Spring is here and it's time to emerge from hibernation and into the streets!
Drop your local group a line or get onto our website to find more ways to get involved in our creative, diverse movement for environmental and social justice.
Extinction is a drag, daarling
On Threatened Species Day two drag stars took to the outback to show their remorse for the Dying Darling River.
Fox Pflueger the local Yabbie and Weird Alice the Golden Perch put on a show at Torlano Sheep Station 45km south of the Menindee Lakes. They came with the message that Healthy Rivers Need water, as corruption and water theft threatens their habitat in the Lower Darling and breeding ground at the Menindee Lakes
80% of endangered Golden Perch breed in the lakes systems, but Lake Menindee is completely dry and the Darling river will by dry by December. The action brought pride and joy to the local communities calling for a federal royal commission and federal ICAC to investigate whats happened to their river.
See the performances on facebook: River Country and ABC Broken Hill
Chip in to help us take more action
Upcoming; Walk This Way
Walk This Way is back in October 2018!
Melbourne’s coastal communities are most vulnerable to the impacts of rising sea levels, coastal erosion and waste.
How will we cope as our waste systems cease to be able to cope with our demands on them?
How will our coastlines and beaches cope with the increasing plastic pollution that is impacting the health and well-being of our oceans?
We know that in the face of climate change, our city will need to adapt. And with rising sea levels and coastal erosion set to drastically alter Melbourne's bayside communities and environment, we don’t have time to waste!
Together, communities have the power to tackle the big challenges of climate change. So, join us on Saturday October 13th 2018 for a sponsored walk along 15km of Melbourne's beautiful bayside tracks to launch our new Waste and Consumption campaign, and take action on climate.
Join in the #WalkThisWay fun at www.walkthisway.org.au
We don’t have time to waste when it comes to tackling climate change!
Friends of the Earth Australia's Waste & Consumption collective is continuing to build momentum,
getting ready to take big players to task and create a better waste system for all. We meet fortnightly face to face at Friends of the Earth Melbourne, and alternate fortnights online.
Join us on facebook to get all the details, or email [email protected].
Upcoming; Don't Dump on SA Rally
Adelaide friends, join us on November 3rd at Parliament to say no to nuclear waste dumps in the Flinders Ranges and Kimba
FoE Melbourne's Act on Climate collective call out the Vic opposition for speaking at ExxonMobil sponsored event
On Tuesday 9 October, Victorian opposition leader Matthew Guy will speak at an event sponsored by ExxonMobil—a company The New York Times reports has undermined climate change science and action for decades.
Unchecked climate change leaves Victorian communities exposed to intensifying climate impacts such as heatwaves, bushfires, droughts, extreme weather, and rising sea levels. These impacts will only get worse if governments fail to hold big polluters to account and take action.
Matthew Guy has a choice to make when he gives his CEDA address: Will he stand up for Victorian communities already affected by climate change impacts and future generations or will he remain silent and let the climate blockers like ExxonMobil off the hook?
Wherever you live in Australia, it's important to send a strong message to politicians who speak at events organised by polluting corporations that are active climate change deniers.
Upcoming; Solidarity with Germany's coal fight! Save the Hambacher Forst!
There has been years of resistance in the Hambacher Forst at the edge of the biggest coal mine in Europe. Activists have been protecting a 10 000 year old forest from being cut down to make way for this mine. The mines are the largest CO2 source in Europe one of the dirtiest projects in the world. On the 13 September police started to evict them from their tree houses to enable the coal company RWE to cut down the last trees and to continue digging for coal. Last week a tragic accident happened, a journalist fell from one of the trees in the forest. He died from his injuries... Shock, sadness, rage. The eviction is still going on.Quit Coal is organising a solidarity vigil Friday 5th - 10am at the German Consulate (118 Queen St) Narrm / Melbourne. This ties into an international fight against multi-national corporations, corporate greed and police brutality and a fight for climate, forests and democracy. And we want the people protecting the Hambacher forest to know that they are not alone!
Upcoming; National doorknock to stop Adani
Adani says they’ve locked in funding for their dirty coal mine. So, now’s the time we need to push our politicians like never before to #StopAdani.
