‘Under One Sky’, great new video by Malcolm Paterson which vividly evokes the atmosphere and the benefits of the Bimblebox art, science and nature camps, the well-grown brainchild of Jill Sampson.
From watching this film, all you wonderful folk who contributed to our pre-Covid Chuffed fundraiser to upgrade the camp site can take heart that your effort was well worth while.
Our 2024 Calendar, celebrating the historic Land Court win last year, features photographs by Malcolm Paterson, taken at the recent Art, Science and Nature camp plus quotes from President Kingham’s Ruling and explanations about the landmark judgment.
(This will likely be the last Bimblebox Calendar. So a collector’s item? Note that as it is now February, we have now reduced the price from $20 to $10.)
We did not only save Bimblebox…
Read this very clear article by Tony Coleman, who was the actuarial expert for the TBA/YV case against Waratah Coal. He gives a good summary of the many and wide-reaching implications of our landmark case.
How an insurance professional helped stop a massive coal mine | Insurance Business Australia
Listen to this great Interview on ABC Capricornia, April 4th, 2023, with TBA Secretary, Patricia Julien, on DES refusal of an EA for the Galilee Coal Project, as recommended by the Land Court.
To friends of Bimblebox:
You know that President Kingham of the Qld Land Court has made a landmark recommendation to the Qld Govt. that it refuse the applications by Clive Palmer’s Waratah Coal Pty Ltd for a Mining Lease (ML) and an Environmental Authority (EA). Their proposed Galilee Coal Project area includes the Bimblebox Nature Refuge (BNR).
But BNR is not safe yet.
We need your help to encourage the relevant Qld Government decision makers to accept that recommendation and not give in to the coal lobby. Suggested emails and contact details are provided below.
The BNR, in central Queensland, has protected quintessential Australian bush for over two decades through the tireless efforts of its owners and volunteers. BNR is not only a home for hundreds of plant and animal species, but also a place for research, a study in sustainable agricultural practices, and the focal point of the Bimblebox Art Project. President Kingham concluded, amongst other findings regarding climate change and human rights, that the loss of Bimblebox as a Private Protected Area was not in the public interest.
However, the final decisions rest with Scott Stewart, the Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, for the ML, and with Meaghan Scanlon, the Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef and Minister for Science and Youth Affairs, for the EA.
If upheld, it will have unprecedented detrimental consequences for the whole of the thermal coal industry and that is why it is no doubt being opposed by Mining representatives.
We would really appreciate it if you could urgently email these Ministers, as well as the Premier, urging them to accept the Land Court’s recommendation. Copy and paste the email contents or rephrase in your own words, but note that slightly different emails are needed for the different people. Your name and address has to go at the end of each email.
Thank you for your support,
The Bimblebox Alliance Committee
ML: Scott Stewart, Minister for Resources; email: resources@ministerial.qld.gov.au
Dear Minister Stewart,
Land Court recommendation against mining of the Bimblebox Nature Refuge.
I am writing to urge you to accept the Land Court’s recommendation not to issue a Mining Lease (ML) for Clive Palmer’s Waratah Coal for their Galilee Coal Project, which would include mining beneath the Bimblebox Nature Refuge.
President Kingham of the Land Court heard extensive evidence from both sides over six weeks, from over twenty expert witnesses and six lay witnesses, and her findings are unequivocal.
In her decision President Kingham stated “… Bimblebox plays a critical role in biodiversity conservation. Its ecological value is recognised under commonwealth and state conservation regimes. The owners have carefully managed Bimblebox to eradicate or control invasive species. The long-term grazing trials and other research provide a valuable contribution to our knowledge base for developing sustainable land management. It has nurtured a creative community which has successfully exhibited both the productivity of the camps and the importance of places like Bimblebox.”
The President further concluded that “The risk of the loss of Bimblebox as a nature refuge was both real and likely if the mine proceeded.” And that included offsets.
She decided that, weighing the benefits of the Project against the loss of Bimblebox, the public interest does not favour the Project.
