The icebreaker has been held in custody since the ‘Arctic 30’, which included Tasmanian Colin Russell and permanent Australian residents Alexandra Harris and Jon Beauchamp, were apprehended on September 19th, 2013. On June 6th, 2014, Russia's Investigative Committee informed Greenpeace International that it was annulling the arrest of the Arctic Sunrise. A Greenpeace crew, led by Captain Daniel Rizzotti, finally gained access to the Arctic Sunrise on June 27th, and has spent three weeks making the ship seaworthy, after finding considerable disorder on board.

“When the Captain and crew boarded the Arctic Sunrise they found it in a bad state, with no maintenance for ten months, and the ship’s navigation, communications and safety systems either removed or destroyed”, said Greenpeace International Arctic campaigner Faiza Oulahsen.

“The Arctic Sunrise is now headed for Amsterdam, where the ship will need to undergo extensive repairs, so that it can get back to protecting the Arctic from reckless oil companies like Shell and Gazprom”.

The Arctic Sunrise is expected to arrive in Amsterdam in early August, where Greenpeace activists and supporters, along with members of the Arctic 30, will welcome the ship, before it enters a shipyard for a thorough assessment of its condition and the necessary repairs. Russia’s Investigative Committee recently told Greenpeace that it had extended its investigation into the Arctic 30 case until September 24th 2014, despite the fact that the criminal case against the 30 has been dropped.

“The illegal boarding and arrest of the Arctic Sunrise and the ongoing investigation into the Arctic 30 protest was an attempt to intimidate and stifle debate about Arctic oil drilling, but it has only made us stronger”, said Oulahsen, who was one of the Arctic 30 members detained in Russia. "Millions of people spoke out against the illegal imprisonment of the Arctic 30. These same millions of people know the planet is warming and that Arctic ice is melting, and will continue to peacefully oppose the reckless pursuit of Arctic oil both in Russia and around the world”.

WHERE: Bella Fonte Events Centre, Comfort Inn Hunts Liverpool, 8 York Street Casula.

WHEN: Monday 7 April. Protest at 6pm outside Events Centre, then from 6.30pm inside the public meeting locals concerned about plastic litter will question the NSW Premier.

PHOTO OP: Locals and campaigners will gather outside the event, some dressed in It Makes Cents! T-shirts and others in bottle suits with signs, gathering support from MPs and the public. There will be a giant oversized Coke Bottle and big mock 10c pieces.

• Within the month it will become clear if Victoria and NSW are committed to implementing a 10 cents cash for containers beverage recycling scheme, joining SA and the NT. The Victorian Premier Denis Napthine has publicly backed the move, calling on the NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell to join him. A commitment from both VIC and NSW will make a national scheme likely.

• While the Victorian Premier clearly supports the scheme, he says it will work best if NSW signs on. The NSW Premier’s views are less apparent, although his Environment Minister Robyn Parker has not ruled it out. Various NSW government backbenchers publicly back the scheme (eg Coogee Liberal MP Bruce Notley-Smith).

• While 84 per cent of the public supports the scheme, the beverage industry and the Australian Food and Grocery Council continues to lobby against it.

Convenor of the Boomerang Alliance Mr Jeff Angel said, “It would make no sense if NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell said no to this opportunity to deliver an efficient, reliable and environmentally friendly 10c container deposit scheme to the 84 per cent of Australians who say they want it.

“The top items littered in Australia are drink cans and bottles but they are also the most easily recyclable. South Australian residents, where this scheme has run for 35 years, recycle 80 per cent of their containers - double the national average. A 10cent deposit/refund scheme is more effective and financially sustainable than any industry alternative.”

“The program will save local councils money, create an estimated 3000 jobs in the recycling industry and importantly reduce litter clogging our parks, rivers and oceans,” Mr Angel said.

Local Liverpool Councillor Peter Harle said, "As a long term resident and representative of the community of Liverpool I've seen firsthand the tons of toxic rubbish from drink containers fill up our local catchments that flow into the Georges River. The Liverpool Council has overwhelmingly voted in favour of a container deposit scheme and I'll be urging the State Government to do the right thing by the community and get on with bringing in this policy that is proven to work.”

For further information and to arrange interviews today and at the event:
Alison Orme Media Greenpeace Australia Pacific 0432 332 104
Liverpool Councillor Peter Harle 04 1273 6956

The Maules Creek Community Council had been seeking an injunction in the Land and Environment Court.

Greenpeace is calling for the State Government to ensure that no further work is done of any kind on the site until the scheduled hearing in September.

Greenpeace Senior Climate Campaigner, Nic Clyde said:

“We welcome today’s announcement but Minister Goward must immediately stop all work at Maules Creek coal mine.

“Whitehaven Coal’s investors should also be heading for the exits as this dud investment suffers another critical blow.”

 “This latest delay in construction is yet another warning to investors. Whitehaven Coal has consistently failed to meet its own construction schedule at their Maules Creek mine, which is why they found themselves in the Land and Environment Court. Happily though, this is great news for the threatened bat and bird species which now have a place to hibernate or nest over the winter.

Contact:

Elsa Evers, Greenpeace Communications Officer – 0438 204 041

Nic Clyde, Greenpeace Senior Climate Campaigner – 0438 282 409

The icebreaker has been held in custody since the ‘Arctic 30’, which included Tasmanian Colin Russell and permanent Australian residents Alexandra Harris and Jon Beauchamp, were apprehended on September 19th, 2013. On June 6th, 2014, Russia's Investigative Committee informed Greenpeace International that it was annulling the arrest of the Arctic Sunrise. A Greenpeace crew, led by Captain Daniel Rizzotti, finally gained access to the Arctic Sunrise on June 27th, and has spent three weeks making the ship seaworthy, after finding considerable disorder on board.

