the citizens of Muswellbrook and its surrounds discovered they only had plumbing and electrical servicemen on a part time basis because they’d all been enticed to the mines for higher pay packets.

Today the town has dozens of vacant shops and if it weren’t for the passing highway traffic, you could roll a bomb down the main street and not hit anyone. Shoppers keep to one or the other of two large shopping complexes, do their shopping, and go home. There is now no incentive to linger. People who live in Muswellbrook complain of the layers of filthy coal dust that seeps into their homes and covers their verandahs, patios and garden plants.

Wybong, 20 kms to the west of Muswellbrook, was a small farming community. A scenic bit of country known as the Ark of the Hunter for its biodiversity treasures, there were many people who tried to stop Centennial Coal from going ahead with the Anvil Hill mine and in 2004 they won a Federal Envirofund Grant for ecological studies which found more than 30 threatened flora and fauna species.

In 2006 an unprecedentedly diverse group – farmers, newer locals on small rural blocks, winemakers, tourism operators, Greenpeace, climate change activists, climate-concerned city and country folk, and academics – joined forces to stop the mining of Anvil Hill. It was the first major fight against King Coal.

Hundreds of people arrived to camp on private land within the exploration lease. They walked out to a paddock and lay down to form a human sign – “Save Anvil Hill” – and were photographed from a helicopter. In response, NSW Minerals Council CEO Nikki Williams wrote an open letter to Sydney papers attacking “publicity stunts by a handful of activists” and claiming that “shutting down coal production” would “destroy NSW’s economy”.

In December 2006, a young activist named Peter Gray won an historic victory in the Land and Environment Court against Planning’s acceptance of the “flawed and invalid” environmental assessment for Anvil Hill.

But it didn’t matter what anyone did or said, because in June 2007, Planning Minister Frank Sartor approved Anvil Hill. Centennial Coal sold the project to Xstrata who renamed it Xstrata Mangoola to get rid of the taint of opposition, and let it sit awhile as the Anvil Hill Protest Group was bankrupted by its court cases against Centennial. The protesters won, yet still lost because the NSW (Labor) Government gave the green light anyway. Wybong is now a totally depressing place for the many kilometres Xstrata has fenced.

Ten kilometres to the south of Wybong is the small town of Denman, the people of which believed the claims that the mine would bring more jobs and business. They were soon to realise that this was an illusion of huge proportions. What happened is it removed many small landowners and their custom, and the mine does not buy locally. There were no new jobs, Instead, the mine stripped the town of its tradespeople as they took advantage of the higher wages offered. As happened in Muswellbrook, Denman’s agricultural store is struggling to survive as the mines swallow up the farms. In Muswellbrook four irrigation and farm machinery companies closed their doors and as I write, there are four new mines proposed on the western side of Denman. If these go ahead, Denman will lose farms, vineyards and wineries, and the jobs associated with these rural businesses – and the town of Denman will shrink further.

Upper Hunter winemakers are vehemently opposed to the march of King Coal and Bob Oately, who owned the very successful Rosemount winery, spent big dollars as he joined with other concerned people to stop the Bengalla Mine – a stone’s throw from the centre of Muswellbrook. The mine was also a stone’s throw from one of Bob’s best vineyards at Edenglassie on Muswellbrook Road and his Roxburgh Vineyard a kilometre away as the crow flies. The fight went all the way to the High Court and they won. But, as happened at Wybong, Bob Carr’s Labor Government simply shifted the goal posts and the mine was approved.

Bengalla Mine is smack bang in the middle of fertile river flats. When the Carr Government gave the green light for Bengalla to proceed despite the High Court ruling in favour of the protesting group, it meant that King Coal had the door opened wide to dig up the rest of the area. In a very short period of time the Mt. Arthur Mine got underway on the eastern side of Muswellbrook Road so that, together with Bengalla, the pollution spelt the demise of the Oatley vineyards.

Bob Oatley’s two best vineyards were impacted by the pollution and became unviable. Rosemount winery at Denman was the town’s biggest employer and was a popular tourist attraction that was all lost because there is nothing ordinary people can do to save their livelihoods or property from these marauding corporate giants who wield the power to overrun and swallow up the land and its people.

The open-cuts are quickly marching south and spreading east and west, swallowing up all in their path and landholders are in a constant state of fear for their livelihoods and their health. They fear for their water as much as for their environment as coal seam gas also threatens wineries and tourism. Coalmine dust risks heavy metal contamination of the water, the soil and the air but there is nothing the people can do stop the corporate giants.

The corporate giants are nothing but kleptocrats – not only do they steal get our minerals at an absurdly low price, they also steal the land and the water that sustain us.

879 thoughts on “Open Cuts: Tearing the Heart out of the Upper Hunter”

  3. Jonathan Green ‏@GreenJ

    good grief. “@CarleenFrost: @stephenconroyau on the front page of tomorrow’s @dailytelegraph #auspol pic.twitter.com/Osl9xjPkn4”

    6 secs wendy_harmer wendy_harmer ‏@wendy_harmer

    @GreenJ pass the smelling salts !!

  5. sk,

    Oops !

    The libs in NSW just did not think this through.

    All the spotlight will be on them now with the one simple question ” what are you trying to hide ? ”

    Another failed attempt by the libs.

  7. But they are happy about the reduction in licence fees

    Of course! Carrot, meet stick. 😉

    “Freedom of speech”? Isn’t that one of those fallacies like journalistic objectivity?

  8. That Daily Telegraph front page is a ripper. I think the ALP might have located a tender spot to press down on there. Media unhingement is even more fun than political unhingement.

