Sea Shepherd visits Byron
It was my pleasure to meet Mal Holland, the captain of Sea Shepherd's flagship vessel the M/Y Steve Irwin, when it called in to Byron Bay, and to hear about his commitment to stopping the $16.5 billion coal mine, rail link and coal port proposed by Adani for Queensland’s Galilee Basin.
Mal's passion is driven by the fact he has very young children and wants them to be able to inherit a safe and inhabitable planet, one that possesses incredible natural wonders such as the Great Barrier Reef -- which is already being impacted by climate change.
The mine will worsen climate change and further devastate the reef, by clearing habitat for Adani's Abbot Point terminal, massive dredging and the passage of 500 ships every year.
Sea Shepherd is part of the Stop Adani Alliance, a network of 40 organisations and 2 million Australians fighting to stop the mine, and the crew are calling in to ports as they sail north as part of Operation reef Defence, to highlight the madness of the Adani mine, which will be Australia's biggest.
Sea Shepherd have been strong supporters of my campaign to bring an end to the unscientific and cruel shark nets off Ballina and to protect our Cape Byron Marine Park. The Greens support Sea Shepherd in the effort to Stop Adani and protect the Great Barrier Reef.
Read about the Sea Shepherd mission here.
Tuckean Swamp community drop-in session
Southern Cross University will be holding a drop-in session at the Meerschaum Vale Community Hall, Wardell Road this Saturday 4 August from 9.30am to 3pm. Tea, coffee and refreshments provided – come in any time, they would love to hear your ideas and views on the future of the Tuckean wetland.
Warm regards
Tamara Smith MP
Member for Ballina
