The Lithgow leg of the Just Transition bus tour will be on November 24. There are plans for a public meeting with the Lithgow Environment Group. Details to be announced. For more information visit http://www.transitiontour.wordpress.com/.

Stand up for water, not coal! Support coal communities group Rivers SoS

About Rivers SoS' court challenge to the expansion of Metropolitan coal mine

In June, NSW Planning Minister Keneally approved a $50 million expansion of the Metropolitan Collieries under Part 3A, the first decision since a major government inquiry into the impact of coal mining on water in the Southern Coalfields. The approval allows for longwall mining to take place directly under the Woronora Dam, one of Sydney’s most reliable drinking water sources.

In what could be a landmark case, the Environmental Defenders Office is working with Rivers SOS to take the NSW Government to the Land and Environment Court to challenge the legality of the mining approval process.

The integrity of our water supplies has never been more threatened, with predicted climate change-induced drought and damaging impacts on the catchments due to longwall coal mining of an extent and intensity never seen before.

At Climate Camp 09 in October, more than 500 people marched to the front gates of the Metropolitan Collieries and peacefully occupied the entrance road to the mine. They were protesting the mine’s expansion and voicing concerns over water, climate and jobs in NSW.

Speakers include Lee Rhiannon (Greens MLC), Dootch Kennedy (Illawarra Aboriginal Land Council - TBC) and Julie Sheppard (Rivers SoS)

If you can, wear or bring something blue, to show that our water is more precious than coal!

Outside the NSW Land and Environment Court
255 Macquarie Street (near St James Station)
Wednesday November 25, 8 to 9am

If you need more information, contact Holly on 0417682541. Rivers SoS are looking for donations to run this important case. If you can support, contact Julie on linju1@virginbroadband.com.au

Protest walk begins Saturday, November 28, 2009, 8.30 am. From Blue Mountains Hospital, Great Western Highway, Katoomba. Organised by Blue Mountains Hospital Equity & Access Lobby (HEAL). Visit http://heal-saveourhospital.blogspot.com/ for more info.

* * *

Yes, it is a bl** dy long way to Nepean Hospital, particularly when you are sick or need to visit a loved one who has been transferred off Mountain for hospital services. In fact, it’s 53.1 kms from BMDAMH to Nepean Hospital via a highway that is both busy and a permanent construction zone.

Just think – Mountains residents who require dialysis, chemotherapy or general surgery are all required to travel to Nepean Hospital for services. And because of the unstable service provision at BMDAMH, Mountains residents are often transferred to Nepean to give birth, have a fracture attended to or to have emergency surgery.

It’s a Bl**dy Long Way to Nepean Hospital! is HEAL’s new campaign. And, to underscore the distance that Mountains residents are required to travel for basic, primary health care services, we are going to walk from Blue Mountains hospital to Nepean hospital.

Walk!!?

Yes, we want to highlight how far it is to travel to Nepean Hospital and what better way of doing that than by walking and talking to the community as we travel through each village.

The walk

When: Saturday, November 28th 2009

Start Place: Blue Mountains Hospital

Start Time: 8.30am

Finish Time: when we get there! (an overnight stay along the way may be required)

Villages that we will pass through: 13

At the completion of the walk, we will hand a letter to the NSW Minister for Health (or her delegate) that asks that Blue Mountains Hospital be reclassified as a rural hospital (this will enable higher pay rates and improve our ability to attract and retain clinicians); that the Minister reviews current service/bed closures at the Blue Mountains Hospital and prioritises their re-opening and that the Minister commits to the future of the Blue Mountains Hospital.

What Can You Do?

There are plenty of ways that you can participate in the It’s a Bl**dy Long Way to Nepean Hospital! walk.
* You can participate in the walk for any distance. Join us for the whole walk or part of the walk. Walk from your village to a neighbouring village.
* Be a member of the support crew. We need people to drive the route and provide support and assistance to the walkers.
* Donate bottled water.
* Gather your family and friends; meet us along the route and cheer us along the way.
* If you live along the highway, offer us a cuppa or put a support sign in your front yard.

