Land & water
Win for the Forests! - Victorian State Government to End All Native Forest Clearfell Logging by 2024
On Tuesday, the Victorian State Government announced a historical decision: Native forest clearfell logging will end, on January 1st, 2024.
This is a campaign that Friends of the Earth has been campaigning for decades. Now we want to use this win as a catalyst for change in the rest of the country.
Land & water
Commonwealth's $132.7m Legal Settlement Will Not Resolve National PFAS Contamination Issues
A recent legal settlement of $132.7 million, will do little to deal with the ongoing issues of PFAS contamination across the country. The settlement was the result of a class action on behalf of 30,000 residents in seven communities who have had their properties and health impacted by PFAS contamination, mainly as a result of PFAS fire fighting foam being used at RAAF bases across the country. Each resident may receive just over $4,000. Less if legal costs are included. Three other communities settled for just over $200 million in a similar class action in 2020. The legal action by the Aboriginal community at Wreck Bay (situated near Jervis Bay in southern NSW) has yet to be resolved.
Land & water
A new Friends of the Earth group in north east Victoria
Much of the work carried out by Friends of the Earth happens in regional communities. In 2023 FoE Melbourne has started to organise a series of road trips to catch up with our allies in the regions, meet new friends and supporters, and build the profile of some of our key campaigns. FoEM will be hosting a series of road trips to different parts of the state during the year.
The first one, held from March 14 to 19, focused on north eastern Victoria. We visited Bright, the upper Big River valley, and Mt Wills and met with a range of local conservation groups active in the region. There is a quick diary from the trip available here.
A new Friends of the Earth group in the north east.
We focused our tour on showcasing local conservation efforts and visited a number of potential logging coupes in the area. There are a considerable number of excellent groups working in different parts of the north east. It was clear from this visit that there is a space for a new environmental advocacy environmental group in the north east. So on the walk on the Saturday at Mt Wills, we announced the formation of Friends of the Earth North East Alps.
The plan is to attract a core group of people to run the group in coming months, with a public launch later in the year.
If you are interested in our current work in the north east, please check this summary here.
What issues should we work on?
Apart from the forests and climate work outlined in the link above, what issues would you like us to work on? We would love to hear your thoughts.
If you live in the north east and would like to get involved in the group, please get in touch: [email protected]
There is a facebook page for the group available here.
Land & water
Northern Territory Drinking Water Report 2003-2022
Friends of the Earth started an ambitious project in January 2023 with an idea to determine which communities in Australia suffer from the poorest drinking water quality. The first focus of this research has been the Northern Territory.
A new report published on April 4 2023, compiles water quality data collated by Power and Water Corporation in the Northern Territory over the past 20 years.
Land & water
Dangerous rig shut down and dolphins killed
Two unreported and extremely dangerous incidents recently illustrate the contempt the offshore fossil fuel industry has for the environment and the Australian taxpayer.
A rig in a marine conservation reserve off the Pilbara coast was ordered to close this month because it was in danger of exploding or creating a massive oil slick.
Land & water
Submission: Burning Native Forests is not Renewable
Friends of the Earth Australia Submission on burning native forest timber (biomass burning) for energy production in Australia (In relation to Climate Change Bill 2022 and Climate Change (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2022)
Land & water
Changing Beautifully: Transforming Carbon
"What would happen if we talked of caring for carbon?", asks Aviva Reed, a transdisciplinary visual ecologist, for Chain Reaction #143. Perhaps always thinking of carbon as the "enemy" of the climate erases the place it has in the ecology of life? This beautiful image-essay shares two of Aviva's visual artworks, and radical ecological philosophy about the importance of interrogating our relationship with carbon.
Land & water
Australia’s Mining Rush for Green Energy
Australia is leading a mining boom to provide resources for the ‘green energy transition’ - a transformation in energy and infrastructure which the Paris Agreement (2015) stipulates must occur to avoid perilous levels of global heating. Within Australia and globally, this mining expansion is affecting already stressed environments and communities, with impacts likely to dramatically increase as mining projects are pushed through to meet industry demands.
Land & water
Protecting our Native Forests for Climate and Public Health
Forests can help us mitigate climate impacts - yet Victoria's native forests are being logged and burned, writes Alana Mountain writes for Chain Reaction #142.
Land & water
COVID was just a practice run
The Lismore floods show that radical action needs to be taken now, writes Zianna Faud for Chain Reaction #142 - "...although I have trust in spontaneous and unpredictable social transformation, the truth is, there is no such thing as ‘normal’ anymore."