“When the Captain and crew boarded the Arctic Sunrise they found it in a bad state, with no maintenance for ten months, and the ship’s navigation, communications and safety systems either removed or destroyed”, said Greenpeace International Arctic campaigner Faiza Oulahsen.

“The Arctic Sunrise is now headed for Amsterdam, where the ship will need to undergo extensive repairs, so that it can get back to protecting the Arctic from reckless oil companies like Shell and Gazprom”.

The Arctic Sunrise is expected to arrive in Amsterdam in early August, where Greenpeace activists and supporters, along with members of the Arctic 30, will welcome the ship, before it enters a shipyard for a thorough assessment of its condition and the necessary repairs. Russia’s Investigative Committee recently told Greenpeace that it had extended its investigation into the Arctic 30 case until September 24th 2014, despite the fact that the criminal case against the 30 has been dropped.

“The illegal boarding and arrest of the Arctic Sunrise and the ongoing investigation into the Arctic 30 protest was an attempt to intimidate and stifle debate about Arctic oil drilling, but it has only made us stronger”, said Oulahsen, who was one of the Arctic 30 members detained in Russia. "Millions of people spoke out against the illegal imprisonment of the Arctic 30. These same millions of people know the planet is warming and that Arctic ice is melting, and will continue to peacefully oppose the reckless pursuit of Arctic oil both in Russia and around the world”.

“While the University of Sydney claims to be green and ethical, they have invested $1 million of their endowment in the highly controversial coal company, Whitehaven Coal,” said Greenpeace Chief Executive Officer David Ritter.

“Surely Sydney University is smarter than this - Whitehaven Coal represents everything that is wrong with coal mining in Australia,” said Ritter.

“Right now, Whitehaven Coal is destroying endangered native forest, prime farmland, and Indigenous heritage sites to make way for a dirty new coal mine at Maules Creek in northern NSW. When fully operational, Maules Creek coal mine will accelerate dangerous global warming by contributing over 30 million tons of CO² per year – more than NSW’s entire transport sector.”

The University of Sydney Investment Policy states that funds must be invested in accordance with Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance principles. Its Environmental Policy states that the university will ‘manage the activities over which it has control and which impact upon the environment in accordance with the principles of ecological sustainability’ and ‘lead in defining best environmental practice’, commitments that apply to ‘all of its activities and at all its sites'.

“This investment directly contradicts Sydney University’s own policies,” Ritter said.

“Worse still, money from the University of Sydney – which prides itself on respect for Indigenous Australians – has been used by Whitehaven Coal to bulldoze Gomeroi cultural heritage sites to make way for the Maules Creek mine.”[2]

Gomeroi spokesperson Dolly Talbot said: “The Gomeroi elders and community are shocked to find that the University of Sydney has shares in a company such as Whitehaven Coal when this company has caused so much pain for our Elders and community. The Sydney University has a respected reputation for supporting Aboriginal people. To find that ethical sponsorship is not at the forefront of the University's decision making is upsetting, shameful and extremely disconcerting,

“How can the university claim to respect our culture when the destruction of our culture and heritage and the trauma created for our community is our lived reality? We ask the Vice Chancellor to urgently reconsider the university's support and make a stand on ethical shareholding,” said Talbot.

Farmer Cliff Wallace, whose farm lies next to the Maules Creek Mine site, was dismayed to hear the university was invested in Whitehaven Coal: “I thought people who went to university were smart but there’s no sense in digging up prime farmland and draining water reserves to build a short-lived coal mine.”  

Local ecologist Phil Spark said: "An esteemed institution like the University of Sydney should be aware that its investment in Whitehaven Coal is systematically destroying some of Australia's most rare and endangered woodland habitats. I implore the university to cut all ties with Whitehaven and stand up for the hundreds of native species - including threatened species of birds, mammals, and bats - who call these woodlands home." 

“The University of Sydney needs to live up to its own ethical investment policy and green image by immediately selling its shares in this controversial company,” Ritter said.

For more information or interviews contact, Elsa Evers 0438 204 041 or Nikola Čašule 0428 769 307

Images and video:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/greenpeaceaustraliapacific/sets/72157646069649928/

[1] Personal correspondence from Vice Chancellor Dr Michael Spence on 8 August 2014 confirmed Whitehaven Coal shares make up 0.1% of the University’s long term investment fund. This equates to roughly $1 million worth of Whitehaven Coal shares.Long term fund investments are made for at least seven years.

In the new draft BMP - dated 9 July 2014 and not yet approved by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment - Whitehaven state that they want to clear “…up to 163 ha of native vegetation … between 1 November and 31 December 2014. This would mean granting this controversial company special permission to destroy habitat of threatened bird and bats species at precisely the time when the birds are nesting on eggs and the bats are feeding their young in the forest.

“Whitehaven Coal has drafted a new BMP that seeks approval for a summer slaughter of native baby animals. This draft has emerged before the Land and Environment Court has been given a chance to rule on the legality of the case against the current plan, which itself, had been controversially modified in May of this year, to allow clearing of forest whilst threatened species were hibernating” said Nic Clyde, Greenpeace Senior Climate Campaigner.

“Planning Minister Pru Goward must come out publicly and rule out doing yet another sweet deal for the mining industry and prevent the summer slaughter of baby animals in Leard State Forest.”

Greenpeace is calling on Pru Goward to refuse to consider any new BMP from Whitehaven, at least until the Land and Environment Court has had a chance to consider the current one and to listen to the concerns of the community and ecologists who have identified additional threatened species not considered properly, or at all, by Whitehaven.

The community had to step in this winter to stop the slaughter by seeking an interim application to the Land and Environment Court (L&EC), and the full case on the legality of the plan was set down to be heard from 2nd-4th September 2014.