The majority of Australians don’t support the Adani Carmichael coal mine, which is a proposed thermal coal mine in the north of the Galilee Basin in Central Queensland, yet the major parties do. Our politicians could #StopAdani tomorrow, but they won’t unless our movement is everywhere they look
The day is being organised by Tipping Point, a FoE Australia national project.
Full information available here.
Upcoming: Earthworker 'Green Bans Walking Tour' - Friday October 12th, 3pm
Join Earthworker co-founder and life-long activist Dave Kerin for another famous tour of Melbourne's inspiring Green Bans history - stories of successful union-environmental-justice alliances.
Many of Melbourne’s heritage buildings stand today only through union & community activism in Australia’s famous ‘Green Bans’ (1960s-70s). While the world-famous ‘Green Bans’ of 1960s-70s are often associated with Sydney, Melbourne has its own powerful Green Ban stories of workers in the Builders’ Labourers Federation (BLF, a precursor to the CFMEU) refusing to destroy socially or environmentally significant sites. The struggle of the Green Bans for democratic control of workplaces & urban development not only preserved irreplaceable heritage sites but changed the course of urban planning in Australia and continues to provide powerful lessons for modern social movements.
Reserve your tickets on the tour today at: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/green-bans-walking-tour-melbourne-tickets-50113376458
Proceeds go to the Earthworker Cooperative & our work for democratic & sustainable economies.
We'll be offering discounted tickets for Earthworker Cooperative Members - become a member or renew your membership today at: http://earthworkercooperative.com.au/membership/
AGL AGM
Quit Coal will continue to stand in solidarity with the Westernport community, recognising that any new fossil fuel projects in Victoria delays urgent action needed on climate change. As AGL has not ruled out importing fracked gas, it's essential that communities rise again after the #VicGasBan to ensure that AGL does not create a market in Victoria for fracked gas that has contaminated water and land in other states.
Less than two months til VIC election
FoE is working hard to get the environment and climate on the agenda of all political parties in the leadup to the November 24 state election.
We’re leafletting houses and railways stations, doing actions and stunts, talking with thousands of people, visiting the candidates, organising forums and generating media.
Please support our campaign by signing our petition to the major parties. You can sign on here.
GM regulators betray Australians
Australian families risk eating untested, unlabelled genetically modified (GM) food – including animal products – because federal agencies which should be protecting us have sided with the biotech industry and are proposing to deregulate a range of risky new GM techniques.
Powerful, clear scientific evidence shows the potential risks that these new GM techniques pose. It’s vital that organisms produced using these techniques are assessed for safety before being released into our environment and supermarkets.
The Federal Government has asked the states to sign off on regulatory changes that would leave risky new GM techniques like CRISPR unregulated. Please email your State Minister now to ensure that our governments make the right decision – to regulate all new GM techniques and their products.
Underground coal gasification poses a grave risk to northern SA
After the disaster of the test UCG project in Queensland, it is clear that this dangerous technology should not be given a second chance.
However, the SA government has approved a trial project in the north of the state. A Supreme Court challenge lodged by traditional owners has been knocked back.
Please support our call for a national ban on this dangerous technology.
Gina Rinehart-backed Lakes Oil loses $3b court battle to challenge #VicGasBan
In a fantastic outcome, Lakes Oil have lost their attempt to have the ban on fracking in Victoria declared unlawful.
Lakes Oil initiated legal action in 2016 after the Andrews Government announced a permanent ban on unconventional gas in Victoria following a parliamentary inquiry and long-running community campaign.
Late last week the court released its determination, which knocked back the Lakes Oil case.
Victorian communities fought tirelessly for more than 5 years to secure Australia’s first permanent ban on fracking This is a great outcome for the community, the environment and the climate.
Our full reaction is here.
Wine Not Waste
ACE nuclear free collective at Friends of the Earth is teaming up with award winning organic wine makers Temple Bruer to bring you excellent wines at special prices. All profits will go to our campaign to stop a nuclear waste dump in South Australia.
Visit: melbournefoe.org.au/wine_2018 to place your order by 31 October 2018.