Back-patting pollies celebrate climate disaster.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Mark Vaile, dodged the release of the final report of the Cole Inquiry this afternoon, to be the key dignitary at the official opening of the Sandgate Rail Flyover.
The Flyover is a key plank in plans to double Newcastle coal exports - its sole purpose being to facilitate a greater flow of coal trains into the port.
On short notice, Rising Tide Newcastle crashed the party, calling for a Hunter Valley Coal Inquiry. To which the Honourable Deputy Prime Minister replied: "Get stuffed!"
The politicians celebrating the launch of the Flyover showed the true colours of state and federal governments on climate change, despite the recent posturing. $25 million of federal public money has gone into the Sandgate Rail Flyover, for the benefit of the coal companies and to the detriment of the Hunter Valley and the world. 
What the politicians were celebrating at Sandgate today was this: more droughts, more bushfires, more extreme weather. It is a disaster for the people and non-human species of the world, who are already suffering the effects of climate change.
The flyover will also mean more coal mining in the Hunter Valley and Gunnedah Basins. The more coal exports there are, the more devastating open cut coal mines there are, with massive impacts on land, water, and communities.
It is disgusting to see NSW and Federal government politicians back patting themselves for this flyover, when it will have such massive impacts on the people and environment of NSW and the world.
Today's event was nothing less than a celebration of climate change.
Comments
Mark O'Neill is Right
I read Steve Phillips' letter in the Newcastle Herald yeterday. I can't believe that he can be so naive. Mark O'Neill is absolutely right. If the coal does not come from Newcastle, it WILL be sourced from elsewhere. It will be sourced from places such as Russia and China where environmental standards are not as strict as those in Australia.
Therefore, from an environmental point of view, the coal is far better off coming from our shores. It also helps to maintain our robust economy - especially that of Newcastle. And please don't try to tell me or anyone else that Newcastle's economy does not rely on the coal industry. IT DOES! It is an absolute fact. To suggest otherwise it downright irresponsible.
Another thing that is irresponsible is to compare a perfectly legal and professional industry with that of illegal drug trade and weapons trade. What a preposterous statement! But, if you must use this analogy, the reason coal will be sourced elsewhere (just like drugs and weapons) is because there is a demand for it. As long as there is demand, there will be supply. As long as you continue to attack at the supply end of the market, you are fighting a losing battle.
I have no doubt that this organisation, and others like it, only have good intentions, but surely you must realise that it is not as simple as simply switching off coal supply. Until demand fades, supply will always exist. It's simple economics. I know that for idealists such as yourselves that the state of the economy is not quite as high on your list of importance. But for the average person, it is of the utmost importance.
From what I have said above, you may not believe this, but I would love to see the day when we can rely solely on renewable and environmentally friendly energy resources. But that day is not tomorrow. In the meantime, please try not to be so naive and irresponsible in both your words and actions.
Mark O'Neill is endangering life on earth, but somebody's got to
Thanks for your comments, Simon.
A couple of things. The fact the coal would be mined somewhere else is not the point. The point is, the coal that we sell is doing irreversible damage to the planet and its inhabitants, and we have an ethical imperitive to find a way out.
On demand: Yes, it is a big issue that needs to be addressed. But the presence of a demand does not lump one with the duty to supply it. There is a demand for heroin, but because of major restrictions on supply, it's not that easy to get, and its use is relatively constrained. And as my letter pointed out (although this bit was edited): Australia is not just supplying the demand, we are creating it. Through sustained and deliberate efforts on the international stage, we have played a key role in stymieing efforts to cut greenhouse pollution and entrenching rising energy demand and fossil fuel dependency. Australian aid money has been used to fund fossil fuel projects, including a coal-fired power station in Thailand.
The bottom line is, coal is one of the primary causes of the present global climate crisis. We are at the stage now where the science is demanding something like an 80 or 90% cut in greenhouse pollution within a few decades. That means (contrary to what coal industry PR hacks like Mark O'Neill and the repugnant Nikki Williams will tell you), that fossil fuel use needs to be almost obliterated as soon as possible, and there is no time to waste.
Meanwhile, the world's biggest exporter of coal (and that tag applies to both Newcastle and Australia) is planning a massive expansion of coal exports. These plans threaten the survival of civilisation, not to mention life on earth as we know it.
With the stakes so high, the argument that "well if we don't sell it, then someone else will" is, quite frankly, infuriating. Life on earth is under threat, and the coal industry says it is merely supplying a demand.
It may be true that Newcastle was colonised because there was coal here, but that doesn't mean that we have to dig our own graves til there's none left to dig. Coal, like it or not, is inescapably unsustainable. We are now presented with these two choices:
1) We can dig up every last tonne of reachable coal (presuming there is still someone to sell it to), and then....find something else to do (in reality, if all the coal was dug up, there wouldn't be much to do except die.)
2) We can stop digging up coal as soon as possible, and find something else to do.
With the multi-billion dollar profits the coal corporations are raking in, it wouldn't be hard to put a bit of it into kick-starting an alternative vision for the region's future.
Else we, and the world, are unlikely to have one.
Daniel Endicott is Right
OK Simon, if Newcastle's ecomomy relies on coal to buy more air conditioners, cars, plane trips, ipods, consumerism etc, would it be bad to stop this super-pollution economy?
Has anyone heard about the Stern Report which is about the economy? The coal industry is seriously stuffing up the economy for future generations as soon as that Climate Change Chaos thingo kicks in.
Good on ya Steve for fighting at the source. This means as Simon knows that to get coal from other sources it will be more expensive.
The day for change has to be close to tomorrow. We have to stop that deadly tipping point thingo remember, about 10 years or so. OK can everyone agree that by January 2007 would be a good time for everyone on this planet to work together please.