Campaign for honest food labelling takes on a life of it’s own

Late last year, this media release that I put out on mislabeled produce in Coles supermarkets generated significant attention, with stories on the issue being run in a number of local and national papers. The story got so much attention that professional climate change denier and right-wing nutjob Andrew Bolt felt the need to get involved.

Several months later it seems the NSW Food Authority is still taking the issue quite seriously, with the Sydney Morning Herald reporting that other Coles and Woolworths stores in greater Sydney have been fined over the issue. 

While the fines are small for the companies involved the public exposure that their misleading labelling has received will likely be much more serious.  Many conscientious consumers choose to buy Australian produce over that which has been imported to reduce ‘food miles’, support local farmers or to take a stand against the goings on in some of the producer countries.

Such consumers will now be much more wary about what they buy from the two big supermarkets and I imagine many will take their business away from this ever expanding duopoly and to local independent retailers.  The NSW Food Authority, and presumably other regulatory bodies, have Coles and Woolworths in their sites and much more serious punishments will follow if they don’t drastically lift their game.

Barangaroo exemption a toxic act

The decision by Planning Minister Tony Kelly to exempt Barangaroo from the usual laws that apply to contaminated land may harm our harbour and the health of Sydney residents for generations.

Last Wednesday, just two days before the government went into caretaker mode in the lead up to the state election, Minister Kelly changed the state land remediation policy to specifically exclude Barangaroo.  The decision also came just days before judgement was to be handed down in a court case over the matter launched by Australians for Sustainable Development (AfSD), which legal experts predicted would find against Barangaroo.

AfSD argued that the Barangaroo development had not followed the required procedures for the remediation of contaminated land.  However the changes to the rules mean those procedures are no longer required at Barangaroo, removing the main plank in the court case.

Kelly and Premier Keneally have been on the defensive ever since, continually insisting that the change to the rules was simply a clarification.  However the new text of the planning policy specifically states Barangaroo is excluded whilst ignoring other major projects, so the clarification argument holds very little water.

Sydney Harbour now faces an uncertain future with work to begin on the project in a matter of days and none of the normal protections against contamination in place.

Rallying against coal seam gas mining

On December 19th I joined several hundred other inner Sydney residents to protest against the state government’s plan to drill for coal seam gas in St Peters.  While the Greens have long been fighting to prevent this most insidious form of mining on prime agricultural land on the Liverpool Plains we were as shocked as the rest of the community when we found that exploratory work for a new mining site had begun in suburban Sydney.

We were surprised because the exploration was approved in secret by the government – not even the Council whose Local Government Area it took place in or the surrounding residents were informed.  Had someone wanted to do something as simple as add an extension to their house they would have been required to put an application in to Council, who would put the plans on public exhibition before making a decision.  However a licence for mining exploration of this sort is approved behind closed doors by the NSW Department of Industry and Investment - they don’t even consult with the Environmental Protection Authority.

This is of particular concern as the full environmental effects of coal seam gas drilling are as yet unknown.  Quite often a process called fracking is required to liberate the gas from the coal seam – a process whereby sand, water and a range of chemicals (some of which are kept secret by the mining companies) are injected into the ground to cause a mini earthquake.

The effects of some of the chemicals used in this process are not fully understood, but it is suspected that they may pose a serious risk of contamination to groundwater supplies.  The gas drilling site is close to water supply pipes from the desalination plant and this has made many people very nervous. 

In response to the unknown risks the United States Environmental Protection Agency is currently undertaking a long term investigation into what effect the chemicals can have on the environment and human health and the Queensland government has recently legislated to ban a number of the chemicals used in the process.  However the NSW Government continues to push ahead.

Thankfully, the day after the rally the NSW government announced that it would consider a ban on many of the same toxic chemicals that have been banned in Queensland.  There is as yet no solid commitment in the government’s statement and their record on environmental matters is far from impressive but at least this shows that they know this is a matter of concern to the community and that we will be watching them now and as the state election approaches.

Attack the Stack

On Sunday 23rd of May I spoke at the “Attack the Stack” rally in Darlinghurst.  Attack the Stack are a well organised and dedicated group of local residents who are angry about the state government’s failure to filter the emissions from the Eastern Distributor tunnel ventilation stack, or to even properly monitor what is coming out of the stack in the first place.

Below is the text of the speech I gave at the rally.