On Tuesday February 18th 2020, Save Westernport members and supporters gave a big welcome to Julie Lyford OAM.
Julie is the Chairperson of Groundswell Gloucester, a community group who were instrumental in 2016 in stopping AGL’s coal seam gas project (fracking) in Gloucester NSW as well as the ground-breaking climate legal decision in 2019 against the Rocky Hill coal mine proposal in the Gloucester valley to stop the mine from going ahead on environmental grounds.
Julie is the former Mayor of Gloucester and in 2015, she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services to the Environment, Community and Local Government.
In her presentation to our Save Westernport meeting, Julie spoke about how the Gloucester community fought tooth and nail for 10 years to stop AGL from “fracking” in their precious valley.
Her advice to the audience was “Never to give in!” and to tell AGL “If they don’t discontinue their dangerous, floating gas factory proposal in your pristine UNESCO Biosphere and RAMSAR eco-system in Westernport Bay then you will do everything in your combined community power to ensure that the AGL brand will suffer which will seriously impact their bottom line.”
Julie told the audience that AGL knew that CSG exploration and fracking in the Gloucester basin and Manning Valley catchment could have serious risks of polluting water sources, agricultural lands and air quality.
After proving that the independent experts were correct, the Groundswell team with the collaboration of hundreds of individuals and over 32 organisations fought and won and saved the valley.
We thank Julie for making the long journey from Gloucester to Crib Point to share her knowledge of community action and her years of experience in fighting dangerous industrial developments.
Visit Groundswell Gloucester here.
“The Town That Said No To AGL” is a book about the battle for Gloucester by local residents against government and corporations – order your copy here.