The L&EC may determine in September that Whitehaven are prohibited from any further clearing of native vegetation outside of late summer, early autumn.

“Threatened bird and bats species that breed in spring, when Whitehaven is seeking to bulldoze more forest include: the Little Eagle, Little Lorikeet, Turquoise Parrot, Yellow-bellied Sheath-tailed Bat, and South-Eastern Long-eared Bat. The birds will be nesting on eggs or will have dependent young and the bats will be breast feeding their young during October to December,” said local ecologist, Phil Spark.

Contact:

Nic Clyde, Senior Climate Campaigner - 0438 282 409

Julie Macken, Communications Officer – 0400 925 217

Background images available at:

www.greenpeacemedia.org

Username: photos / password: green

“Just this morning, a new group of tree-climbers entered a different part of the endangered forest to set up a sky-high camp,” said Greenpeace spokesperson Julie Macken.  

The new forest rescue team continues the stand-off with Whitehaven Coal after five Greenpeace activists were arrested yesterday and removed from a giant rope web.  

“This brings the total number of arrests in ongoing community protests against Whitehaven Coal’s mine to over 160,” said Julie Macken.  

A rally outside the ministerial offices of Pru Goward and Rob Stokes – Government Macquarie Tower in Sydney - is planned for Wednesday at midday, as community outrage over winter clearing at a time when native animals are hibernating to make way for a coal mine, boils over.

Greenpeace Senior Campaigner Nic Clyde spoke from his tree-sit, 10 metres off the ground in the Leard State Forest:

“Whitehaven Coal’s bulldozers are destroying the homes of animals while they sleep. Their coal mine at Maules Creek – the largest coal mine currently under construction in Australia – has been given permission to break the most basic of mining rules - stop clearing during the winter months - when many threatened species are hibernating.”

“The state government - Environment Minister, Rob Stokes and Planning Minister Pru Goward - must intervene.”

Some of the hibernating species in the Leard State Forest include:

• The feathertail glider, sugar glider and squirrel glider (all hibernating most of winter)
• Barking Owl (nesting and listed as ‘vulnerable’ under state law) and Barn Owl (nesting)
• Corben's long-eared bat (‘vulnerable’ under federal and state law), the yellow-bellied sheath-tale bat (‘vulnerable’ under state law) and white-striped free-tailed bat and little pied bat (‘vulnerable’ under state law). All the bats are hibernating for most of winter.
• Coral snake and spiny tailed gecko (both hibernating)

For interviews with Greenpeace Senior Campaigner from the forest tree-tops:

Contact, Elsa Evers 0438 204 041 or Julie Macken 0400 925 217

Images and video:

http://www.greenpeacemedia.org

Username: photos    Password: green

Via FTP (you will need an FTP client such as Filezilla): 

Host: greenpeacemedia.org

Username: media

Password: greenpeace

Folder: Maules Creek

Additional images from the Leard Alliance can be found at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/leardstateforest/

SPEAKERS: NSW MPs Penny Sharpe (Labor) and Mehreen Faruqui (Greens), local farmers, Greenpeace, GetUp!, Lock the Gate, Nature Conservation Council and Australian Religious Response to Climate Change. The Wilderness Society are supporting the rally.

WHEN: Speakers from Noon, Wednesday 4 June 2014.

WHERE: Governor Macquarie Tower, 1 Farrer Place, Sydney.

DEMAND: NSW Environment Minister Rob Stokes and Planning Minister Pru Goward should halt clearing and launch an investigation into the impact of Whitehaven Coal’s winter clearance on endangered species.

PHOTO OP: Many 100s of protesters, big banners, placards, speakers, petition handover.

Greenpeace Head of Program Ben Pearson said, “A broad alliance of farmers, religious leaders, politicians and environment groups are calling for a halt to clearing of this forest, with its precious cargo of hibernating threatened species.

“Greenpeace is committed to staying put, in the forest, to frustrate this mega mine and its disastrous legacy for climate change, water and biodiversity.”

Background
• Whitehaven Coal’s mine at Maules Creek is the largest coal mine under construction in Australia. The company has been given permission by the NSW government to break a basic mining rule: no tree clearing during the winter months when many threatened species are hibernating.
• Bulldozing of the threatened forest is underway and Greenpeace activists have been suspended in forest tree tops for over 100 hours.
• Meanwhile, mining company Idemitsu Australia Resources has admitted it contracted two companies to employ spies to infiltrate the Maules Creek camp.

Contact: Greenpeace Media Alison Orme 0432 332 104/ Jessa Latona 0488 208 465. Greenpeace photos of Leard Forest and tree top action available on request.

"Adani has a long record of environmental destruction and are not a company you would let look after your pot plants, let alone safeguard the future of the Great Barrier Reef," said Greenpeace Head of Programme Ben Pearson. "This mine would result in the development of a vast new coal terminal at Abbot Point in the World Heritage Area which would have required dredging and dumping, and thousands of extra coal ships carving through the Reef every year. Approving it now would have been tantamount to an act of provocation, with UNESCO currently mulling the status of Australia's greatest natural icon."

The Carmichael coal mine proposed for Queensland’s Galilee Basin would be the biggest ever seen in Australia. It would include six open cut pits and five underground mines. Measuring 28,000 hectares - seven times the area of Sydney Harbour - the mine would clear bushland home to threatened species like the Black-Throated Finch (Southern).

Carmichael will also extract billions of litres of water every year from local rivers and aquifers – water that is precious to the arid area - and burning the coal would produce four times the fossil fuel emissions of New Zealand.

“The proponent, Indian coal conglomerate Adani, has a disturbing record of breaking environmental laws in its home country, illegal activity and destruction of natural places," said Pearson.

“In Australia it has been reported that Adani breached environmental approval guidelines under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act when building a stormwater return dam at Abbot Point."

