Greens back coal crisis action

"The Greens will act with the environment movement and local residents and industries to stop the coal tide and resolve this crisis," said Ms Rhiannon.

"We will construct a sustained campaign of lobbying, rallies and peaceful protests to galvanise public support.

"The campaign will focus on the Newcastle coal loader and the Anvil Hill coal mine and include a series of actions in the Hunter, Western, Gunnedah and Southern Coalfields.  The first action will take place on 2-3 June at Anvil Hill.

"It is criminal that at a time when the government should be moving towards a massive expansion of renewable energy it plans to rachet up the coal industry instead.

"The increase of Newcastle’s coal handling capacity to over 200 million tonnes of coal per year is a doubling of the world’s largest coal port.

"This increase will facilitate the runaway expansion of new coal mines in the Upper Hunter and in the Gunnedah coal basin.

"NSW Labor’s continued affair with the coal industry flies in the face of clear evidence from the scientific community that coal is a key climate change culprit.

"This dance with the coal industry makes a mockery of Premier Iemma’s recent appointment of a Minister for Climate Change.

"The anticipated approval of the Anvil Hill coal mine symbolises the government’s complete disregard for its responsibility to take action to cut greenhouse emissions.

"It is imperative that the Iemma government weans itself off its addiction to coal.

"The government should immediately invest in renewable energy industries to encourage a jobs rich economy and cut the greenhouse gas emissions which are having such a catastrophic impact on our planet,” Ms Rhiannon said.

For more information: Greens MP Lee Rhiannon, 0427 861 568