No doubt the Mining sector representatives may have other views (they have had their chance, and took it, to put them forward in the Land Court hearings) but it would create a dreadful precedent if the recommendation of the Land Court was overruled. It would also erode public confidence in the rigorous system that has served Queensland well.
I urge you to ensure that the recommendation is accepted.
Yours sincerely,
(your name and address)
EA: Meaghan Scanlon, Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef and Minister for Science and Youth Affairs; email: environment@ministerial.qld.gov.au
Dear Minister Scanlon,
Land Court recommendation against mining of the Bimblebox Nature Refuge.
I am writing to urge you to accept the Land Court’s recommendation not to issue an Environmental Authority (EA) for Clive Palmer’s Waratah Coal for their Galilee Coal Project, which would include mining beneath the Bimblebox Nature Refuge.
President Kingham of the Land Court heard extensive evidence from both sides over six weeks, from over twenty expert witnesses and six lay witnesses, and her findings are unequivocal.
In her decision President Kingham stated “… Bimblebox plays a critical role in biodiversity conservation. Its ecological value is recognised under commonwealth and state conservation regimes. The owners have carefully managed Bimblebox to eradicate or control invasive species. The long-term grazing trials and other research provide a valuable contribution to our knowledge base for developing sustainable land management. It has nurtured a creative community which has successfully exhibited both the productivity of the camps and the importance of places like Bimblebox.”
The President further concluded that “The risk of the loss of Bimblebox as a nature refuge was both real and likely if the mine proceeded.” And that included offsets.
She decided that, weighing the benefits of the Project against the loss of Bimblebox, the public interest does not favour the Project.
No doubt the Mining sector representatives may have other views (they have had their chance, and took it, to put them forward in the Land Court hearings) but it would create a dreadful precedent if the recommendation of the Land Court was overruled. It would also erode public confidence in the rigorous system that has served Queensland well.
I also wish to remind you of your words in a media release (10 July 2021) that ‘nature refuge landholders were dedicated to the environment, preserving their land for future generations and complementing the State Government’s role in growing and managing Queensland’s protected area network. They do a fantastic job and help to ensure the ongoing success of Queensland’s Private Protected Area Program.’ https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/92632
Please stand by your statement and your conviction, and give the Bimblebox landowners a break after 15 years of fighting against this coal project.
I urge you to ensure that the recommendation is accepted.
Yours sincerely,
(your name and address)
General: Annastacia Palaszczuk, Premier;p email: thepremier@premiers.qld.gov.au
Dear Premier Palaszczuk,
Land Court recommendation against mining of the Bimblebox Nature Refuge.
I am writing to urge you to ensure the acceptance of the Land Court’s recommendation not to issue an Environmental Authority (EA) and a Mining Lease (ML) for Clive Palmer’s Waratah Coal for their Galilee Coal Project, which would include mining beneath the Bimblebox Nature Refuge.
President Kingham of the Land Court heard extensive evidence from both sides over six weeks, from over twenty expert witnesses and six lay witnesses, and her findings are unequivocal.
In her decision President Kingham stated “… Bimblebox plays a critical role in biodiversity conservation. Its ecological value is recognised under commonwealth and state conservation regimes. The owners have carefully managed Bimblebox to eradicate or control invasive species. The long-term grazing trials and other research provide a valuable contribution to our knowledge base for developing sustainable land management. It has nurtured a creative community which has successfully exhibited both the productivity of the camps and the importance of places like Bimblebox.”
The President further concluded that “The risk of the loss of Bimblebox as a nature refuge was both real and likely if the mine proceeded.” And that included offsets.
She decided that, weighing the benefits of the Project against the loss of Bimblebox, the public interest does not favour the Project.
No doubt the Mining sector representatives may have other views (they have had their chance, and took it, to put them forward in the Land Court hearings) but it would create a dreadful precedent if the recommendation of the Land Court was overruled. It would also erode public confidence in the rigorous system that has served Queensland well.
