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| Gecko votes |
We've had a hectic week. Queensland State Elections occurred on Saturday and we drove to town to vote at the nearest polling booth. Australian citizens who do not vote are fined. We would vote regardless. Despite my observation that my choice seldom gets elected, I do not take my right to vote for granted. Afterward we enjoyed visiting a local exhibition of paintings by our friends Steve and Marijke Hancock - a lovely way to refocus our agitated minds away from politics and onto appreciation of the wonderful creativity in the community around us.
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| Polling Booth |
On Sunday we went to a community
meeting to discuss the process of lodging objections to a mining
lease extension to the area containing the headwaters of the creek
that we depend on for domestic water. The current mining operation is
located near the headwaters of the adjacent creek and has received an
environmental protection order, requiring that the mine leaseholder
and mine operator stop releasing contaminated water.
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| Bottom Pit beside Jamie Creek |
Both creeks flow into the Walsh River.
Dead fish have been found downstream and residents have been told not
to drink the water or use it for stock after it was contaminated with
heavy metals. Long time residents do not ever remember seeing dead
fish in the river.
We feel concerned for the future
wellbeing of our own water supply should the mining lease extension
be granted. Arsenic levels are already elevated from historic mining
in the area. Any further elevation could make it untenable for us to
live here.
Assured last year that safeguards would
be in place to avoid environmental breaches at the current mining
site, we have been trying to endure the noise of continuous mining
activity, 24 hours a day, seven days a week as well as lights that
set the southern skyline aglow all night long. The recent
contaminated water releases occurred in association with heavy
rains, but heavy rains surprise no one here. This is the Tropics and
it's the Wet Season. We realise there is no such environmental
security as we envisioned. An expansion of mining activities would
bring mining activities, water degradation, even more noise and light
pollution closer to our home.
Do you detect the erosion of our sense
of well-being and joy? As custodians of this land, we recognise that
we have a responsibility to act to conserve our natural systems for
current and future generations.
On Monday we lodged our objections.
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| Handspun cotton |
I continue to spin and ply cotton as
work with the wheel and spindle help calm my mind. And we continue to
enjoy our fellow travellers – the frogs, crabs and fish in the
creek, the quolls, frilled-neck lizards, bower birds, kookaburras,
sugar gliders, bats – and all the fauna that depend on the
permanent slow seeps and billabongs of the creek in the Dry Season as
well as the generous flow in the Wet Season.
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| Gecko |
post by M in JaM
photos by JaM
2 comments:
I think a fine would be a benefit here in the U.S.
Voting apathy is rampant, and people have lost faith in the system.
Diana, while feeling discouraged, I found this inspiring quote by Paul Wellstone, deceased US Senator from Minnesota:
"When too many Americans don't vote or participate, some see apathy and despair. I see disappointment and even outrage. And I believe that out of this frustration can come hope and action."
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