If you think the walk is a crazy idea then consider this:
* If we sit back and do nothing, services at our hospital will continue to decline.
* 5 much needed beds in the Mental Health Unit that were closed in May 2009 will never re-open.
* 8 beds in the Rehabilitation Unit that have been closed will remain that way.
* The kiosk will never re-open.
* The Breast Screening Clinic will never fully function.
* Mountains residents will continue to be sent to Nepean Hospital for basic, primary healthcare services that CAN be locally provided at Blue Mountains Hospital.
* Staff morale at the hospital will continue to plummet.

On the topic of staff morale, if you haven’t visited the “Who Will Speak For Us” blogspot, please do so. http://whowillspeakforus.blogspot.com/. This blogspot highlights the very real frustrations of staff at Blue Mountains Hospital and asks us, the community, to speak up and fight for the hospital.

In closing, I seek your support for the It’s a Bl**dy Long Way to Nepean Hospital! Walk.

If you would like to join the walk or can support the walk in any way, please send me an email.

Visit our blogspot http://heal-saveourhospital.blogspot.com/

Tell Kevin Rudd: don't dump on Indonesia. Australian carbon colonialism - stop the offsets! Kevin Rudd's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme allows for 100% of Australian emissions reductions to be found offshore. Federal Treasury predicts at least 50% reliance on offshore credits to achieve the lowest reduction in emissions (5%). Kevin Rudd is now looking for cheap offshore offsets for Australian emissions. Indonesia is the first target, with the AusAid funded Kalimantan Forests and Climate project designed to establish reduced deforestation as an acceptable offset. Local groups in Indonesia, including WALHI, Indonesia’s largest environment organisation and the Indonesian Union of Small Farmers are opposed to Australia’s offset schemes and are protesting tomorrow at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. These Sydney actions are in solidarity with Indonesian indigenous peoples now on the receiving end of Rudd's carbon colonialism. Join Friends of the Earth Sydney Collective for a lunchtime protest against offsets and dumping our climate responsibilities on Indonesia.1-2pm Wednesday 25 November, Kevin Rudd's Sydney Office 70 Phillip St, Sydney (between Bent and Bridge Streets, closest train stations are Circular Quay or Circular Quay)

Wednesday, November 25. Gearins Hotel, Katoomba. Ph 0401 466 831 for more details. Part of the Just Transition tour.

Rally: Stop the NT Intervention. Racism is not a special measure! Unconditionally restore the Racial Discrimination Act . 12.30pm Thursday 26 November FAHCSIA Office, 280 Elizabeth St marking the final day of federal parliament sittings for 2009. Speakers include: Larissa Behrendt Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning UTS and NAIDOC Indigenous person of 2009 and George Newhouse human rights lawyer. Organised by Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney. For more information contact: Paddy 0415 800 586 or Mon 0415 410 558. www.stoptheintervention.org.

West Papua: Film + Information Evening
Come and see the acclaimed film: FORGOTTEN BIRD OF PARADISE
Directed, filmed and produced by Dominic Brown [U.K.]
Secretly filmed inside the Indonesian province of Papua. This is the first scheduled showing of this film in full in Australia! http://www.forgottenbirdofparadise.net/Home.html
Presented &Supported by: Peter King University of Sydney
Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies; Doug Sewell,President
Anabaptist Association Australia & NZ; Julie Brackenreg
HopeStreet Urban Compassion.

Friday 27th November 7.30pm Uniting Church Hall, 37 St John’s Rd Glebe

The next Blue Mountains East Timor Sisters garage sale will be held on Saturday November 28, 2009. 66 Wentworth St, Blackheath.

We are seeking donations now -- perfect time to spring clean and give away those treasures that we can turn into cash for water tanks, scholarships, community development projects and safe houses for women experiencing violence.

Contact Gail for more information on 4787 6310

Rally in Support of Same Sex Marriage. Saturday 28 November 2009, 1.00 pm, Sydney Town Hall.Further details: Heidi Claus 0419377396, Ben Cooper 0412325231, Emilia Lewonski 0401519593. www.caah.org.au or www.equallove.info

Bring a picninc & join us for a free family friendly celebration. Bring a kite, dress up your dog, scooter or ppram to win prizes. Event will raise funds for proposed 'Movies in Braye Park'. Sponsored by Newcastle City Council's 'Place-making initiative'.