I also wish to remind you of your Minister Scanlon’s words in a media release (10 July 2021) that ‘nature refuge landholders were dedicated to the environment, preserving their land for future generations and complementing the State Government’s role in growing and managing Queensland’s protected area network. They do a fantastic job and help to ensure the ongoing success of Queensland’s Private Protected Area Program.’ https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/92632
Please stand by this conviction, and give the Bimblebox landowners a break after 15 years of fighting against this coal project.
I urge you to ensure that the recommendation is accepted.
Yours sincerely
(your name and address)
The recommendation of refusal by President Fleur Kingham of the QLD Land Court stands unchallenged now that Clive Palmer’s Waratah Coal has withdrawn its application for a judicial review in the Supreme Court. See The Guardian article on this most welcome news!
We now await the decisions of the Minister and DES on the mining lease and environmental authority… but we are hopeful. For once King Coal was inextricably linked to climate change, and did not get to rule over Nature and Human Rights. Coal has been put in its place.
Do go to this link and read the EDO’s very succinct summary of why those recommendations of refusal were made by President Kingham and what the implications are. Well worth reading!
230131 Waratah Coal Pty Ltd v Youth Verdict Ltd & Ors Case Summary
After our big win in Court, there was a rush on our fabulous 2023 Bimblebox Calendars, featuring artworks and observations from the September Art, Science and Nature camp. Many people will frame a favourite month’s artwork, so this calendar keeps on giving…
While we don’t have a huge number left, we don’t want to waste any, so we are offering them for half price – only $10 each!
May: Hop bush woodland by Emma Scragg
Today, 23rd December, 2022, Clive Palmer’s Waratah Coal has applied for a Judicial Review of President Kingham’s Land Court decision on 25th November, to recommend refusal of both the ML and the EA for the Galilee Coal Project.
We think this means all of the objectors – TBA, YV and the Brinnands – and President Kingham will be under review. We will update you when we know more, after January 9, 2023, when EDO can advise us.
‘The rejection of the Drug Dealers Defence was a legal first for Queensland and a very substantial departure from previous decisions of the Land Court in similar cases.
While other factors were important in the decision, including the value of the Bimblebox Nature Refuge and uncertainty of offsets, the rejection of the Drug Dealers Defence really lies at the heart of the decision in many ways and was central to the ultimate decision to recommend rejecting the mine.
Seen in the context of decisions to approve coal mines over the past decade, this decision is immensely significant for environmental and human rights law in Queensland and Australia.’
http://envlaw.com.au/waratah/?fbclid=IwAR2Rhze3sHFGUPCbrCabigTEPzLv_zbekWymsg9qUpL1S_BlHBC97FXUMP8
Today in the QLD Land Court President Kingham has recommended that both applications by Waratah Coal be refused.
The grounds were greatly about the value of Bimblebox as a Protected Area, its very high ecological condition, under-representation in the region, the wider community who use it, the likelihood of its loss if a mine went ahead, and the uncertainty of the subsidence damage and any remediation.
This is great news for Nature… and for all nature refuges.
The economic benefit of the mine did not stack up against the carbon that the coal to be mined would contribute to global warming when burnt, both globally and in QLD.
The Human Rights limitations on both the BNR owners and the generations to be impacted by climate change, including First Nations Peoples, were not considered to be justified.
TBA thanks the wonderful legal team at EDO, and all our supporters. We will keep you informed of what may come next, but for now we can breathe again, and celebrate!
You can read the full judgement here.
Our terrific 2023 Calendar is now available, featuring artworks that resulted from the recent inspiring Art, Science and Nature camp at Bimblebox. This is our main fundraiser each year, to help us continue the fight for Bimblebox… and all nature refuges.
Today, October 4th, is World Animal Habitat Day.
If ever there was a place rich in habitat, it’s Bimblebox Nature Refuge.
Carefully conserved and nurtured over more than 20 years, we consider
it irreplaceable, hence we do not consider offsets a solution.