“We only hope that Mr Hunt isn't just trying  to pull the wool over the eyes of UNESCO, with a view to approving the mine when the gaze of the world is elsewhere,” Mr Pearson said. "Australia deserves better than this."

Greenpeace’s report comes on the day that legislation to repeal carbon pricing laws is reintroduced into Federal Parliament and on the back of new polling showing that fewer than 1 in 10 Australians support moves to wind back the Renewable Energy Target.

Footage and stills of the Greenpeace’s campaign launch outside of Origin Energy Headquarters in Sydney today are available on request (see below).

KEY FINDINGS OF THE REPORT, ‘The Dirty Three – Origin Energy, EnergyAustralia and AGL’s Attack on Australia’s Renewable Energy Target’. At a critical time in the development of clean energy in Australia, the big three energy retailers which account for 77 per cent of small electricity customers, have become ‘The Dirty Three’ – expanding investments in coal and gas, undermining the Renewable Energy Target and threatening the future of renewable energy in Australia.

The Dirty Three have invested relatively little in renewable energy and continue to invest heavily in polluting coal and gas generation:

• Analysis of company data by Greenpeace’s Investigation Unit shows renewable energy made up only 0.5 per cent of Origin Energy's and 1.9 per cent of EnergyAustralia's electricity generation during 2012-13.
• AGL does better, with around 15 per cent of electricity generation, but in the past five years has increased its fossil fuel electricity generation capacity by around 50 per cent.
• Analysis of major investments in generating infrastructure over the last five years shows EnergyAustralia and Origin have dramatically expanded their fossil fuel electricity generation by close to 75 and 87 per cent respectively and AGL has increased its by just over 50 per cent.

The Dirty Three are undermining the Renewable Energy Target to protect their profits:

The Dirty Three have helped to spread misinformation about the Renewable Energy Target and perpetuate mistruths which are distorting the public debate, for example:

• the Renewable Energy Target is leading to higher electricity prices
• meeting the 2020 Renewable Energy Target is not possible
• wind and solar energy is unreliable. The report rebuts these claims.

Wind and solar projects have reportedly been frustrated by Origin and EnergyAustralia refusing to issue the power purchase agreements which renewable energy generators need to ensure they have customers for their power.

GREENPEACE LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN. The report kicks off the launch of a high profile Greenpeace campaign focused on “The Dirty Three.” The campaign invites customers of Origin, EnergyAustralia and AGL to petition their power company to support the Renewable Energy Target.

It includes a TV advertisement and grassroots campaigning in the electorates of Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Treasurer Joe Hockey and Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s electorates.

Greenpeace Head of Program Ben Pearson said, “While Australians are hungry for clean solar and wind power, the top three energy retailers are working to hold back the nation’s transition to a renewable energy future by undermining one of our most successful bipartisan policies ever.

“Analysis shows Origin, EnergyAustralia and AGL are expanding investment in coal and gas, exposing themselves to competition from renewable projects. These companies, some of the largest Australian polluters, are publicly attacking the target and actively frustrating wind and solar projects.

“The dramatic growth of renewables threatens the profits of the big energy companies and they’re responding by using their economic and political muscle to weaken the Renewable Energy Target.

“After years spent touting their green credentials, Australians are rightly shocked to find that these big energy companies are working to erode investment in renewable energy which will ultimately increase consumer power bills. Many customers have already contacted Greenpeace for advice on options for switching to alternate energy companies.

“Australia already lags behind other large economies like Germany and China in developing renewables capacity. Scrapping or reducing the Renewable Energy Target would be foolish. It would risk billions in renewable investments, increase power bills, forgo Australian jobs and increase carbon emissions,” Mr Pearson said.

Media Gallery – Footage and Stills of Launch:
www.greenpeacemedia.org
user: photos password: green

Office supplies chain Staples recently confirmed that it no longer stock APRIL products globally, after Greenpeace International identified links to the company in China. Antalis, a global paper trading giant has also confirmed that it will not resume business with APRIL until it implements a Forest Conservation Policy.

In Australia, Greenpeace is urging retailers trading in APRIL products to follow their lead. These retailers include Office Choice[i], Office Brands[ii], and Smart Supplies Australia[iii] who are currently trading APRIL’s ‘PaperOne’ copy paper. Major printing company BJ Ball, which claims to be 'the No.1 distributor of paper and packaging products in Australasia" also stocks APRIL paper.[iv]

Similarly, Greenpeace is calling on international customers of APRIL/RGE, such as the world’s largest paper company, International Paper, 3M and US retailer Costco to urgently suspend trading with APRIL/RGE.

“Australian companies currently trading in Indonesia's forest destruction need to follow the responsible path taken by global companies like Staples, and Australian companies such as Officeworks which have suspended contracts with RGE/APRIL until it ends the forest destruction”, said Turner. 

“APRIL has been caught out telling its customers it has support from governments and NGOs for a new policy to end rainforest clearance but at the exact same time its bulldozers are out trashing Indonesia’s rainforests and peatlands,” said Greenpeace Australia Pacific Forest Campaigner Reece Turner.

A Greenpeace flyover in late May reveals ongoing clearance of dense forest, and drainage of peatlands at a concession on Padang Island off Riau.  APRIL’s policy states that the company is only developing land that is not of “high conservation value” based on assessments that have been independently peer reviewed by the High Conservation Value Resource Network (HCVRN).  However, Greenpeace confirmed with the HCVRN that in fact they peer- reviewed assessments for just two out of an estimated 50 concessions that supply APRIL. HCVRN has requested that APRIL correct its misleading claim. 

Despite these findings, APRIL continues to claim, in documents leaked to Greenpeace, that it has “strong support” from WWF and that the Norwegian Government has endorsed its  “Sustainable Forest Management Policy”. Both WWF and the Norwegian Ambassador to Indonesia have confirmed that these statements are incorrect and that they do not endorse the policy. 

