The NSW Government has said they intend to push for a final decision on the dangerous Narrabri CSG project in north-west NSW early next year. 

If approved, it could open the floodgates and unleash gasfields across southern Australia, undoing all the success of our amazing movement over the last 10 years.

Can you help us stop this project, get the expert advice that is needed and push to get permanent protection for this recharge zone of the Great Artesian Basin?

Origin Energy are lining up to frack the Northern Territory this year, and in the firing line are some magical places, including recharge zones of Mataranka Hot Springs.

Traditional Owners have told us that Origin Energy has ignored their concerns about fracking and not properly laid out the risks involved.

We need to build a powerful movement of people willing to spread the word and take on Origin at every level, from their head offices to their board rooms.

Eleven new proposed coal mines in NSW are a massive threat.  They will use more water, damage more land and even emit more carbon dioxide than the Adani mega-mine.

Together, the amount of water these mines will use is 23 billion litres per year at their peak. That's more than 9,000 Olympic swimming pools of water. Our water is our lifeblood, and we can't afford to put it at risk.  Can you chip in to stop key mine projects before it is too late?

It's not just our water at risk.  The mines will destroy farms and forests, damaging a vast area of land greater than the entire city of Newcastle.The massive carbon emissions will put our climate at risk, and threaten Australia with more severe bushfires and heat waves.

Want to know more about the impacts of proposed new coal mines in NSW on land, water and carbon emissions? Read our brief report here.

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Will you join potato farmers in north west New South Wales, foodies in Brisbane, dairy farmers in Gippsland, Traditional Owners in the Gulf, wheat farmers in WA's breadbowl, cattlemen from the Territory, surfers from Sydney and even coal miners from the Hunter Valley in being part of the extraordinary movement to protect Australia's wide brown beauty, rich farmland, ancient culture and unique wildlife from damage by unconventional gas and coal mining?

Whoever you are, there's a place for you. Please join us!

Make Coal Giants Pay for Mine Clean-Up

Our new report – Abandoned Mines in Queensland: Toxic Time-bomb or Employment Opportunity? – calls for big mining companies to cover the cost of rehabilitating the State’s abandoned mines and estimates that this would generate 6000 jobs in regional Queensland!

There are too many large abandoned mines, and the full cost of cleaning them up is too large and should not fall on taxpayers. If mines are levied to pay for the clean up, they can also create jobs in the process.

Why should we miss out on hundreds of schools and hospitals because we’re footing the bill for the mess left behind by irresponsible mining companies?

References:

• Dodging clean up costs Six tricks coal mining companies play (pdf)

• Hazelwood Mine Fire Inquiry Report (pdf)
• ACF Mine Rehab Stories
• Abandoned Mines in Queensland Report
• NSW Coal Pit Legacy
• Mine Rehab Closure Cost Report
• Rhetoric Vs Reality. Rehab performance snapshot

Would you like to volunteer to run a Lock the Gate stall at your next local market or event, or even in your local mall? We've got a handy little stall kit we can send you with everything you need, and we can guarantee you'll have lots of fun!!

Please fill in the form and we'll get in touch with you soon!

At Lock the Gate, we depend on the help of our passionate and dedicated volunteers. Without the people who generously contribute their time, skills and energy to support our work we would not be able to achieve our mission to protect our common heritage - our land, water and communities - from unsafe or inappropriate mining for coal seam gas and other fossil fuels. 

Lock the Gate volunteers enjoy the fulfilment that comes from making a vital difference to the communities they live in. It is also a great way to gain experience, develop new skills, meet new people and get involved in the movement.

If you tick the 'other' box, please be sure to let us know in the comments section what you'd like to help out with! Please also tell us about any expertise and specific skills you have.

Will you take a stand?

The NSW Planning Assessment Commission has handed in its latest report on Rio's plan to expand the Warkworth coal mine, and it's a disaster. Even though Bulga residents have twice proven in court that expanding the mine would do more harm than good - not just for their community, but for all NSW - the PAC has recommended it be approved. The Commission ignored a mountain of evidence that Rio's coal mine would make Bulga unliveable, ruin an irreplaceable bushland ecosystem, and desecrate the cultural heritage of the Wonnarua people. They ignored expert advice that the economics of the project don't stack up. They listened to Rio Tinto, and they ignored everyone else.

It's almost certain now that Rio will get their mine approval. Without a dramatic intervention in the approval process, the rest is mere formality. The Planning Department will issue another report recommending approval, and then the PAC will close the deal. It's likely to happen by Christmas.

But we've been fighting this coal mine for over five years, and we're not about to give up now. The courts delivered us justice in 2013, but our state's unfair mine approval regime is set to take it away again. NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes still has the power to intervene and save Bulga, and we're demanding that he do just that.

Will you join us? Some time in the next couple of weeks, the NSW Planning Department will again recommend approval for Rio. We want to use that opportunity to show Minister Stokes that the people of NSW want justice for Bulga, not more coal. We'll be taking action outside the Supreme Court, Phillip St, Sydney - where we won our case - the morning after the Department's report is released. We need our Sydney supporters to be standing there with us.

Sign up below with your mobile number and we'll text you the details of our protest as soon as the Department issues its report. We'll see you the next morning outside the NSW Supreme Court.

In NSW right now, we're at a crucial cross-roads.  It's a stark choice - will we choose more damaging coal and gas mining, or will we choose clean food, clean air and clean energy?

We need members of parliament to know that we're demanding better choices for NSW.

Are you willing to meet your MP?

Let us know where you are, and give us your phone number, and we’ll give you a call to talk through the details.

Here’s the simple choice we’re asking them to make for New South Wales. Will they support our vision to:

1. Promote health and prosperity through agriculture and reliable clean energy
2. Protect communities, including Indigenous communities, and give them legal rights to object to mining
3. Protect important farmland, catchments and water resources from risky coal mining
4. Stop mining and exploration for unconventional gas (like CSG)

Will your local member make this choice for NSW’s future?