NEWSLETTER
Tuesday 20 JULY 2021
Friends, I need your support.
Today I have written to the Honourable Meaghan Scanlon MP, Minister for the Environment, to call for an immediate stop work order on construction of the Carmichael mine.
I have asked her to intervene and support our human rights by ensuring that our lands and waters, and our sacred Doongmabulla Springs, are protected from Adani.
You can help strengthen our demands.
Please write to Minister Scanlon expressing your support for the W&J cultural custodians and our call for immediate action to protect our sacred Doongmabulla Springs.
Email her at environment@ministerial.qld.gov.au – and please Cc us at wanganandjagalingousog@gmail.com so we can see your messages too.
The Queensland Government has so far failed to address our call for urgent action. We have raised the dire warning about the threat to our sacred springs – a place of profound cultural heritage to us. We fear that the very large volume of water extraction by Adani that is now evident has already locked in future environmental damage to our sacred site.
The Department of Environment and Science concluded its investigation into our complaint with “no further action will be taken”, despite the evidence we provided about the harm being done to the Doongmabulla Springs.
Adani continues to act with impunity and our lands and waters are in peril.
We have raised many times that the Adani mine breaches our human rights, as there was no free, prior, and informed consent for the issuing of the mining leases and that our lands and waters are in peril.
The Government is now responsible for the terrible impacts occurring on our Country and to our sacred sites.
You can help us change this. We have asked the Minister to meet with us and ensure four things happen. Let her know you support –
- A ‘Stop Work’ on the mine until our sacred Doongmabulla Springs are protected
- Independent verification of the results of the department’s investigation into our complaint
- A comprehensive, independent, scientific review to help protect the water and the springs
- The right of our cultural custodians’ group to hold Adani to account for its destruction of our lands and waters
We must act urgently! The very large volume of water being extracted by Adani is locking in future environmental damage to our sacred site. This can only get worse.
Please donate to support the work of the W&J Nagana Yarrbayn Cultural Custodians.
We know from experience and history that the consequences for our people will be severe, causing ongoing loss of connection to Country and to our culture, intergenerational trauma, grief, and psychological harm.
Our culture is inseparable from our lands and waters, including groundwater. Where the groundwater flows to the surface, at the Doongmabulla Springs, is our most sacred site. Mining our land and extracting our groundwater denies us our right to enjoy, maintain and protect our culture and traditional stories.
We need you to help ensure that we are not subjected to forced destruction of our culture. We are building new legal arguments to defend our human rights and protect the water. Please help us in this work.
We need your support to bring new legal challenges to defend our human rights.
With your support we will pursue all avenues to protect our cultural rights and our lands and waters.
To see more about the W&J cultural custodians and how we are standing our ground, visit our website and FaceBook page.
Yours for Country.
Adrian Burragubba
Wangan and Jagalingou tribal leader
& W&J Nagana Yarrbayn senior cultural custodian