Confession #3 How green was our valley?

What happens when the rivers stop flowing,
and the mountains of dirt just keep blowing?
and the wide open scars are a message so far
from the eyes and the minds of knowing.

But who knows? Those in Sydney perhaps?
Cause it’s full of such clever type chaps.
Friends from companies large, through townships they barge
and watch as communities collapse.

How green was the valley we saw?
Massive holes where was once forest floor.
It was painful to see this proposed destiny
when renewables offer so much more.

I was one of nine Hunter Greens candidates who went on a bus tour to the Upper Hunter today. The view …spectacularly devastating. It seemed like it was one big hole from the back of Broke to Muswellbrook.

Couldn’t help feel that Muswellbrook was a town in the way of a mine. The local residents live with constant blasting, low level vibrations which “just send you mad” and dust.

It was a ‘good’ day for dust on our visit, not too much wind, you could see the constant dust haze, but you could see. The ‘crusties’ in my nose after the day trip told a different story though.

We had a look at the proposed Anvill Hill mine site, it stretched as far as the eye could see. We travelled the road that gives the residents from Sandy Hollow and Denman access to Muswellbrook, this road is set to go should the mines go ahead. An extra 1 ½ hours on the trip to town for some.

We stopped at Denman to hear from the local grape and lucerne growers. These farmers livelihoods are being jeopardised by the lack of water they have access to. Mining is a water and energy hungry industry and it gets a priority on the available water. Some of these farmers who have always received 100% of their water allowances found out late last year they were only going to get 8%, just enough to keep the cows alive, and not much more.

Greens Upper House representative Lee Rhiannon has been very active in supporting the mine ravaged communities of the Hunter if you want to see for yourself, have a look at her site and the on line photo journal.

Confession #2 Green is more than a colour

The world has changed a lot since our parents voted for the major parties; green was still a colour then.

But now it’s a way of life. Green bags, say we’re thinking about the environment when we make our purchases, green power is a way of fuelling our energy needs sustainably, we even put out green waste to reduce landfill, and not too long ago a greenie was a ‘tree-hugger’ now they are environmental activists.

Being a Greens candidate is about providing people with a choice to have representatives that care about the long-term impact of our everyday choices.

The Greens aren’t afraid to stand up and say it’s time to change the way we do things. We’ve been saying it for a while, only now a lot more people agree. We’ve spent a lot of time developing policies too, and costing policies and we know that there is a way to have a future that we can live with.

There is the potential within this region to maintain the energy production focus without destroying our environment in the process. The Greens are about creating an alternative relationship between the State and its energy objectives. Greens believe in a jobs rich future driven by renewable energy technologies, their production and distribution throughout the country and the world.

The Greens already have people in the State Government who know how governments work. Governments can work by having Green issues on the agenda and by encouraging green policies that offer different way to think about our future. Our Upper House representatives Lee Rhiannon, Ian Cohen, Sylvia Hale have been putting out a different viewpoint and it makes a difference to what gets discussed, new thoughts, about a better future.

If you want to know the detail have a look at our policies, they are a great read because when you read them you sense there is hope. It’s a different paradigm, a different way of thinking about how we do things. It reminds me of the wisdom my 94 year old friend, tread lightly, use what you need, respect each other and don’t take what we have for granted.

We’ve taken water for granted for far too long, strange really when we live on the driest continent on earth. For a long time we thought about water as just coming out of a tap, now it can come out of a tank too. We need water, reliable and reusable. Tanks for toilets should be a priority. The Greens aim to support personal actions that make a difference.

In this election people might feel they’re a little green around the edges, a bit inexperienced in understanding the way Greens think. But this is an opportunity to learn about different policies that can affect the future in terms of more than election cycles.

Candidate Announcement-Media Release 23/1/07

MEDIA RELEASE

23 January 2006

GREENS PRE-SELECT
CANDIDATE FOR LAKE MACQUARIE

The Newcastle Greens local group has pre-selected Suzanne Pritchard as The Greens candidate for Lake Macquarie in the March 2007 NSW state election.

