October 22, 2015
Vigils were held across three states on Thursday to honour a Chinchilla farmer who took his own life after a lengthy crusade against the coal seam gas industry.
The gatherings took place in Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide following the death of Hopeland cotton farmer George Bender last week.
Another will be held in Kingaroy next Wednesday, October 28.
Drew Hutton, a spokesman for Lock the Gate Alliance, said Mr Bender, whose bore water had been impacted by CSG activities, had shown extraordinary courage in his bid to defend his community.
He said the vigils were being held to honour Mr Bender “and to say never again”.
“Never again should CSG companies be allowed to coerce and intimidate farmers and to drag them through the courts,” Mr Hutton said in a statement.
“Never again should communities be left with nowhere to turn when their dealings with gas companies become unbearable.”
The Lock the Gate Alliance has written to Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk outlining their eight point “CSG crisis action plan” which they say will reduce suffering caused by the CSG industry.
Mr Bender’s death has also sparked calls for an inquiry into the human impacts of CSG, and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has promised to investigate the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
The Brisbane vigil was held outside the Premier’s office. Others took place at Origin Energy offices in Melbourne and Adelaide.
Yesterday, protesters also picketed Origin Energy’s Annual General Meeting in Sydney.
* * *
The Kingaroy vigil will be held at Memorial Park in Haly Street, Kingaroy next Wednesday between noon and 12:30pm.
Organiser Sandy Towell said the vigil was being held to remember and honour a good man who just happened to be a passionate farmer and advocate for rural Queensland, but whose hope was stripped from him.
“For the past 10 years George Bender had been fighting to preserve his family farm and heritage while the government seemed intent on supporting these industries to the detriment of the people,” Sandy said.
“George’s family says his heart broke watching the impact of CSG on his land, business and community. He did everything in his power to protect what he loved but was constantly blocked by bureaucratic decisions that took away the rights of farmers to their own land and businesses.
“After everything farmers already deal with – commodity prices, drought, bank foreclosures etc – having to fight both mining companies and government decisions on their own is just too much.
“If we continue to sit idly by, we will lose many more farmers in this fight and the final victims will be Australia and our kids’ heritage.”
Sandy can be contacted by phoning 0423-830-224.
Support is available for anyone who may be distressed by calling Lifeline 13-11-14, Mensline 1300-789-978 or Kids Helpline 1800-551-800.