  10. does rummell agree with you bushfire becauce he votesl
    liberal
    or did you not ask him that question.?
    becauce it is the liberals who are pushing for rudd

  11. Jess Hill ‏@jessradio

    Hey @dailytelegraph, try living in a country where journos really have to fight (& sometimes die) for the right to publish. #FFS

  12. sk,

    Thanks for that link.

    Just had a look at the front page of the DT tomorrow.

    What a surprise.

    Not !

    Wonder if the OM and News Ltd in particular may just go a bit far on this and in a round about way boost the case for the government ?

    I am sure this is exactly the reaction the government expected.

  14. sortius ‏@sortius

    @zackster hehehe, when your business model is printing lies & propaganda, the new media laws are pretty scary @dailytelegraph

  15. SK,

    NewSleaze would say that, wouldn’t they?

    Despite C@tmomma’s open invitation, moi remains behind the bar, ready to nip unsuspecting but norty ankels.

  16. Space Kidette ‏@SpaceKidette

    I laugh when an industry continually & consistently proves incapable of regulating itself then goes apeshit when they finally are regulated.

  17. If the polling holds for the next cycle News Ltd, Fairfax, FTA television have a problem.

    Journalists have a bigger one.

    The electorate you’re trying to dupe is still hearing your noise, but they are starting to listen to the Governments story. Your analysis is going to be increasingly questioned, the validity of your argument dismissed with a pshaw!..bullshit! Everyday one of your predictions fails, the trust you assume the readers/viewers have in you disintegrates. The credibility, you believe you have earned and built crumbles. No longer valuable in the commmercial market. There is not a lot of academic hidey holes left.

    Ask yourself……..what next for me?

  22. Bernard Keane ‏@BernardKeane

    strange – not seeing any tweets from Liberals about Gina Rinehart’s attack on press freedom. Lots on Conroy’s alleged attack though.

  24. FJR

    “… and WHERE’S moi’s cold milk???”

    OH informs me that pussycats like their food at “mouse temperature” if you please ….

  27. Congratulations Daily Telegraph, you’ve just proven how sorely needed media reform is.

  28. That’s an amusing piece of crap right there, BB. Reminds me of their ever-so-subtle series of Slipper the Rat pictures… though my opening description would also apply to Hartcher’s usual twaddle. 😉

  31. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.
    The sooner this charade of red dresses, funny hats and coloured smoke is out of the way the better! ABC24 is obsessing over it.
    The responses from the usual Murdoch rags to Conroy’s announcement have illustrated his point admirably.

    I think it’s called “superior breeding”.
    http://www.smh.com.au/business/sons-secret-deal-with-rinehart-called-for-15m-sorry-fee-20130312-2fymy.html
    Talk about fiscal irresponsibility. Thanks Rodent!
    http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/concerns-about-joint-strike-fighter-ignored-20130312-2fx1q.html

  32. Section 2 . . .

    An interesting cartoon from Alan Moir on the subject of corruption.
    http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/opinion/cartoons/alan-moir-20090907-fdxk.html
    David Pope has his say on the CSG announcement.
    http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/opinion/cartoons/david-pope-20120214-1t3j0.html
    Ron Tandberg is into Napthine already.
    http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/opinion/cartoons/ron-tandberg-20090910-fixc.html
    David Rowe has a view on Conroy’s announcement.
    http://www.afr.com/p/national/cartoon_gallery_david_rowe_1g8WHy9urgOIQrWQ0IrkdO

  33. And from the Land of the Free –

    Laura Bush. Enough said.
    http://americablog.com/2013/03/laura-bush-cnn-women.html
    The ethics of US businessmen!
    http://americablog.com/2013/03/five-guys-burgers-and-lies.html
    George Bush’s poison pill.
    http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/2013/03/12/the-gop-supreme-court-coup-is-the-carbon-monoxide-asphyxiating-democracy/
    Some cartoons on gun ownership.
    http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/2013/03/12/cartoons-of-the-day-whos-buying-all-the-guns/

  35. Morning True Believers

    Today, March 13th is the twentieth anniversary of PM Keating’s “This is the Sweetest Victory of All, this is a Victory for the True Believers; the people who in difficult times have kept the faith..

    Keating’s victory speech is well worth watching as it very relevant to Australia today.

  38. Morning

    Andrew Elder has a piece at IA today.

    TONY ABBOTT’S relaxed demeanour on 60 Minutes is not the combative Abbott we have become accustomed to in recent years. It succeeded in making people view Abbott differently. He is seeking to create the impression that Abbott and his supporters hope to negate — that a lot of the obstacles lie between him and the prime ministership.

    http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/its-morning-in-tony-abbotts-australia/

  40. funny really, here i am as a true believer, and i got up set becauce a peom
    usiing the hail mary a prayer ive said since i could speak, and the our father with is universal, so i got told off
    the person who wrote the peom as far as i see has not blogged or been back since, then rummel is welcomed ,,,
    who does not stay long , as he is dinky liberal.

    just saying

  42. Space Kidette ‏@SpaceKidette

    Hahaha! “Abbott contracted out his nasty side to the Parliament House Gallery”. Don’t know who said it but it is a great line! #auspol

  46. Riki Gardner ‏@ikiriki

    If you’ve pissed News Ltd off enough to run that as a front page, maybe you’re doing something right #auspol
    __________________________________________________________
    Greg Jericho ‏@GrogsGamut

    If only there was a politician in this country brave enough to curry favour with newspapers

  48. I dont even understand why Limited News is bitching. The reforms are very tame in my view

  49. Aguirre asks…”Certainly, SK. I was trying to come up with examples of foods that have no nutritional value…”
    How about this one…: The communion host wafer?……oh hang on!…sorry…that contains the body of Christ!

  50. Space Kidette ‏@SpaceKidette

    @Lynestel @smh Yep. Just subjugate & prostrate yourself before Abbott, you will lose all rights and have no services but it’s all good. #NOT

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