“Apparently RGE/APRIL doesn’t consider the clearance of rainforest on areas of deep peat to be in conflict with its conservation commitments. That should tell its customers all they need to know about the credibility of their commitments. We expect these customers to take urgent action,” said Turner 

Greenpeace also documented evidence of extensive fires in another of its supplier pulpwood plantations, inside the PT Sumatra Riang Lestari (PT SRL) concession on Rupat Island in Riau Province. According to Greenpeace analysis released last month, fire hotspots are 3.5 times more frequent on deforested peat than on peat that has not been cleared by companies like APRIL. 

“RGE/APRIL has been quick to blame others, but clearing and draining peatlands are a significant reason for the fires. It’s like dousing your house in petrol and blaming a passing smoker when it all goes up in flames. The fires will continue until forests and peatland are fully protected,” said Turner

APRIL is one of a number of pulp companies in the RGE Group, whose palm oil subsidiary, Asian Agri, has been embroiled in Indonesia’s biggest tax evasion case and named in a joint UNEP/Interpol report for its links to environmental crimes. 

Despite recent major progress from other big plantation companies like Golden Agri Resources, Wilmar, and Asia Pulp & Paper, APRIL/RGE is refusing to immediately stop forest clearance. Greenpeace urges all customers of the group, and its financers, which are reported to include Santander and ABN Amro, to suspend business with RGE/APRIL until it implements credible commitments to end its role in deforestation. 

In August 2011, following an award-winning expose by the Australian Broadcasting Corporations’ Foreign Correspondent, ‘Paper/Tiger’ [v]which revealed APRIL’s destructive method of clearing large swathes of rainforest to make paper, Australian companies Officeworks[vi] and Fuji Xerox Australia[vii] cancelled contracts with the paper giant.   

Media contact:

In Australia: Reece Turner, Senior Forests Campaigner, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, +61 408 754 910, reece.turner@greenpeace.org  

Tristan Tremschnig, Communications Coordinator Indonesia Forests, Greenpeace International, mob: +62 812 953 893 69 email:tristan.tremschnig@greenpeace.org 

Photographs available at the following links

Photos of ongoing clearance at PT. Riau Andalan Pulp & Paper (PT RAPP) pulpwood concession on Pulau Pedang, in  Riau Province. PT RAPP is a subsidiary of APRIL: http://photo.greenpeace.org/C.aspx?VP3=ViewBox_VPage&PSID=27MZ4BOQZSX&CT=Email&PN=1&IT=ThumbImageTemplate01_VForm&HBT=0

Photos of forest fire scars at PT Sumatra Riang Lestari (PT SRL) pulpwood concession in Rupat Island, in Riau Province. PT SRL is a supplier to APRIL: http://photo.greenpeace.org/C.aspx?VP3=PSR&PSID=27MZ4BOQOQO

Notes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[i] Office Choice currently feature ‘PaperOne’ A4 copypaper from APRIL on their homepage: http://www.officechoice.com.au/

[ii] Office Brands supported an APRIL ‘Paper One’ promotion late last year. http://www.stationerynews.com.au/news/paper-one-revs-up-office-brands-dealers

[iii] Smart Supplies currently offer ‘Paper One’ on their online store: http://www.smartsupplies.com.au/paper-products/office-papers/paperone-office-papers/58208-a4-paper-one-100gsm-presentation-red-wrap-delivery-charges-may-apply-on-a4-white-paper-for-orders-outside-south-east-queensland-please-call-1300-138-067-to-confirm-costings-

[iv] See http://www.bjball.com.au/paper-range/digital-range/paper-one-all-purpose-blue-wrap/127

[v] http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2011/s3283804.htm

[vi] http://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/officeworks-cuts-ties-with-papermaker-20110825-1jby6.html

[vii] Statement by Fuji Xerox Australia http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/PageFiles/333002/Fuji%20Xerox%20Australia%20statement%20on%20Sustainable%20Paper%20Sourcing%203%20August%202011%20FINAL.pdf

The leaked APRIL customer presentation can be viewed here: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/briefings/forests/2014/APRIL%20Presentation.%20April.2014.pdf

Minister Hunt lashed out at Greenpeace in an interview on the Radio National Breakfast program this morning, suggesting that the independent organisation has been more critical of the current government than they were of the previous government. On two occasions, the Minister claimed that while Greenpeace criticised his decision to approve Australia’s biggest coal mine, Carmichael mine, Greenpeace said nothing when Labor approved the nearby Alpha coal mine.

“A quick google search with ‘Greenpeace AND “Alpha Mine”’ shows Greenpeace was in fierce opposition to Alpha coal mine,” said Greenpeace Program Director Ben Pearson. “A total of 2,190 google results come up with those exact words,” said Pearson.

One page on the Greenpeace website says: “The Alpha development is an environmental disaster, threatening our Reef, our climate and wildlife in the mining area.”

A further blog about the Alpha Mine on the Greenpeace website is titled “Mega mine, mega catastrophe.”

 “We know Minister Hunt is au fait with Wikipedia, but he should try using Google,” said Pearson, “especially before he starts discrediting independent organisations supported by tens of thousands of Australians on national radio.”

“Rather than attacking environmental organisations, we think Minister Hunt’s time would be better used protecting the environment he is employed to protect,” said Pearson.

“Greenpeace is a wholly independent organisation that does not accept money from governments, corporations or political parties,” said Pearson. “We rely entirely on the generosity of individuals who make monthly donations to support our campaigns precisely so that we can maintain our independence from political parties and campaign to protect Australia’s precious places regardless of the politics of the day.”

