Cotton farmer George Bender died last week, after the pressure from CSG mining company Origin Energy to drill 18 gas wells on his property against his wishes overwhelmed him.
This week we will honour his memory at vigils being held in four major cities. You can stand in solidarity with George and the Qld farming community where he lived by:
- Attending a memorial vigil, or organising your own small vigil in your local town/community
- Ringing the Qld Premier and calling for a crisis meeting to stop further harm to Qld farmers from CSG companies
JOIN US AT A MEMORIAL VIGIL
We will be holding memorial vigils across the country this week to pay our deepest respects to George and his family, to honor his memory, and to say, "never again". Never again should a farmer be driven beyond despair by the heavy-handed tactics of CSG companies.
- Brisbane – 4.30pm, Thursday 22 October, 100 George St Brisbane, Qld Premier’s office
- Melbourne – 5.30pm, Thursday 22 October, Origin Energy office, 321 Exhibition St
- Adelaide – 5.00pm, Thursday 22 October, Origin Energy office, 100 Waymouth St
- Sydney – 9.30am, Wednesday 21 October, Origin Energy AGM, The Westin Hotel, 1 Martin Place, Sydney
Alternatively, you can organise your own vigil on Thursday evening in your local community. We can add your local event to this list and share it on social media, if you email information and details to Elly at [email protected].
RING THE QLD PREMIER TODAY
Please phone the Qld Premier now: (07) 3719 7000. Demand that she holds a crisis meeting with Lock the Gate Alliance and affected community members to identify actions that can be taken right now to ensure this terrible situation never happens again.
We have drafted an 8 point CSG Crisis Action Plan to relieve the pressure on farming communities in Qld and ensure that people are never again pushed past their breaking point by unfair laws and unscrupulous gas companies.