We are approaching three years since The Bimblebox Alliance and Youth
Verdict first lodged objections to Waratah Coal/Clive Palmer’s Galilee
Coal Project’s applications. EDO ran what we thought was a compelling
case, the Land Court ruled to retain our Human Rights objections, made
site visits to Bimblebox and to the Torres Strait and Cairns, taking
on-country evidence there for the first time.
After weeks of expert witness hearings in court in mid-2022, we now
await President Kingham’s recommendations, which may occur by the end
of the year… or not.
We hope this video,’Irreplaceable,’ will remind you of what is at
stake. Please share widely.
Thank you
The Bimblebox Alliance Committee
Hi everyone,
The final submissions were filed in the Land Court last week after 7
weeks of hearings.
The Land Court’s recommendation will be next, by the end of the year
at the earliest.
Please find attached a chronological list of the proceedings prepared
by EDO since TBA filed its objections to the mining lease and
environmental authority.
In the meantime on the Nature Refuge, we have been making progress
with the upgrade at the Visitors’ Camp.
The 2022 Art, Science and Nature Camp is about to be held there, and
the Camp is ready to host 20 artists on Sunday, but the rain may have
a different opinion.
Kind regards,
Paola and TBA Team
For those of you who wish to read what our wonderful EDO legal team has submitted to President Kingham of the Queensland Land Court in our case against Waratah Coal, their full written submissions are now available on our website on our Court Proceedings page.
TBA is deeply grateful for all their work on our case … and all the others they undertake. Please support them if you can.
Our case will briefly return to the Land Court mid-June, following the submission of a supplementary JER report on offset conditions by the Offsets expert witnesses, due 14th June.
On 16th and 17th June, at 10 am each day, the Court will hear the oral presentations of submissions by the legal representatives of YV and TBA, and by John Brinnand. Two very significant days!
Members of the public are welcome to attend the Land Court on Level 8 of the Magistrates Court Building, 363 George St, Brisbane, in Court Room 40. Members of the public will be able to attend by phone as follows: 02 8310 4080 (for other countries check web browser link). Use conference code: 24725270#If you are passing on these details, be sure to include this message: If you are joining the hearing by audio connection, please ensure that your microphone is turned off, as sound can be heard in the court room.
When: Sunday 4 – Monday 12 September, 2022.
Where:
The Bimblebox Nature Refuge is approximately 450km west of Rockhampton and approximately 50km north of Alpha (Queensland). Bimblebox is an 8000 hectare, never been cleared, woodland environment in the Desert Uplands Region of central western Queensland. The Bimblebox Nature Refuge is supposed to be protected for perpetuity, but instead it has been fighting against big coal for 15 years! Currently the Bimblebox Alliance is in the Land Court of Queensland objecting to Waratah Coal’s application for final approvals.
Who:
Open to artists, writers, photographers, musicians (all creatives), scientists and all those who are interested in experiencing the Bimblebox Nature Refuge.
How many:
There is a cap of 20 participants.
Volunteers:
We need three volunteers to prepare for and help run this camp – can you or someone you know volunteer?
Cost:
$20 per day (toward food costs)
What:
Explore the spring bush flowers and the dynamic natural environment of the Bimblebox Nature Refuge. Camp for one week to experience and explore this peaceful haven for wildlife while you pursue your area of creative work and study. Enjoy Paola’s cooking and the company of others who care about Australia’s bushland.
Note: The Bimblebox art, science and nature camps are self-funded and self-directed, while the Bimblebox Nature Refuge is a remote bush camping site away from towns, shops and medical facilities. We ask that you have good health, a basic level of fitness, willingness to rough it out and that you are happy to be in a quiet bush environment.
You can find further information:
Bimblebox Art Project website: https://bimbleboxartproject.com/
Images and stories of previous Bimblebox camps: https://bimbleboxartproject.com/category/on-bimblebox/
Please email me if this is the year that you want to visit Bimblebox! Register your interest and let me know something about yourself and why you would like to participate.
Further information is available if you are interested in going to Bimblebox.
kind regards,
Jill
In Week 7 the Land Court starts at 8am on Monday 30th May in Brisbane, with Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Emissions experts Bethany Warren and John Church.