“Our most urgent priority right now is saving the Great Barrier Reef from destructive coal developments like that just approved yesterday by Minister Hunt.”

“Carmichael Mine will be the biggest coal mine ever seen in Australia.

“This mega mine and its associated infrastructure will impact a total of 60 threatened species, require over 3 million tonnes of sea floor to be dredged from inside the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area, and produce over 130 mega tonnes of carbon emissions each year,” Pearson said.

Video footage and photographs of the Carmichael mine site and Abbot Point terminal available here: www.greenpeacemedia.org Username: photos Password: green

For images or more information, contact:

Elsa Evers
Greenpeace Media Advisor
Tel: 0438 204 041
Email: eevers@greenpeace.org.au

Visit: the site here.

Senior Greenpeace Campaigner Reece Turner said, “For the first time Australians can access an independent Green Electricity Guide which cuts through the mire of deals and shines a light on whether power companies are really as green as they claim.”

Twenty electricity retailers servicing Australian households are assessed against seven transparent criteria (see below), employing publicly available information and a survey which nearly all companies returned.

“Consumers rank energy providers up there with snake oil sellers and used car salesman. Power companies have earned a poor reputation for their foot in the door, hard sell tactics where confusing information rules the day.”1

What power companies are on offer varies widely between states. Origin Energy, EnergyAustralia and AGL currently provide electricity to over three quarters of Australian households and attract a ‘red’ ranking in the guide. The highest ranked retailer nationally – Powershop - is currently only available in Victoria, although it has plans to expand. Diamond, Aurora, Momentum and Red all attract a ‘green’ ranking in the national table. (Visit the Guide to find a state by state explanation and ranking.)

“Thankfully the days are gone where you were stuck with one power company. There’s now a new breed of retailers investing in renewables, eager to snare customers with an appetite for a renewable energy future.

“The biggest greenwashers by far are the top three energy retailers - EnergyAustralia, AGL and Origin Energy, which provide electricity to over three quarters of Australian households.

“The Dirty Three like to tout their green credentials but the guide shows their investments in renewables are relatively small and behind the scenes they are actively working to undermine Australia’s Renewable Energy Target.”

Mark Byrne, Energy Market Advocate for the Total Environment Centre said, “The guide follows in the tradition of Total Environment Centre’s earlier Green Electricity Watch rankings, which compared GreenPower products. This new guide is more ambitious, and is the only independent guide to the environmental performance of electricity retailers in Australia. It shows a big divide between the old companies which dominate the energy market and rely on burning coal and gas for electricity generation, and a new breed of forward-looking companies which are providing cleaner energy at a comparable price.

“Identifying a genuinely green electricity provider is no longer like trying to find a needle in a haystack. This guide will help consumers to flick the switch to a greener power company, send a message to the other providers to do the right thing by the environment and hopefully change the face of the electricity sector in Australia.

“But there is more we could know about retailers’ environmental performance, so TEC is calling for regulators to require retailers to disclose the emissions intensity of the total fuel mix - in other words, how much carbon pollution they are causing from all the energy they sell to customers, not just from the power stations they own.”

For more information and interviews:
Alison Orme Greenpeace Australia Pacific 0432 332 104 aorme@greenpeace.org.au
Mark Byrne, Total Environment Centre, 0403 070 442, markb@tec.org.au
Consumers who have changed power companies to greener retailers from the big retailers can be made available for interview.
High res version of attached graphic showing National ranking available on request - and state by state rankings.

NOTES:
1. The Green Electricity does not provide information or assistance to consumers on how to switch, but it is anticipated consumers will use it for this purpose.
2. Companies attract either a green, orange or red ranking. They are assessed against seven criteria: investments in fossil fuels or renewables, pollution intensity of their assets, support for - or hostility to - Australia’s Renewable Energy Target, offers to solar owners (additional feed-in tariffs), GreenPower products, investments in coal seam gas, and whether they are committed to not buying electricity generated by burning native forest timber.
3. Greenpeace Australia Pacific is currently campaigning to save the Renewable Energy Target and have a produced a detailed report, “The Dirty Three – Origin Energy, EnergyAustralia and AGL’s attack on Australia’s Renewable Energy Target” (June 2014).
4. As part of this project The Total Environment Centre has produced a factsheet on solar export prices available here. 

[1] Energy Marketers’ Retail Tactics, CHOICE, April 2014.

WHERE: Bella Fonte Events Centre, Comfort Inn Hunts Liverpool, 8 York Street Casula.

WHEN: Monday 7 April. Protest at 6pm outside Events Centre, then from 6.30pm inside the public meeting locals concerned about plastic litter will question the NSW Premier.

PHOTO OP: Locals and campaigners will gather outside the event, some dressed in It Makes Cents! T-shirts and others in bottle suits with signs, gathering support from MPs and the public. There will be a giant oversized Coke Bottle and big mock 10c pieces.

• Within the month it will become clear if Victoria and NSW are committed to implementing a 10 cents cash for containers beverage recycling scheme, joining SA and the NT. The Victorian Premier Denis Napthine has publicly backed the move, calling on the NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell to join him. A commitment from both VIC and NSW will make a national scheme likely.

• While the Victorian Premier clearly supports the scheme, he says it will work best if NSW signs on. The NSW Premier’s views are less apparent, although his Environment Minister Robyn Parker has not ruled it out. Various NSW government backbenchers publicly back the scheme (eg Coogee Liberal MP Bruce Notley-Smith).

• While 84 per cent of the public supports the scheme, the beverage industry and the Australian Food and Grocery Council continues to lobby against it.

Convenor of the Boomerang Alliance Mr Jeff Angel said, “It would make no sense if NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell said no to this opportunity to deliver an efficient, reliable and environmentally friendly 10c container deposit scheme to the 84 per cent of Australians who say they want it.

