Phew, what a weekend!

From Friday to Sunday Quit Coal was out in force at the Sustainable Living Festival, with volunteers gathering over 3000 signatures on a petition calling on the State Government to institute a moratorium on CSG Fracking and new coal projects in Victoria. 

In addition, nearly 100 Quit Coal T-shirts were sold (buy your own online here), and hundreds of people indicated an interest in volunteering their time and becoming a part of the Quit Coal campaign!

We even got an enthusiastic endorsement from celebrity gardener Kosta!

A huge thank you to everyone who helped out and made it all possible.

It would be comical if it wasn’t so infuriating. Yesterday, the Federal Labor party announced that HRL, the company seeking to build a new coal-fired power plant in Victoria, would retain $150 million in government funding for another 6 months.

This is an appalling decision, proving again that Minister for Energy Martin Ferguson is more concerned about doing favours for his buddies and keeping alive the coal barons’ fantasy of ‘clean coal’ than following due process or listening to his constituents.

On Thursday, an MP in Ferguson’s own party brought to Federal Parliament a petition signed by nearly 13,000 Victorians against HRL’s project, Yet yesterday Ferguson seemed perversely proud to slap those 13,000 concerned citizens in the face, displaying an utter lack of concern for the environment or for those of us who would like to protect it.

In response to the decision, Quit Coal held a snap rally, which was attended by over 50 people despite them having literally only 2 hours notice to be there. Four Quit Coal activists also locked themselves to the entrance of the Prime Minister’s office in Treasury Place, attracting attention to the issue from multiple media outlets.

Quit Coal activists locked on to the entrance to the Prime Minister's offices in Treasury Place.

Even though HRL’s grant extension is only for another 6 months, it is still bitterly disappointing. We cannot allow politicians like Ferguson to treat the warnings of climate scientists or the views of their constituents as a mere distraction in their quest to run our country solely for the benefit of mining companies and big coal.

Together, we must grow a movement to Quit Coal so strong that it can’t be ignored.

And this week we have a big chance to do just that.

Click here to find out how you can help us fight back against HRL and their puppets in government by volunteering with Quit Coal at the Sustainable Living Festival!

Quit Coal supporters rally outside Parliament House in anger over the government's failure to revoke HRL's funding.

A huge THANK YOU to all who came to yesterday’s Stop HRL Rally. Nearly 500 people attended to demand the government withdraw its funding from the dirty new coal project HRL. As protective services fretted over the crowd spilling far beyond the steps of Parliament House, a loud and enthusiastic crowd heard speeches from Quit Coal, Environment Victoria, Greenpeace, Adam Bandt MP, Kelvin Thompson MP and the Australian Youth Climate Coalition and chanted loud and clear ‘Stop HRL, No More Coal’ for the politicians and media to hear. The rally (and chant) also made it onto 10 news, broadcasting our collective voice to thousands more.

…………………….

Keep the pressure on and let’s win this!

Now it’s time to make sure that our politicians in Canberra get your message loud and clear: we want HRL defunded.

Next Thursday 9 February, our friends at Environment Victoria will be in Canberra to have the nearly 13,000 strong Stop HRL petition tabled in Parliament.

At the same time, we can help to make sure the people making the big decision on HRLs funding get your message loud and clear.

Between 12 and 2pm on Thursday, 9 January, can you help us flood Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson with your phone calls and Tweets? Don’t worry it’s not that scary! Here’s some tips

TAKE ACTION:

1. Mark the time and date (12-2pm, Thursday, 9 February) in your diary, online calendar or set a mobile phone reminder now. Go on – it’ll just take a second.

2.At 12pm next Thursday, call Julia Gillard’s office on (02) 6277 7700 with your message that;

* You support action on climate change

* You want HRL defunded and the money put into renewable energy

* Remember to leave your name and town or suburb so they know where you’re from

3. Next, call Energy Minister Martin Ferguson’s office with the same message – (02) 6277 7930

4. Then Minister for Finance and Deregulation Penny Wong – (02) 6277 7400

5. If you’re on Twitter make sure you tweet your message too. Include @AustralianLabor and @JuliaGillard in your message, and remember to use the hashtag #StopHRL

With nearly 13,000 signatures in front of them and hundreds of your voices on the phone, the key decision makers who could make or break HRL will get your message loud and clear.

