Here is a copyof the letter that I have emailed and will also post today. Remember to personalise the letter to suit you. Dont leave it as a template. 21st July, 2014. Honourable Dan Tehan MP Wannon Zone 190 Gray Street, Hamilton, 3300, Victoria. Dear Mr Tehan, As my elected representative in Wannon, I expect you will hear and respond appropriately to my concerns. Many residents of the Wannon electorate are extremely concerned about an industry proposed for Victoria and our region - the Coal Seam Gas Industry - and I am one of those concerned people. At a time when the rest of the world is opting for clean, renewable and sustainable energy, it is totally irresponsible of the Australian Government, to be winding back support and funding to the renewable resources sector, whilst increasing support for dirty fossil fuels and destructive mining processes such as that used in unconventional gas mining and fracking. All over the world, towns, regions, states and nations are objecting to this industry, because of its damaging effects on human health, the environment, and its negative impacts on other sustainable industries. All over the world - in France, Germany, USA, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Northern Ireland, Ireland, The Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, and so on - people are standing up and fighting against this industry, for the future of their communities and for the wellbeing of the next generation. Communities have begun to see the damage to land, to families and to livelihoods, caused by this industry in Queensland and NSW, and we are not prepared to allow it in Wannon or in Victoria, either in our metropolitan areas or in our rural communities. In an area that relies on underground water sources for drinking it would be remiss and potentially dangerous to encourage an invasive mining procedure to operate in this region. I encourage the Government to spend more money on increasing renewable energy targets instead. Encouraging innovative projects like solar panels on covered supermarket parking bays would be more beneficial in the long term. Imagine if the new carpark at Big W in Mt Gambier had done this. It would have reduced their energy consumption to nil in a major shopping plaza. Support households to create innovative systems to allow them to go off the grid instead, especially in the country where the cost of living is much higher. Think of long-term, viable, renewable energy solutions instead of focusing of finite, environmentally invasive sources that impact of population health (both mental and physical), well-being and lifestyle. Processes like fracking occur in rural areas at a time when government policy is directly increasing hardships for rural areas. Allowing fracking in the Wannon zone when most small townships are not even connected to town gas is reprehensible. Encouraging modification of wood heater manufacturing to ensure that wood heaters only burn for 8 hours ensures that farmhouses, pensioners, etc do not have a heating source that can keep a house warm all night when most households in rural areas have to get up early for travel to work and school. These are city policies imposed on rural areas. Ban city buildings and new homes from including fireplaces or installing woodburners in high density areas instead of continually penalizing rural constituents. The mining companies might be forgiven for believing they run the agenda in this nation, due to the open door policy you offer them and the free, unhampered access you allow them to every parcel of land they want to grab from someone else like a spoilt child, no matter how valuable or productive that land already is. In fact the mining sector does not run this country, despite its bullies believing they do. We the citizens, elect you and your colleagues, and we expect our voices to be heard and heeded, when we protest against an industry as fraught with danger as the coal seam gas and fracking industry. Most of Victoria is rich and fertile, and is a great food bowl for the rest the country - we produce meat, milk, vegetables, fruits and other crops to feed Australians. When the land is devastated and the water poisoned, where do we purchase safe food? You may be able to run and hide when the damage is done, but the majority of us will have to remain and live in the mess you create. There is no possibility of these two industries operating side by side, and we are telling you which of the two must go! I am joining my voice to the voices of my neighbours in Wannon, and with other people around Australia in urging you to bring a halt to this industry. Why is it that you and our Federal Government, are unable to see this industry for what it is - a filthy and dangerous threat to future water supplies and production of food in our country? The ‘anti-fracking’ is a rapidly growing movement, and your government would be wise to heed it, regardless of the squealing from the mining sector. Let the mining sector jump on board, rethink their future and ours, and put their money into renewables, instead of blocking every progressive energy proposal. The mining sector may then happily continue to make their billions of dollars without turning Australia into another Nauru, where resources have been dug out until only a battered rim remains for the people to live on. I am not prepared to see my country become a scarred and toxic mine pit for the benefit of the global gas market. I urge your Government to review the research, to acknowledge the unacceptable risks, and to ban this industry permanently in Australia. I am both emailing and sending a hardcopy in the mail to ensure you also have a signed copy of this letter. We feel very passionate about this subject in this area and will also be sending a copy of this to opposition members and state members. Yours sincerely, Kelly Gannon Cobboboonee Horse Riding 211 Hodgetts Road, Gorae, 3305. Ph. 0428 219090
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 21:09:21 +0000
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