On Tuesday the Court will travel to Cairns to take on country evidence missed before, due to Covid.
On Wednesday Katherine Bennink from DES takes the stand.
We will advise when submissions will be made to the Court from both sides.
Members of the public are welcome to attend the Land Court on Level 8 of the Magistrates Court Building, 363 George St, Brisbane, in Court Room 40. Members of the public will be able to attend by phone as follows: 02 8310 4080 (for other countries check web browser link). Use conference code: 24725270#
If you are passing on these details, please be sure to include the following message: If you are joining the hearing by audio connection, please ensure that your microphone is turned off, as sound can be heard in the court room.
In Week 6 the Land Court is back in Brisbane, with our expert witness on Offsets, Martine Marron, being examined concurrently with Jarrod Cousins for W.C. on Monday 23rd. This should be a very telling session. The next two days are focused on Economics, with a morning for Actuary Tony Coleman, and then concurrently Rod Campbell and Andrew Tessler over several days. Friday has Climate Change and GHG experts Bethany Warren and John Church being examined. Sure to be a most interesting week!
Members of the public are welcome to attend the Land Court on Level 8 of the Magistrates Court Building, 363 George St, Brisbane, in Court Room 40.
Members of the public will be able to attend by phone as follows: 02 8310 4080 (for other countries check web browser link). Use conference code: 24725270#
If you are passing on these details, please be sure to include the following message: If you are joining the hearing by audio connection, please ensure that your microphone is turned off, as sound can be heard in the court room.
While the lay witnesses were hardly asked anything last week, this coming week from 9th May, the experts who at this stage are slated to appear, mainly giving concurrent evidence, will be sure to be questioned.
Will Steffen, John Church and Bethany Warren on climate change and greenhouse gases were to be on Monday but now postponed due to Covid etc, so no Court on Monday; Rachel Wilson and Paul Manley on Energy Markets on Tuesday; Bill Thompson, Adrian Caneris, Andrew Daniels and Rod Fensham on Ecology and Land Use on Wednesday and Thursday; Bill Thompson on Soil Impacts and Rehabilitation on Friday.
Should be an interesting week if you can get to the Land Court in Brisbane.Magistrates Court Building, Brisbane, Qld.
Level 8
The court is open to the public and anyone can attend, subject to any orders to the contrary.
Members of the public will be able to attend by phone as follows:
02 8310 4080 (for other countries check web browser link)
Use conference code: 24725270#
If you are passing on these details, please be sure to include the following message:
If you are joining the hearing by audio connection, please ensure that your microphone is turned off, as sound can be heard in the court room.
The court may not be sitting every day, or all of the day, so check:
The Daily Law Lists: https://www.courts.qld.gov.au/daily-law-lists/daily-law-lists#LCQ
Click on the link for ‘Land Court of Queensland’, then in the next window ‘Land Court and the Land Court Appeal’. This will open a PDF detailing any matters before the Court that day.
Week 3 of our Land Court hearing began with Waratah Coal’s Nui Harris and Social Impacts expert Daniel Holm. Today, Wednesday, the Court will hear from Simon Welchman on Dust and Odour and Shane Elkin on Noise and Vibration.
A big day on Thursday for TBA, when, after Hilary Bambrick on Public Health, Bimblebox Nature Refuge carer Ian Hoch and TBA president and Refuge co-owner Paola Cassoni appear. Voices from the coalface, so to speak!
Patricia Julien, TBA researcher and fountain of knowledge on biodiversity, will also be questioned that day, after Eric Andersen – whose name may be familiar from his many great bird photos taken on the Refuge, and which we have featured.
Friday will include Carl Rudd, BNR co-owner, and Bimblebox Art Project co-ordinator, (and Instagram poster!) Jill Sampson. Andrew Vitale on Surface Water will be heard after Jill.
Magistrates Court Building, Brisbane, Qld.
Level 8
The court is open to the public and anyone can attend, subject to any orders to the contrary.
