...............................
To: [independent green groups]
Sent: Friday, November 10, 2006 9:34 PM
Subject: Re: Lake Cowal Foundation
up until now my understanding has been
via Peter Prineas in a chance meeting that the [Nature Conservation Council] of NSW pulled out of the corrupt foundation
funded out of the gold mine cyanide leaching process. This was about 18 months ago. Prineas is a tough guy and pretty straight
although quite [....].
It would not surprise me at all that
Jeff Angel at Total Environment Centre has progressed the deal regardless, as I attended the NCC meeting then
in George St way back in 1999 or so, as a member of their elected executive when he conned us all that it was the
best deal for the environment.
Said the real issue there was dry land
salinity. That there was no water in the lake. When I found out it was a major lake in times of flood as per pictures with
huge numbers of birdlife (I am a zoology graduate) I felt totally betrayed. Which is why I pursued it with Prineas later on.
I resigned from NCC executive for similar
issues, around 2000 having been elected twice, concerning my view of corrupt govt funding to NCC and aligned
groups that exported woodchipping to East Gippsland and guaranteed 20 year logging guarantees to the industry in NSW which
was never the 1995 election promise.
But, and it's a big but, the same sell
out has occured on EVERY policy area if you talk to the right people: Usually middle to senior rank campaigners who have actually
done the work on say
- waste reduction,
- transport,
- Homebush Bay up to the Olympics,
- land clearing,
- anti woodchipping.
Really its endless. People say Milo
Dunphy was a vain old philanderer and a fool. I knew him well and visited him at his home. He was a lonely guy but very straight,
very tough and very smart. He knew Jeff was crook and so do I.
Call me names if you like but I believe
we have a rolled gold collaborator at the apex of the NSW green movement and it is a really really big problem. This is the
best working theory I have and its very hot to handle: Louise Adler ( a left wing Jewish woman) publisher at Melbourne
Uni Press talks about the Jewish collaborators with the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto to make sure they were spared. As a result
this collaborator stock are more highly represented in the survivor pool proportionately from WW2 atrocity.
You can see where I am going with this.
A culture of collaboration that destroys that which is most precious in order to survive oneself. It's enough to drive anyone
to drink to reach this kind of conclusion. Fortunately I swore off grog 5 months ago and so far so good.
You have to make your own peace of mind,
but my sincere advice is that every ranking campaigner I know has been done over, from John Denlay (waste) to that guy on
the Snowy River, to TWS on anti woodchipping agenda, to Lake Cowal trad owners, to Lidcombe Waste Depot at Homebush Bay near
a school. Always to the inside running of TEC with the power and money men via Jeff Angel cutting a deal. And with a measly
700 members gazumping the movement.
My study of him shows when he is out
of his democratic depth he sometimes calls in the ACF for numbers (nominally as they are so absent in NSW) and
thus its generally an ALP controlled agenda through them.
My formula to spike this is whenever
he comes out with a bogus position like say on this foundation do 3 things PUBLICLY
1. Point out that Angel and TEC do not
speak for your organisation and whoever you can get to add on
2. That TEC is financially dependent
on government grants or govt mandated agreements (like this MOU) and is therefore in no way to be seen as independent.
This is is a killer for them politically and must be pursued in contrast to say The Green party (even when they are
being populist and not very ecological at least they are not financially compromised.)
3. TEC has a membership of 700 which
is too small to represent the green movement in NSW. (but beware they have some important loyalists like say Quentin Dempster
from naivety or what I don't know.)
Until groups generally have the guts
to do this, despite the claims you are splitting and smearing and causing trouble, your individual issue will be smashed
by the government working through the TEC rubber stamp, and likely shepherded through by the SMH which is always pro economics
and stuff the environment when push comes to shove. Jeff is their man to prevent radical greens running our movement.
The genius of the man is that disillusioned
people give up and disappear never linking up with other campaigners to compare notes how they got done over. But I am determined
to write the history of this bastard if its the last thing I do for those woodchipped forests condemned by an ALP bastard
government with a chunky majority who needn't have betrayed its promises in 1995.
Yours truly
Tom McLoughlin, principal ecology action
sydney, solicitor in NSW
----- Original Message -----
From: "benny zable" To: [independent green groups]
Sent: Thursday, November 09, 2006 10:37
PM
Subject: Re: Lake Cowal Foundation
> Dear Ruth and Jane
> Thank you for sending
me this!
> I am am outraged by this finding. I had no idea about this agreement. This
> is a big betrayal.
We need some sort of liason between us and the Total
> Environment Centre and Co. This is not OK to have a Total Environment
Centre
> making such deals, that compets with Uncle Chappy, Friends of the Earth, the
> Rainforest Information
Centre and other environmental groups who have put
> resources and time to protest to expose and act on what is clearly
an abuse
> of Aboriginal heritage and environmental degredation. To set up a foundation
> for Lake Cowal preservation
first and formost needs the permission and
> endorsement from Uncle Chappy let alone to make a monetry deal.
>
Have they held discussions with Uncle Chappy?
> Who where the parties that authorised these deals?
> How long
has this foundation been in operation?
> Are they aware of our ongoing campaign?
> I will raise this with folks
at the Rainbow Chai Tent on Sunday.
> We need some explenations. There is also some rumors of a sell out by the
>
Total Environment Centre on the Anvil Hill mine . Is this true? What are
> the facts?
> We need transperancy
and acountability in the environmental movement.
> What about a conference with all the players associated with the
Lake Cowal
> campaign including those on the front line?
>
> Benny Zable
>
>
>>From:
Ruth Rosenhek <
>>To: [independent green groups]
>>Subject:
Re: Lake Cowal Foundation
>>Date: Thu, 9 Nov 2006 19:12:08 +1100
>>
>>my gawd, what a farce!
Check out this paragraph:
>>
>><<The COI found that the project could be developed and operated in
a
>>manner that was compatible with the environmental values of Lake Cowal. The
>>Cowal Gold Mine was
met with some opposition from Environmental groups and
>>organizations. After considerable consultation with these
groups, a
>>Memorandum of Understanding was signed and the Lake Cowal Foundation (LCF),
>>a not for profit
Environmental Trust was established in June 2000 with the
>>objective of protecting and enhancing the natural environment
in the Lake
>>Cowal region. The Lake Cowal Foundation is primarily sponsored through a
>>negotiated royalty
from the Cowal Gold Project, for the life of the gold
>>project. During the operational life of the mine, payments
exceeding $2
>>million are expected to be made to the Lake Cowal Foundation.>>
>>
>>Sure,
we need to respond but there is so much to respond to!
>>
>>peace
>>for the Earth
>>Ruth
>>
>>___
>>
>>At
12:01 PM +1100 9/11/06, Jane Morrison wrote:
>>>Hi All,
>>>
>>>I thought you might like
to know that the Lake Cowal Foundation has a
>>>website and is calling for donations to "conserve the lake"!!
>>>
>>>http://lakecowalfoundation.org.au/
>>>
>>>Jane
>>>
