As you may have seen in the news this week, the first stage of the proposed Terminal 4 coal project in Newcastle (T4) has shrunk by two thirds. This is a great sign that our campaign against T4 is gaining ground. Well done!

The community campaign against T4 has now managed to both delay the project, and shrink its initial size. But the campaign is far from over. PWCS still has a “master plan” for a 279 hectare, 120 million tonne per annum coal terminal covering Mayfield, Kooragang, and Ash Island.

This is not what the people of Newcastle want. Our survey of 580 households across Newcastle found that more than 90% of respondents are opposed to T4. If you have not already done so, please click here now to say “no” to T4.

T4 would allow Hunter coal exports to expand to 330 million tonnes each year. That’s three times the current volume. It would mean three times as many coal trains, three times as many coal mines and three times as much coal dust blowing into our suburbs. If T4 were built, coal exports from Newcastle would generate more greenhouse pollution than all Australia’s onshore emissions combined.

In September, NSW Planning Minister Brad Hazzard established a three-member Planning Assessment Commission to assess the T4 proposal. This alarmed community groups in Newcastle because Port Waratah Coal Services (the company proposing T4) hadn’t even considered the 500 submissions on their proposal. We wrote to the Minister and got some breathing space. The PAC will wait until at least February to hold public hearings in Newcastle. We’re preparing for the hearings now and will present powerful arguments about the air pollution and health impacts, about impacts on climate change and the important wetlands of Kooragang Island, and on the case against T4.

We’ve also begun to prepare for a rally on March 16th to send a loud and clear message that the community of Newcastle will not accept T4. We’ll keep you posted on that closer to March, and will be looking for your support and involvement.

Since we created our online action (http://stopt4.org.au) almost 800 people have sent letters to the Premier, Member for Newcastle Tim Owen and Planning Minister Brad Hazzard. Please take the time to send your letter today. It’s crucial that we demonstrate just how many people oppose T4.

Join us on the 9^th of December to leaflet households in Newcastle suburbs about the health impacts of T4. We need at least 50 people to help deliver 10,000 leaflets throughout coal-affected suburbs. We will be meeting at 2.30pm at Tighes Hill School (Elizabeth St, Tighes Hill), where fliers and maps will be distributed. We will letterbox until 5pm (in pairs or alone) and then meet at the Wicko for drinks afterwards! Please reply to this email if you are able to attend on the day. It will be great fun.

In our last update, we asked for donations to monitor air pollution along the coal corridor. More than 23,000 children attend school within 500 metres of coal trains headed for the port, and 32,000 people live in this corridor. Through your generosity, we raised the necessary funds and later this month we’ll be monitoring fine particle pollution at nine locations. Our next campaign update will include a summary of our results.

Warmly,

Annika

Hunter Community Environment Centre & Coal Terminal Action Group

P.S. Be sure to ‘like’ CTAG’s Facebook page and share the link with your friends and family.

Coal Terminal Action Group
http://coalterminalactiongroup.nationbuilder.com/

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