By Maureen Cooper, Wooragee Landcare
Most Living Lightly readers will know by now that our Federal Environment Minister, Mr. Greg Hunt, has caved in to the mining magnates thus allowing permits to dump dredge spoil on the Great Barrier Reef and mine Bimblebox Nature Refuge in the Galilee Basin for coal. Galilee Basin coal will be exported through Abbot Point so the sustainability of the Great Barrier Reef depends on the prevention of this coal mine from proceeding and stopping the dredge spoil from being dumped on this World Heritage area.
To help defend Bimblebox Nature Refuge I have been hand and machine sewing whimsical little creatures that live on the Refuge and for a donation of $20.00 you can choose a critter. Also I am making sustainable bags, sling, pouch etc., with an appliqued picture of life on Bimblebox. You can obtain one of the bags for a donation of $25.00 or more. Please see the web site at http://bimbleboxcritters.wix.com/creatures. All money raised this way goes to Mackay Conservation Group who is holding the funds in a trust account so that the Environmental Defenders Office can be paid for their services. All Government funding to the Environmental Defenders Office has now been slashed so it is increasingly difficult to speak up for the environment.
The creatures and bags are made from recycled objects and remnant materials, felts, ribbons, buttons etc. If any of you do craft or sewing please look at the web site and see if you can donate some of these materials to me; it would be greatly appreciated.
Without the sustainability of our Reef there will be an enormous loss of jobs in the tourism and fishing industries as well as a huge increase in coastal erosion, not to mention the loss of marine species other than what is fished for our tables. If Bimblebox Nature Refuge is allowed to be destroyed for coal mining then at least 70 other nature refuges will meet a similar fate as they are in the way of coal or CSG mining,
I would like to thank all Victorians (as well as the other states) who have already made a donation to this cause and hope that many more people will object to these destructive permits. The battle is not over yet and I will keep raising money to help the wonderful owners of Bimblebox who refuse to give in.