So, is it in your diary yet?

(Here’s some more photos of our big day!)

February 1st is a huge day for Victorians concerned about climate change.

In 2007, the Howard Government awarded HRL – the proposed new coal fired power station for Victoria – a grant of $100 million. But 5 years later, HRL has failed to meet any conditions of this grant, and it is now under review. Recent media reports indicate it may be revoked, making it unlikely that HRL would ever be built.

This would be a massive win for us, and that’s why we’re joining with other groups to holding the biggest HRL rally yet. Together we can send a powerful reminder to the government about the strength of our opposition to HRL, and a big turn out could be decisive in turning the decision in our favour.

• Where: Parliament House, Spring Street, Melbourne CBD
• When: 12.30PM, Wednesday February 1st
• Featuring: Special guest speakers Adam Bandt MP and Kelvin Thompson MP
• Bring: Signs & Placards telling the government you want renewable energy & NO NEW COAL!
• Share!: Be sure to click ‘attending’ on our facebook event and invite all your friends!
  

For a year we have fought this project, doing everything from locking on in treasury place, holding rallies, performing media stunts (including helping on the largest banner drops in Australian history), and collecting signatures on our massive joint petition with Greenpeace and Environment Victoria that netted almost 13,000 signatures.

More importantly, however, it would be a massive win for the planet. The International Energy Agency tells us that building new coal infrastucture will lock in dangerous global warming. A victory against HRL, then, is a victory against precisely the kind of greed and short-sigtedness that would do just that.

Please join us, then, and put February 1st in your diary as a day when we will draw a line in the sand and say No New Coal in Victoria!

PS Volunteers, we need you!

Can you help us by putting up some of these awesome movie spoof posters we’ve come up with for the rally? If you have some time and are willing to help make this rally a success, please contact Maude at mfarrugia@riseup.net to organize a time and an area to help at. Alternatively, you can print out your own and put them up just by clicking here: HRL Rally Poster PDF

Welcome to Quit Coal

Back in 2009 you knew us as ‘Switch Off Hazelwood’. Then, we began calling ourselves ‘Switch Off Coal, Switch On Renewables’. And recently we’ve called ourselves ‘Stop HRL’.

But today we proudly launch Quit Coal – a new unified banner for our wonderful crew of dedicated and passionate volunteers fighting to end coal industry expansion in Victoria. With a brand new logo and website, plus a rapidly growing collection of diverse and talented people working together to our goal of responsible action on climate change, we are massively energised for the battles to come. And we want you to get involved too! Visit our contact page now to find out how you too can help block the coal industry’s plans for a new dirty coal plant, a brown coal export industry, and Coal Seam Gas Fracking right here in Victoria.

Even Santa is on our side!

Much to our delight, Santa Claus himself came out in support of Quit Coal’s campaigns today when visiting Melbourne shoppers in the Bourke st Mall.

Flanked by his trusty team of reindeer and elves, and forsaking his usual sled for a tres chic seven-seater bicycle, Santa had visited Melbourne with a simple question – do Victorians all want coal for Christmas?

‘I’m confused’, he told onlookers. ‘I thought nobody wanted coal for Christmas. But then why would Victoria have plans the new coal fired power station HRL? Not to mention a new coal mine in Bacchus Marsh?’

Luckily, the people of Melbourne set Santa straight, signing up in droves to support a joint petition by Quit Coal and other environmental groups to make Julia Gillard remove the $100 million of taxpayers money John Howard gave to HRL in 2006.

You can help too! Tell Julia Gillard to be nice this Christmas and de-fund HRL!

Shortly after Christmas, Julia Gillard’s government will be deciding whether or not to evoke HRL’s funding. Click here to send her the message that after meeting none of its milestones, blowing its budget, and already being forgiven hundreds of millions of dollars of debt to Victoria’s government, it is time to finally put this lemon to rest!