The incredible web of life ACF

Right now our government can’t see the forest for the trees.

They claim only people who live right next to big polluting coal mines will feel the impacts – and that other voices shouldn’t count.

But the world doesn’t work that way. We’re all connected by the web of life. A giant coal mine in the Galilee Basin would impact – not just the local environment – but communities all along the Great Dividing Range, and beyond.

So many Australians get it. The futures of our unique wildlife, the places we love, and our communities are inextricably linked.

Read ACF’s Range report. Watch a stunning short film about the Range.

The Range is vital to life in Australia. Almost three-quarters of Australian people and most of our threatened animals live alongside its mountain corridor.

The dense forests keep our air clean. The rivers and water catchments are our lifeblood. And as the world warms, the Range is our refuge.

Many of you are doing incredible work locally – like the everyday heroes of our video – Stanley, Peter and Deanne.

SHARE THEIR STORIES 

People care deeply about nature but governments are failing in their duty of care. Whether it’s a coal mine in the Galilee Basin, coal seam gas mining in Sydney’s water catchments or logging in Victoria’s native forests – all Australians should have a say in projects that risk our shared future.

The natural systems that support life in Australia are big and complex, and tinkering with problems in bite-sized pieces is not enough.

Together, we can weave your local efforts in with a national approach to the big issues. Then life will thrive – not in one or two places – but all along the Range.

This weekend, I encourage you to reconnect with your Range. For sixteen million Australians, it’s right on your horizon.

Take a walk in the mountains. Listen to the bush symphony. Camp with the kids. Take a long, cool drink of clean water from your city tap.

I grew up on the Hawkesbury River which flows down out of the Range. It’s my heartland. I bet you’ve got a place like that too.