The court may not be sitting every day so check:
The Daily Law Lists: https://www.courts.qld.gov.au/daily-law-lists/daily-law-lists#LCQ
Click on the link for ‘Land Court of Queensland’, then in the next window ‘Land Court and the Land Court Appeal’. This will open a PDF detailing any matters before the Court that day.
Our legal eagles will continue to work through the many aspects of this case as it proceeds in the Land Court. Having begun on 20th April with the site visits to BNR and other properties within the mine area, it is expected to run for six weeks. Our Facebook page will endeavour to give you brief snapshots of matters that strike us as we listen to the hearings, in our ‘Court Catch’ infosquares, shared on Instagram and Twitter.
Witnesses who appeared in Court in Week 2 (26th- 29th April ) included: Nui Harris (Manager at Waratah Coal Pty Ltd); Natasha McIntosh (Principal Scientist and Director at Orange Environmental Pty Ltd); Dr Ross Seedsman and Dr Phillip Pells, Subsidence Experts, in concurrent evidence sessions.
We will publish here the plan for Week 3 of the trial when we receive it.
Meanwhile the Environmental Law web page is a good site on which to find a summary of the history and status of this case. It is replete with links and gets updated.
Media coverage mainly focused on Youth Verdict and the human rights issues around climate change. YV member Murrawah Johnson gave good interviews on radio and TV and in the press, a sampling of which is below. More is filed in Media.
Several press outlets ran the story. Here is the NewsCorp one:
Until 18th March, 2022, TBA had been awaiting a decision on the question of jurisdiction in the Land Court. This had arisen because in April 2021 Waratah Coal advised that it had revised its mine plan and does not presently intend to undertake open cut mining on Bimblebox Nature Refuge.
The proposal to underground mine beneath BNR has not changed, with attendant issues of concern such as subsidence impacts on water and surface ecosystems and habitat conditions for flora and fauna.
The Land Court ruled it can and should hear the application and objections based on the revised mine plan. (https://www.queenslandjudgments.com.au/caselaw/qlc/2022/3)
The Qld Land Court hearing on our case against Waratah Coal started on 20th April 2022, with a visit to Bimblebox Nature Refuge by representatives from all parties: President Kingham and her associates, Department of Environment and Science, Environment Defenders Office, Waratah Coal, and the Department of Natural Resources and Mines.
This autumn has been unusually wet but the rain gods allowed the tour to slot in between two rain events and the tracks were dry.
TBA provided accommodation for DES and EDO, the latter camping in tents – good on them!. (All parties were originally invited to stay at BNR.) Self-represented active objector John Brinnand was also present for the tour, which was done in a convoy of 4WDS with BNR carer Ian Hoch as guide. It seemed to all go very well.
Much work had to be undertaken to prepare for the visit, and several volunteers helped with this beforehand, during and after the event. Work included clearing the tracks (10 km or so) of termite mounds and logs, and sprucing up the art camp, the new tent for which only arrived a few days before.
TBA packed lunches for all participants to have at the camp. Uncle Adrian Burragubba together with Coedie, Nathan, Abraham and Kaylee-Ann set up a Bora ring at the artist camp and welcomed the Court and the parties to Country with a smoking ceremony as well as performing dances. Coedie shared an introduction to Jagalingou lore, drawing upon aspects of the right to culture and the importance of protecting Country and placing people in context as a component of the environment. President Kingham acknowledged the significance of the ceremony, and noted that it is the first time the Land Court has been welcomed to Country during a site inspection for a mining objections hearing;
Everyone was moved by them. Adrian drove all the way from Brisbane just for this and we are very grateful.
As you may have read, the Court made a landmark decision to travel to the Torres Strait to hear on country evidence: a first. (https://archive.sclqld.org.au/qjudgment/2022/QLC22-004.pdf)
Another first in this case is that a Nature Refuge is objecting to being mined!