“The top items littered in Australia are drink cans and bottles but they are also the most easily recyclable. South Australian residents, where this scheme has run for 35 years, recycle 80 per cent of their containers - double the national average. A 10cent deposit/refund scheme is more effective and financially sustainable than any industry alternative.”

“The program will save local councils money, create an estimated 3000 jobs in the recycling industry and importantly reduce litter clogging our parks, rivers and oceans,” Mr Angel said.

Local Liverpool Councillor Peter Harle said, "As a long term resident and representative of the community of Liverpool I've seen firsthand the tons of toxic rubbish from drink containers fill up our local catchments that flow into the Georges River. The Liverpool Council has overwhelmingly voted in favour of a container deposit scheme and I'll be urging the State Government to do the right thing by the community and get on with bringing in this policy that is proven to work.”

For further information and to arrange interviews today and at the event:
Alison Orme Media Greenpeace Australia Pacific 0432 332 104
Liverpool Councillor Peter Harle 04 1273 6956

“While the University of Sydney claims to be green and ethical, they have invested $1 million of their endowment in the highly controversial coal company, Whitehaven Coal,” said Greenpeace Chief Executive Officer David Ritter.

“Surely Sydney University is smarter than this - Whitehaven Coal represents everything that is wrong with coal mining in Australia,” said Ritter.

“Right now, Whitehaven Coal is destroying endangered native forest, prime farmland, and Indigenous heritage sites to make way for a dirty new coal mine at Maules Creek in northern NSW. When fully operational, Maules Creek coal mine will accelerate dangerous global warming by contributing over 30 million tons of CO² per year – more than NSW’s entire transport sector.”

The University of Sydney Investment Policy states that funds must be invested in accordance with Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance principles. Its Environmental Policy states that the university will ‘manage the activities over which it has control and which impact upon the environment in accordance with the principles of ecological sustainability’ and ‘lead in defining best environmental practice’, commitments that apply to ‘all of its activities and at all its sites'.

“This investment directly contradicts Sydney University’s own policies,” Ritter said.

“Worse still, money from the University of Sydney – which prides itself on respect for Indigenous Australians – has been used by Whitehaven Coal to bulldoze Gomeroi cultural heritage sites to make way for the Maules Creek mine.”[2]

Gomeroi spokesperson Dolly Talbot said: “The Gomeroi elders and community are shocked to find that the University of Sydney has shares in a company such as Whitehaven Coal when this company has caused so much pain for our Elders and community. The Sydney University has a respected reputation for supporting Aboriginal people. To find that ethical sponsorship is not at the forefront of the University's decision making is upsetting, shameful and extremely disconcerting,

“How can the university claim to respect our culture when the destruction of our culture and heritage and the trauma created for our community is our lived reality? We ask the Vice Chancellor to urgently reconsider the university's support and make a stand on ethical shareholding,” said Talbot.

Farmer Cliff Wallace, whose farm lies next to the Maules Creek Mine site, was dismayed to hear the university was invested in Whitehaven Coal: “I thought people who went to university were smart but there’s no sense in digging up prime farmland and draining water reserves to build a short-lived coal mine.”  

Local ecologist Phil Spark said: "An esteemed institution like the University of Sydney should be aware that its investment in Whitehaven Coal is systematically destroying some of Australia's most rare and endangered woodland habitats. I implore the university to cut all ties with Whitehaven and stand up for the hundreds of native species - including threatened species of birds, mammals, and bats - who call these woodlands home." 

“The University of Sydney needs to live up to its own ethical investment policy and green image by immediately selling its shares in this controversial company,” Ritter said.

For more information or interviews contact, Elsa Evers 0438 204 041 or Nikola Čašule 0428 769 307

Images and video:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/greenpeaceaustraliapacific/sets/72157646069649928/

[1] Personal correspondence from Vice Chancellor Dr Michael Spence on 8 August 2014 confirmed Whitehaven Coal shares make up 0.1% of the University’s long term investment fund. This equates to roughly $1 million worth of Whitehaven Coal shares.Long term fund investments are made for at least seven years.

In the new draft BMP - dated 9 July 2014 and not yet approved by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment - Whitehaven state that they want to clear “…up to 163 ha of native vegetation … between 1 November and 31 December 2014. This would mean granting this controversial company special permission to destroy habitat of threatened bird and bats species at precisely the time when the birds are nesting on eggs and the bats are feeding their young in the forest.

“Whitehaven Coal has drafted a new BMP that seeks approval for a summer slaughter of native baby animals. This draft has emerged before the Land and Environment Court has been given a chance to rule on the legality of the case against the current plan, which itself, had been controversially modified in May of this year, to allow clearing of forest whilst threatened species were hibernating” said Nic Clyde, Greenpeace Senior Climate Campaigner.

“Planning Minister Pru Goward must come out publicly and rule out doing yet another sweet deal for the mining industry and prevent the summer slaughter of baby animals in Leard State Forest.”

Greenpeace is calling on Pru Goward to refuse to consider any new BMP from Whitehaven, at least until the Land and Environment Court has had a chance to consider the current one and to listen to the concerns of the community and ecologists who have identified additional threatened species not considered properly, or at all, by Whitehaven.

The community had to step in this winter to stop the slaughter by seeking an interim application to the Land and Environment Court (L&EC), and the full case on the legality of the plan was set down to be heard from 2nd-4th September 2014.

The L&EC may determine in September that Whitehaven are prohibited from any further clearing of native vegetation outside of late summer, early autumn.

“Threatened bird and bats species that breed in spring, when Whitehaven is seeking to bulldoze more forest include: the Little Eagle, Little Lorikeet, Turquoise Parrot, Yellow-bellied Sheath-tailed Bat, and South-Eastern Long-eared Bat. The birds will be nesting on eggs or will have dependent young and the bats will be breast feeding their young during October to December,” said local ecologist, Phil Spark.

