{"id":18696,"date":"2014-05-27T18:52:45","date_gmt":"2014-05-27T08:52:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nofibs.com.au\/?p=18696"},"modified":"2019-04-13T23:58:02","modified_gmt":"2019-04-13T13:58:02","slug":"australia-at-csg-war-on-home-soil-invoking-anzac-to-back-bentleyblockade-and-pilliga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/australia-at-csg-war-on-home-soil-invoking-anzac-to-back-bentleyblockade-and-pilliga\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia at #CSG war on home soil: Invoking ANZAC to back #BentleyBlockade and #Pilliga"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-18717\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Anzac-Day.jpg?resize=800%2C400\" alt=\"Anzac-Day\" width=\"800\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Anzac-Day.jpg?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Anzac-Day.jpg?resize=300%2C150&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Just after Anzac Day I saw a film clip from the Bentley Blockade near Lismore, where 2000 people had gathered to block access to coal seam gas mining company Metgasco.\u00a0 In a misty dawn they had held their own Anzac memorial service.\u00a0 After \u2018Lest we forget\u2019, the camera panned to an older country woman.\u00a0 She said \u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re fighting a cause as important as what our ancestors did\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Then a Vietnam veteran, wearing the medals he hadn\u2019t worn since that war ended, said \u00a0\u201dWhat we see happening here is not what they fought for\u201d.\u00a0 And I thought\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s right!\u201d.\u00a0 Most of the Anzacs were young men from country Australia.\u00a0 One can imagine their total horror and disbelief at the destruction of their beloved countryside.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bMVhYB4EZFM?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><br \/>\nVideo by @ParisandDarmin<\/p>\n<p>Another older woman said \u201cBecause we have a crisis of democracy it actually creates what\u2019s happening here.\u00a0 It\u2019s beyond just voting as a citizen.\u00a0 We have to stand up for what we believe in.\u00a0 We have a huge responsibility to uphold the freedom that they died for\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>And I started to make a connection that I hadn\u2019t really seen before.<\/p>\n<p>All the wars in which Australians have fought until now have been fought on foreign soils.\u00a0 Australian civilians have never had to face the destruction and occupation of their own land in war.\u00a0 Until now.<\/p>\n<p>Because Australia is now at war.\u00a0 Our country is being invaded and occupied by armies of largely foreign mining companies, who have come to our shores aided and abetted by our own political leaders, intent on gaining profit from our resources of coal and gas.<\/p>\n<p>In the process, they will make our land unfit for food production.\u00a0 They will pollute our water\u00a0 &#8211;\u00a0 our most precious commodity in the driest continent on earth.\u00a0 They will make citizens forced to live near their gasfields sick, from pollution by the gases emitted.\u00a0 They will make vast areas of our land unfit to live in, and destroy beautiful countrysides. \u00a0Images of the Tara gasfields in Queensland show the chilling evidence of the destruction they wreak.<\/p>\n<p>Our governments are captives of the coal industry, they see only the short-term profits for the state.\u00a0 Their laws support the industry.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-18725\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/BmbFyvoCAAAJGZH.jpg?resize=586%2C480\" alt=\"BmbFyvoCAAAJGZH\" width=\"586\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/BmbFyvoCAAAJGZH.jpg?w=586&amp;ssl=1 586w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/BmbFyvoCAAAJGZH.jpg?resize=300%2C245&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 586px) 100vw, 586px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The only force now stopping these combined forces of industry and government in NSW is what can only be called a citizen army.\u00a0 Thousands of ordinary Australians are putting their lives on hold, often at great personal cost, to stand up against this unconscionable attack on our land and water, and our lives.<\/p>\n<p>At the Bentley blockade two thousand of them rallied, bracing themselves to stand against another army, this one of 800 police, threatened to be sent by their own government to break up the blockade.\u00a0 The strength of their courage and commitment caused the government to back off; Metgasco\u2019s license was suspended and the circumstances of the issuing of the license referred to the Independent Commission Against Corruption.\u00a0 It seems there are suspicious links to some of the most corrupt politicians in NSW.<\/p>\n<p>I have come to realize that the Australians standing against the appalling destruction of coal seam gas mining are the true Anzacs of this century.\u00a0 The Bentley blockaders were the front line in an army of citizens who have organized as never before to fight this abominable industry.\u00a0 There are many thousands more of us behind the lines, but make no mistake, the forces of corporate and government greed that we are fighting are formidable and inexorable.\u00a0 They will keep on attacking.\u00a0 Bentley may be a battle won, but there will be more battles.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-18727\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/ansel-2.jpg?resize=800%2C400\" alt=\"ansel-2\" width=\"800\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/ansel-2.jpg?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/ansel-2.jpg?resize=300%2C150&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This is a war, and we ordinary Australians are the Anzacs of today, as much as any of our forces fighting on foreign soil.\u00a0 We are fighting for our country, for the land and water of Australia, and we will never give up.<\/p>\n<p>So join the army\u00a0 &#8211;\u00a0 do whatever it is that you can do\u00a0 &#8211;\u00a0 your country needs you!\u00a0 With your help, we can win.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rjT8ka5Ekzk?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Just after Anzac Day I saw a film clip from the Bentley Blockade near Lismore, where 2000 people had gathered to block access to coal seam gas mining company Metgasco.\u00a0 In a misty dawn they had held their own Anzac memorial service.\u00a0 After \u2018Lest we forget\u2019, the camera panned to an older country woman.\u00a0 She [&hellip;]<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":18727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[3434,1776,585],"tags":[1716,1717,834,1088,1365,1709,2589,242,326,1731,1789,2604,679,1468],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/ansel-2.jpg?fit=800%2C400&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t0mw-4Ry","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18696"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18696\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}