The actual hearing starts on Tuesday 26th April in Brisbane and is expected to run for about six weeks. This will be a great opportunity for TBA members and friends of Bimblebox to hear the opening statements of the parties. Youth Verdict will have a presence outside the court.
Any media or updates will be posted on our website, FB page and twitter.
The proposed timetable for the coming week is as follows. Please note that this is just a proposal and must be subject to some flexibility to accommodate for uncertainty.
Hearing – week one
| 26 April | 27 April | 28 April | 29 April |
| Morning:
Waratah Opening Address – 10 mins YVL/TBA Opening Address – 1 to 1.5 hours
Afternoon: Brinnand Opening Address – 30 minutes DES Opening Address – up to 30 minutes
Objections to Evidence – 30 minutes
(Nui Harris on Standby) |
Morning:
Nui Harris (Waratah) – 1 day (YV TBA X-XXN 4 hours)
Afternoon: Nui Harris (Waratah) (DES X-XXN 20mins)
(Natasha McIntosh on standby) |
Morning:
Natasha McIntosh (Waratah) (80 minutes) (DES X-XXN 10mins)
Afternoon: Concurrent Evidence – Ross Seedsman and Phillip Pells (Subsidence) (120-150 minutes TBA/YV)
(Subsidence on standby to start after McIntosh in the morning) |
Morning:
Concurrent Evidence – Ross Seedsman and Phillip Pells (Subsidence) (WAR X-XN 60 – 120 mins)
Concurrent Evidence – Ross Seedsman and Phillip Pells (Subsidence) (DES X-XXN 30mins)
Ross Seedsman and Phillip Pells (Subsidence) + Noel Merrick (1 hour TBA/YV) |
Public attendance
Members of the public are welcome to attend the Land Court on Level 8 of the Magistrates Court Building, 363 George St, Brisbane City QLD 4000 in Court Room 40. Persons can check the daily law list for court room and attendance details the day prior: https://www.courts.qld.gov.au/daily-law-lists/daily-law-lists#LCQ
Members of the public will be able to attend by phone as follows:
02 8310 4080 (for other countries check web browser link)
Use conference code: 24725270#
If you are passing on these details, please be sure to include the following message:
If you are joining the hearing by audio connection, please ensure that your microphone is turned off, as sound can be heard in the court room.
Waratah Coal Pty Ltd versus The Bimblebox Alliance Inc., Youth Verdict Ltd and others
19 April – through May
Level 8, Magistrates Court Building, Brisbane, Qld.
The court is open to the public and anyone can attend, subject to any orders to the contrary.
The court may not be sitting every day, so check:
The Daily Law Lists: https://www.courts.qld.gov.au/daily-law-lists/daily-law-lists#LCQ
Click on the link for Land Court of Queensland and it will open a PDF detailing any matters before the Court that day.
With months still to go in 2022, this year’s remaining calendars, featuring those great photos of our Bimblebox creatures, will be only $5 each! ( plus P&P)
Apart from fundraising, our calendars serve to spread the word about Bimblebox and our ongoing legal fight to save it from becoming a coal mine for Clive Palmer’s Waratah Coal.
So why not buy a few calendars and use as info-gifts for friends?
We will also be adding a free calendar to any purchase from our online shop!
So Buy for Bimblebox!
To win this fight, The Bimblebox Alliance Inc. needs YOU. Yes, we need funds, but we also need your hearts and minds, your hands-on help, and your connections. Spread the word about this David and Goliath battle for Nature to be valued above and beyond Coal.
• Join us in The Bimblebox Alliance Inc. (TBA) and share your particular skills. IT? Social Media? Clerical? Numerical? We are all volunteers, trying our best to meet this challenge, but we can’t all be multi-skilled, and we can certainly use more help!
• Write to your local papers (if you still have one) and to any major papers that take letters to the editor. See the Bimblebox Fact Sheet for backup, and express how you feel about this coal mine proposal, and about a dedicated Nature Refuge being offered up for a coal project – whether Bimblebox or any private ‘protected’ area.