“I’ve become active in the local campaign to provide people with a choice that would see politics return to the people and the environment protected for people, not plundered for profit,” Suzanne said.

“One of our key objectives for this election is to help increase the number of Greens in the upper house of state parliament. Greens MP Lee Rhiannon is a fantastic example of how effective a Green can be. She has campaigned to stop new coal mines and has effectively exposed the extent and impact of developer donations on the major political parties. Dr John Kaye is second on the ticket. He’s a sustainable energy and greenhouse expert, just the right credentials to support an electorate dependent on energy production. He is a tireless campaigner for public education and public transport, “Suzanne said.

Suzanne is a science and environmental educator. She has lived in the electorate at Carey Bay for 16 years, sole parenting her three children to adulthood whilst being actively involved in the local community.

“The Lake Macquarie electorate is big, and with it come big issues that affect how and where we get our water, the role of coal, and employment options for the future, and the impact of urban development in destroying our quality community lifestyle” Suzanne said

"Coal extraction has increased, whilst jobs in the industry continue to decline. It’s time to face facts and plan for a future of sustainable energy technologies that will provide jobs, maintain our role as energy providers and build an industry based on skills, not just bigger machines and bigger holes.

“A sustainable water supply for the Central Coast is another issue that’s looking for a economically, socially and environmentally viable solution. The Lake Macquarie electorate is a major part of the catchment that’s in crisis. Dams where is doesn’t rain don’t make sense and cost big dollars. Recycling water and subsidising water tanks where rain falls make sense to all but a few. Those few unfortunately are the ones calling the shots.

“I decided to be a candidate to give the people of Lake Macquarie a choice; a choice to do things differently and more sustainably. It’s the choice between letting Sydney politics drive the agenda for our region and ensuring that the local communities still have a say about the place they choose to call home”.

Confessions of a Candidate #1

Suzanne Kathleen Pritchard, 43, and I love Lake Macquarie. I swim and think in the Lake’s cooling waters and walk and wonder in the surrounding hills. The Lake Macquarie electorate is 1,062 km2 , and that’s a lot of lake and a fair few hills. There are also about 64,320 people, spread out in little patches of paradise dotted between the mountains and the sea. The officials call it provincial, it feels more like community.

I love my City of Lake Macquarie too, even though it has no city centre, and people drive past it on the way to the north coast and the wine country of the Hunter Valley. The City is unique, it is a bushland city with a mining-manufacturing history in a changing climate of technology and evidence that the world is changing too.

I’m just starting out on a rather interesting relationship with the State Electorate of Lake Macquarie, all new boundaries and needless to say, I’m excited. In every relationship it’s important to work through the issues and Lake Mac has its fair share. The Lake Mac electorate is big… and size makes a difference to how much bang you get for your buck when it comes to supplying infrastructure, whether it’s water or somewhere to walk, a local school or health services close to home.

It makes a difference when the electorate spans two Local Government Areas. In Wyong it takes in a large chunk of the catchment for the Central Coast’s water supply and in Lake Macquarie it includes the proposed sites for several new coal extraction initiatives and all of the Lake. The concerns about natural resources and their sustainable management is a major issue in the electorate.

I decided to be a candidate so I could offer the people of Lake Macquarie a choice. A choice to do things a little differently or to think of different ways to do the same things more sustainably. It’s the choice between letting Sydney politics drive the agenda for our region and ensuring that the local communities still have a say about the place they choose to call home.

Being a candidate is being able to present a different paradigm for people to ponder, a different way of thinking about the same old problems. While many solutions may have already been found, at present there is no political power to put them in place. The current political mindset is not making a difference in the timeframe that’s necessary to make a real difference to the final outcomes that our families and children will have to live with.

A Green voice in government is vital if different solutions are to be found. The core Greens ethics of grassroots democracy, economic justice & social equality, ecological sustainability and peace, non-violence & disarmament provide a different way of viewing our place in the world and what we do with it.

Over the next month or two I’ll be getting to know the electorate a little more personally and this blog is one way I hope to share this journey with you.