Sydney Water Supply catchment still under threat from foreign coal money.
Its hard to understand how a government can be so publicly determined to undermine the life support systems, of its own population, in its own capital city of government. Namely the National Liberal Party and its stewardship of the Sydney Water Supply catchment area, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. But this is Australia, and Australian government is too frequently all about mining first, mining first. Australian governments are practically fully owned subsidiaries of foreign mining corporations and their money. Hence their reluctance to acknowledge any necessity of action on global warming from burning their products.
We do have an “impartial” assessor of mining projects into new mining lease areas. It is called the “Independent Planning Commission”. The IPC is designed as an attempt to take away rubber stamp power from toxic politicians. By and large, IPC appointees for a decision tend to be made of a small number of people, with generally non-political and recognized technical qualifications in mining projects. They hold public hearings and take input from other professional and concerned parties, such as the Sydney Water Catchment Management Authority.
The IPC did its job, looked at the “Dendrobium Coal Mine Expansion” and thought the evidence for blocking the proposed mine operations was clearly on the side of the Sydney Water People. The whole catchment area is in danger of being cracked open by underground mining subsidence.
Evidence from existing underground mine encroachments is substantial and damming. Yes, mine operations have already been allowed to do this crap. See why they are getting so upset now?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-17/longwall-mining-impact-on-drinking-water/11519970
The mining operation is owned by another entity called South32, which is owned by BHP. BHP is a global corporation now, and a large part of ownership, mine operations and profits undoubtedly are overseas. It was grow bigger or get swallowed. Both tend to happen at the same time.
BHP also has this public statement to stand by. “BHP supports the aim of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C.” Sorry, but that doesn’t mean keep making more steel every year.
Of course this project was said to be “coking coal”, or metalurgical coal, still required technology for most steel making. Not usually mentioned, is how “economic growth” continues to contribute to global warming. Each increment in global capital, our total in infrastructure that add every year, costs a lot of energy. We build, with steel, wood, glass, and all our mined minerals. The final results add another set of yearly demands for our energy infrastructure, which becomes and extra locked-in demand for increases of our global greenhouse emissions.
Therefore any restriction of manufacturing of more steel making, for more buildings, machines and infrastructure is good for squeezing off the growth of yet more greenhouse gas emitting capital machinery. Unfortunately this aspect of “economic growth” is sadly neglected by people who spout off the term regularly as unqualified good without a second thought.
John Barilaro (Nationals Party Mouthpiece, NSW Government Deputy MP), has flapped his mouth, and is already saying he’ll get the government to overturn the IPC’s decision! His logic about job losses is just too badly over the top.
Mr Barilaro has tried that sort of ultimatum trick before and it didn’t work. But we’ll see this time. Does the Liberal National Party and Mining Coalition want to risk draining Sydney’s future drinking water for the sake of lots of coal money for foreign investors and pocket money for themselves as politicians?
Whenever an IPC decision goes against mining, it is guaranteed someone in the LNP&MC government makes loud angry noises about putting the IPC (Independent Planning Commission) processes through the washing machine ringer again, and changing all of the rules applying to it, so that it can never again possibly come to a negative decision. This way we get to find out who is really on the take in the government, even if no anti-corruption investigation happens.
The real problem which is never identified in the mining media, is the rubber stamping of inappropriate mining leases by the government, and promissory deals for project approvals and money exchanged in backrooms of government.
Mr Barilaro takes his orders directly those who actually owns most of the money making bits of Australia. He doesn’t give a real shit about a climate or jobs future, just about his own. He’s squeaked very loudly now, because of a big remote controlled prod.
There are far more long term jobs in renewable energy, crying out for investment. We have passed peak oil, and peak coal needs to be happening now. Ditto for natural gas. With Biosphere collapse and Civilization soon to collapse, the exponential growth parties have been getting very wild and aggro lately, each doubling now reaching to way past overshoot. Soon will be forced to deal with a very large epidemic of long term economic and climate hangovers. “Sorry about that, Chief.”
It was reported also recently, that China’s blockade of coal shipments from Australia, doesn’t hurt Australia’s income very much. Modelling showed that 80% of the coal is foreign owned, and even most of that blockaded stuff will be referred to other ports. They didn’t need to do a modelling study. I remember already commenting on this off the top of my head when the blockade was news. Without the aid of back of envelope. Even BHP is mostly foreign owned.
A large majority of Australia media and political systems are owned by foreign interests, including Murdoch’s media empire, and foreign mining corporations have large shares and big say. Our major political parties take directions from the same associations of mostly foreign mining interests, various state and one federal “Minerals Councils”. The major political parties, include Barilaros National Party, take dark money donations from the same sources.
The job of politics and media in Australia is to distract its small population, by tweaking common bias and sentiment, and support small ambitions in sport, and big self-noters, and cater for self-importance by providing enough well-paid but too many bullshit jobs. Really important work, gets underpaid of course. So the mining politics is intent on completing domination of media, and demolishing the national broadcaster as an independent entity.
Intellectual opposition in Australia maybe lives in mostly dismantled and doggy-obedient university sector, a nearly — scrapped vocational education sector, and a de-fanged ABC in danger of being totally scrapped, and a bullshit media machine that keeps them dancing on petty issues, away from the big money flows, and steers clear of dangerous ideas. Compulsory voting traditions corrals the zombie electorate sheep into ticking the right boxes at election times.
Social and wealth climbers in Australian society enticed by the property ownership ladder, and the path to trivial wealth being real estate investment and property tax gearing. Addresses at particular suburbs are worshipped, others derided. The path to big political bribe wealth is participation and after-career jobs in the foreign owned mining industry. In the mining-mafia-mates game, it would be called a “wrap-up”, or “vertical integration” arrangement, directed from mine operations, to the mouth pieces of government, reported in the mining media, and executed by public servants in fear for their jobs.
The only way it might change, is if the actual foreign investors in power, realize they are killing off future chances of human species survival, for their own childrens future, as well as wiping most of current biodiversity in mass extinction, global hot house earth, now on track at growing 0.25–0.3 degrees C every decade. The neo-liberal underling money rakers of Australia need some new orders. They seem to have forgotten how to research and think for themselves, after decades on the take.
There is No One at Home at the Top
Alas I really feel that there is actually no one who is really in charge, at the top of the global money tree, in terms of intelligence or responsibility, not already made completely insane by too much money. Having billions in ownership of shares of mining corporations, it must be too easy delegating decisions to underlings, well-paid, who are under strict money making rules, no matter what external costs. Any problems? Solve it with money, plenty more where that came from. Trouble makers? Bribe, discredit, assassinate, or stick ASIO on to them.
The global delinquent rolling in it “owners”, can live it up without the consequences or guilt on their souls, while others are paid to do the dirty work, as eager parasites. Big money owners can’t possibly dirty their hands with details. It is the domination system all over again. Money dominates everything. But it is actually nothing at all.
As a result, Australian politicians take their orders from corporate CEO’s and manager underlings, lobbyists and so forth, with no actual real responsibility other than to make money by any and all means, while the top money-rakers cruise around on luxury yachts deciding Trump-like on who they should invite to their next luxury stay over party, and order their accountants to figure it into their next tax dodge. The money making Nazi’s can say they are just following orders. And the orders? They are totally insane, made up by a sick system, obeyed by money-enslaved politicians.