• Call your local talkback radio shows and share your opinions about what is being proposed for Bimblebox. If this state significant ‘protected area” is mined, nowhere is safe!
• Write to your politicians so they know how you feel about this; ask them what their stance is on private ‘protected’ areas not being exempt from mining, on the impacts this project might have, on water, on habitat, on climate change…! Let them know this is a major issue of concern for you, and will influence your votes. Call or visit your local MP!
• Share our Facebook posts. Look out for our FrogsFriday features across social media, showcasing the diversity of Bimblebox.
• Share our tweets (Twitter handle @BimbleboxNR) and use our hashtags, #SaveBimblebox, #NatureNotCoal, #FrogsFriday and #Valuing Nature.
• Get Bimblebox update emails: sign up on this page.
• Donate to our fighting fund.
• Buy for Bimblebox: beautiful all-year-round Bimblebox calendars, our great logo bags and T-shirts, the book: Bimblebox – A Nature Refuge under Siege, the DVD…
• Markets: post-Covid, run a tell-and-sell market stall, with Bimblebox goods and info and stickers; clean out the garage and sell bric-a-brac, old tools, books or whatever to raise funds forthe fight.
• Tell your story: whenever you can, share with people why you care about Bimblebox and are helping to fight for its survival.
• Volunteer for hands-on help at Bimblebox; more help is always need to care for and nurture the living treasures there, to weed, to manage areas and the small cattle herd.
Vale Joan Vickers 1943 – 2023
(Adapted from Sheena Gillman’s eulogy at Joan’s funeral)
The Bimblebox Alliance acknowledges the significant part Joan Vickers played since our foundation in 2014. She was a true environmental warrior with an amazing brain and a determination that we must all care better for our protected areas, and that our beloved Bimblebox would not succumb to being a weeping chancre on the landscape of Queensland.
Joan held different roles on the TBA management committee, particularly as the Treasurer, but also in the updating of the website. We valued her contributions of her knowledge in science and legislation until 2020, when her health started to fail her.
We admired her optimism about her various surgeries gone wrong; she would always insist that she would soon recover. Her tenacity was evident in many ways, and as photographer Greg Harm, a participant in the 2015 Art Camp, said: ‘I remember Joan as one who could not be stopped.’
It is evidenced in this story of Paola’s from that Camp:
‘It was already dark she arrived, with one eye sunken and bloodshot; a wrong turn on her way in and she’d had to wrestle with a particularly tight and difficult cockie’s gate, the like of which she possibly had never met in her life.
‘As she battled the gate, the handle flew into her eye, and her glasses, though flung in the dust nearby, saved the eye from a worse fate. Yet the next day she wanted to go for long walks, carrying backpack and water bottle. “What about the eye?” It was still sore and blue all round, but she insisted she could see well from the other eye.
‘Joan was up for anything going on – from riding on the back of the ute to a remote site of the nature refuge, to walking for miles with a heavy backpack full of flora and fauna books, while others were on mountain bikes. She felt invincible, while everyone was worried about this thin elderly woman who ‘could not be stopped’.
‘I too was challenged by her frailty – we joked together that I being of heavier girth had 3 children – how on earth did she give birth to 4? Soon after, the conversation might switch to her conquests in rock climbing and orienteering, while carrying a weight most would of us could not bear.
‘This weight upon Joan was the arthritis she suffered – the endless operations – her pain, her disappointment when things went wrong, and latterly – the most miserable of wrongs as she lost her wonderfully clever brain – a head full of knowledge, of life experiences, her canny dry wit, her love for her family and the environment.’
Whilalloo NR – Joan Vickers & endangered Macrozamia carei
Sheena said: This was Joan in her element as we knew and respected her as a member of The Bimblebox Alliance committee.
On behalf of our Bimblebox Alliance – to each one of us Joan was a dear friend – we are sorry to lose her from our kin. I say to Joan – go well, dear woman, know that you made a difference because we won against Palmer – we did it, and you were an integral part of that win, for which Bimblebox will be eternally grateful.
Joan Vickers – died 14th October 2023.
