The first union delegation to the Pilliga was held in November 2022. The follow-up in August was basically double the size. After hearing from concerned local community and Gomeroi members, we packed up in our cars for a convoy to a rest stop about halfway between Coonabarabran and Narrabri. Here we heard more speeches from local farmers, scientists and an impassioned on from a local Rural Fire Service volunteer. He had experienced the devastating 2013 Warrumbungle National Park bushfire and worried what a similar fire in the neighbouring Pilliga State Forest could result in, especially if any of the proposed 850 coalseam gas wells managed to be caught up such a disaster. Our final stop of the day was a march down the main street of Narrabri, chanting “Santos, no way, we stand with Gamilaraay!” In front of Santos’ local office, we heard a passionate speech from Matty Shields, a member of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association and a Gomeroi man. “Why do mining companies have more rights in Australia than my people?” He explained what it was like as a nurse on the front lines, managing the harm that comes from climate change. The day was capped off with a rousing rewrite of The Angels’ 'Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again' which went 'Are they ever gonna drill a hole again? No way, get fracked, frack off!' While most of the other union delegations headed back to Coonabarabran, RAFFWU comrades had to immediately head back to Sydney, as most of us had the Committee meeting the following day. However, that did not prevent us from stopping at a pub in the tiny town of Quirindi to watch the Matilda’s nail-biting win over France in the World Cup and become fast friends with some of the locals. A subsequent rally was held in Sydney on September 14th that brought together not just unions and Gomeroi people, but activists from Lock The Gate, Knitting Nannas, local farmers and the Country Women’s Association. The crowd of around 1000 people marched from Circular Quay to the New South Wales Parliament. I have joined Unions NSW’s Pilliga Campaign Committee as RAFFWU’s representative. Unions NSW and the Sunrise Movement are jointly funding an organiser for this campaign and more actions are being planned as we try to pressure the NSW and Federal Labor governments to cancel this awful project and put the country on the path to renewable energy. The Gomeroi have also appealed the Native Title Tribunal ruling to the Federal Court of Australia. There are other planned actions so if you’re in Sydney or NSW and would like to get involved, please get in touch. There is also an excellent documentary featuring the voices of many of the local residents called The Pilliga Project that is available to watch for free on YouTube. ACTION Gamil Means No Are they ever gonna drill a hole again? No way, get fracked, frack off! On an unseasonably warm August morning, hundreds of unionists from around NSW gathered at Nelson Park in Coonabarabran to join the local community and Gomeroi traditional owners in demanding that Santos cancel its planned Pilliga-Narrabri coal-seam gas project. RAFFWU was represented by a delegation of union Committee members and some Sydney-based staff and, joining other delegations from the Maritime Union of Australia, the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association, the NSW Teachers Federation, Unions NSW and others. The campaign to stop this project has been running for years. Santos first proposed the project back in 2014 and received a Federal sign-off from Scott Morrison’s government in late 2020 — less than a year after the disastrous 'Black Summer' bushfire season. The Gomeroi people voted overwhelmingly in a March 2022 Nation meeting to reject Santos’ proposal. However, in December 2022, the Native Title Tribunal ruled in favour of Santos, rejecting the concerns about the “grave and irreversible consequences for [their] culture, lands and waters and would contribute to climate change.” On their website for this campaign, Gomeroi Ngaarr, Coonabarabran resident and Gomeroi elder Suellyn Tighe explains, PROTECTING THE PILLIGA - Dani Barley, RAFFWU President “We have said clearly as a Nation — hell no Santos, get out of our Country! The Pilliga is so important to us culturally and spiritually. […] Gomeroi have stood up and united in defence of our culture and special places. Now we need support from non-Indigenous people, too. It will be a long hard battle to defeat this company — we will march [in the] streets, we will camp outside Parliament. I am calling all people across Australia to action — fight to ensure our vote is respected.” 27
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