“Something is badly amiss when Queensland bushies embrace Green Left Weekly, and the opposite ends of the political fringe, the Greens and Bob Katter’s Australian Party, find a common cause,” began a February 22 editorial in Rupert Murdoch’s The Australian, the only national daily newspaper in this country.
The Australian was furious at the growing urban and rural alliance that has come together against coal and coal seam gas (CSG) mining — an industry that is spreading like a cancer in many parts of the country, especially in Queensland and NSW. This is a broad alliance that GLW strongly supports.
As Liam Flenady, a Socialist Alliance candidate in the coming Queensland election, says in this issue: “The Queensland coal industry is already massive and is expanding rapidly. CSG companies are planning to drill 18,000 wells across the state.
“What this all means is that our food and water security is severely endangered. Farmers are mobilising against the incursions of the giant corporations onto their land and environmentalists are alarmed that precious natural habitat is being destroyed at a furious pace.”
In last week’s issue, we published an article by Jess Moore, a leading activist in Stop CSG Illawarra. The article refuted the claims made by the CSG mining companies in its multimillion-dollar advertising campaign called “We want CSG”. Moore is also a member of the Socialist Alliance.
On February 23, Moore appeared on Channel 10 news. She spoke out against the approval of a CSG drilling site in Sydney’s main water catchment.
“This approval advances a project that risks the drinking water of 4.3 million people in NSW,” she said.
The Australian seemed horrified to report on February 21 that at a protest against a coalmine at Jondaryan on Queensland’s Darling Downs the previous day, “An old bushie who’d brought his own chair leaned back in it and perused a copy of Green Left Weekly, a publication he was unfamiliar with.”
If it horrifies The Australian, it must be a good thing.
There are quite a few “bushies” who subscribe to GLW and have become strong supporters of this fiercely independent media project. But there is always room for more. If you know a “bushie” (or indeed a “townie”) who might appreciate getting a Green Left perspective every week, why not buy them a gift subscription today?
More and more people from all backgrounds are beginning to stand up against the corporate-profits-at-any-cost madness that Murdoch’s media empire promotes through lies, manipulation and character assassination.
By supporting independent media projects like GLW you can make sure an alternative voice continues to be heard (and continues to alarm the Murdoch editors).
You can donate online to the Green Left fighting fund. Direct deposits can be made to Greenleft, Commonwealth Bank, BSB 062-006, Account No. 00901992.
Otherwise, you can send a cheque or money order to PO Box 515, Broadway NSW 2007 or donate on the toll-free line at 1800 634 206 (within Australia).
