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    Queensland Government’s Coal Protectionism

    The latest evidence of the Queensland government’s blatant coal protectionism is a CSIRO report which has been sitting on Energy Minister Geoff Wilson’s desk for a year. The report finds that large-scale renewable energy plants could provide ALL of Queensland’s electricity needs, and recommends that the Queensland government start funding renewable technologies with some of…

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    Are we prepared to lose our Reef?

    It was sobering to have internationally-acclaimed reef scientist Charlie Veron on board the ship for the past few days. The campaigners and crew on board had the opportunity to hear from the man who has discovered 20% of the world’s coral species how dire the situation really is for the coral reefs of the worlds.…

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    More than 82% of Australians don’t want export coal expansion

    A poll we released today shows that 4 out of 5 Australians want our export coal industry to be capped or reduced. Nonetheless, at both state and federal government levels, there are plans for the massive expansion of the industry. The Rudd government has plans to double our national export capacity, while just 2 weeks…

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    Bligh’s Response To Greenpeace Coal Ship Action In Queensland

    Greenpeace activists finished their painting just moments before a police boat turned up this morning, with a final tally of 20 ships painted with messages like “Bligh exporting CO2”, “Coal is killing the Reef” and “Stop coal expansion”. While 10 activists were taken into custody by police, Premier Bligh was questioned about the protest in…

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    Greenpeace gives Hay Point coal ships a paint job

    As I write, 10 Greenpeace activists are painting the sides of coal ships waiting in a queue outside Hay Point terminal near Mackay. This is the largest coal port in Queensland and there are nearly 50 ships in line ready to be loaded. I’m on board the Esperanza, which is anchored nearby. We’ve been out…

  • Why ‘Clean Coal’ Is No Excuse For Burning Coal

      Our coal ship painting action the other day put both Queensland Premier Anna Bligh and Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett on the spot, forcing them to respond publicly about their plans to expand the coal industry. Both politicians used the development of so-called ‘clean coal’ technology as their defence. ‘Clean coal’, or carbon capture…

  • Finally setting sail for Townsville

    We’ve been anchored off Mackay for 3 days now, because late in the day after our coal ship painting protest we were notified by the Townsville Port Authority about ‘security concerns’, and other issues, that would have prevented us from docking at the port. Initially, there was a requirement that we would be required to…

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    5000 visitors to the Esperanza have the power to create change

    Another Saturday, another balmy, sunny open boat day in far North Queensland. This week we are in Townsville and with the 400 people who visited the ship today, the total number of people who’ve been on board since we began in Sydney 5 weeks ago climbed to over 5000. That’s over 5000 people who have…

    Greenpeace Australia Pacific

  • Climate scepticism misses the point

    There’s been a flurry of climate sceptics voicing their opinions in the media in recent weeks, a reminder that this debate is still alive and well. While the majority of Australia’s political leaders now acknowledge the fact of human-induced climate change and the threat it poses, it appears that some people still doubt the phenomenon…

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    The Esperanza arrives in our final port of call

    We arrived in Cairns yesterday afternoon, our final stop in the Energy [R]evolution tour. After nearly 6 weeks at sea, it will be strange for us on the campaign team to soon be sleeping in beds that don’t rock! The Port of Cairns is like a breath of fresh air, because unlike the other ports…