Contact:

Nic Clyde, Senior Climate Campaigner - 0438 282 409

Julie Macken, Communications Officer – 0400 925 217

Background images available at:

www.greenpeacemedia.org

Username: photos / password: green

The Maules Creek Community Council had been seeking an injunction in the Land and Environment Court.

Greenpeace is calling for the State Government to ensure that no further work is done of any kind on the site until the scheduled hearing in September.

Greenpeace Senior Climate Campaigner, Nic Clyde said:

“We welcome today’s announcement but Minister Goward must immediately stop all work at Maules Creek coal mine.

“Whitehaven Coal’s investors should also be heading for the exits as this dud investment suffers another critical blow.”

 “This latest delay in construction is yet another warning to investors. Whitehaven Coal has consistently failed to meet its own construction schedule at their Maules Creek mine, which is why they found themselves in the Land and Environment Court. Happily though, this is great news for the threatened bat and bird species which now have a place to hibernate or nest over the winter.

Contact:

Elsa Evers, Greenpeace Communications Officer – 0438 204 041

Nic Clyde, Greenpeace Senior Climate Campaigner – 0438 282 409

"Adani has a long record of environmental destruction and are not a company you would let look after your pot plants, let alone safeguard the future of the Great Barrier Reef," said Greenpeace Head of Programme Ben Pearson. "This mine would result in the development of a vast new coal terminal at Abbot Point in the World Heritage Area which would have required dredging and dumping, and thousands of extra coal ships carving through the Reef every year. Approving it now would have been tantamount to an act of provocation, with UNESCO currently mulling the status of Australia's greatest natural icon."

The Carmichael coal mine proposed for Queensland’s Galilee Basin would be the biggest ever seen in Australia. It would include six open cut pits and five underground mines. Measuring 28,000 hectares - seven times the area of Sydney Harbour - the mine would clear bushland home to threatened species like the Black-Throated Finch (Southern).

Carmichael will also extract billions of litres of water every year from local rivers and aquifers – water that is precious to the arid area - and burning the coal would produce four times the fossil fuel emissions of New Zealand.

“The proponent, Indian coal conglomerate Adani, has a disturbing record of breaking environmental laws in its home country, illegal activity and destruction of natural places," said Pearson.

“In Australia it has been reported that Adani breached environmental approval guidelines under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act when building a stormwater return dam at Abbot Point."

“We only hope that Mr Hunt isn't just trying  to pull the wool over the eyes of UNESCO, with a view to approving the mine when the gaze of the world is elsewhere,” Mr Pearson said. "Australia deserves better than this."

The icebreaker has been held in custody since the ‘Arctic 30’, which included Tasmanian Colin Russell and permanent Australian residents Alexandra Harris and Jon Beauchamp, were apprehended on September 19th, 2013. On June 6th, 2014, Russia's Investigative Committee informed Greenpeace International that it was annulling the arrest of the Arctic Sunrise. A Greenpeace crew, led by Captain Daniel Rizzotti, finally gained access to the Arctic Sunrise on June 27th, and has spent three weeks making the ship seaworthy, after finding considerable disorder on board.

“When the Captain and crew boarded the Arctic Sunrise they found it in a bad state, with no maintenance for ten months, and the ship’s navigation, communications and safety systems either removed or destroyed”, said Greenpeace International Arctic campaigner Faiza Oulahsen.

“The Arctic Sunrise is now headed for Amsterdam, where the ship will need to undergo extensive repairs, so that it can get back to protecting the Arctic from reckless oil companies like Shell and Gazprom”.

The Arctic Sunrise is expected to arrive in Amsterdam in early August, where Greenpeace activists and supporters, along with members of the Arctic 30, will welcome the ship, before it enters a shipyard for a thorough assessment of its condition and the necessary repairs. Russia’s Investigative Committee recently told Greenpeace that it had extended its investigation into the Arctic 30 case until September 24th 2014, despite the fact that the criminal case against the 30 has been dropped.

“The illegal boarding and arrest of the Arctic Sunrise and the ongoing investigation into the Arctic 30 protest was an attempt to intimidate and stifle debate about Arctic oil drilling, but it has only made us stronger”, said Oulahsen, who was one of the Arctic 30 members detained in Russia. "Millions of people spoke out against the illegal imprisonment of the Arctic 30. These same millions of people know the planet is warming and that Arctic ice is melting, and will continue to peacefully oppose the reckless pursuit of Arctic oil both in Russia and around the world”.

“The University of Sydney is now acknowledging that its investment in Whitehaven Coal is problematic,” said Greenpeace campaigner Nikola Casule. 

“While this is an important first step, it is clear the University already knows enough to justify dumping its entire $1 million investment in this destructive company today.

“Whitehaven Coal has been the target of sustained community protest over the past year for its destruction of endangered box gum forest, trashing Indigenous heritage sites, and plans to drain water reserves from prime farmland to build its coal mine at Maules Creek in north-western NSW,” Casule explained.

Over 15,000 people have emailed Vice Chancellor Spence since Greenpeace exposed Sydney University’s investments in the coal company last week.

“Each day that the University of Sydney delays is another day that Whitehaven Coal can use university money to push its destructive plans through,” said Greenpeace campaigner Nikola Casule.

“Whitehaven Coal is due to appear in court on 2nd September over the legality of its bulldozing of the Leard State Forest. Whitehaven Coal wants to start bulldozing again, regardless of the impact on local farmers, Indigenous heritage and critically endangered forest.”

For more information or interviews contact, Elsa Evers 0438 204 041 or Nikola Čašule 0428 769 307

Images and video:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/greenpeaceaustraliapacific/sets/72157646069649928/