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Come along for a night of alternative country music in support of those arrested at the 2009 Hazelwood action and a renewable energy future!

FRI, MARCH 12th
From 7pm

NORTHCOTE UNITING CHURCH
251 High st, Northcote

$5 / $10

Bands include:
SAL KIMBER and THE ROLLIN' WHEEL
POWER and GRIEG
DUCKS IN THE MUD
LUCAS PAINE (USA)

with DJs BUFFALO CAM and AIDY THE KID

Country fair, raffles and vego tucker.

SEE YOU ALL THERE!!

The group of Hazelwood arrestees are looking to continue the campaign to Replace Hazelwood with clean energy, and climate friendly jobs in the Latrobe Valley. We will also be targetting the corporation running Hazelwood- International Power Australia- and their major financiers The Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Three people were arrested in March 2009 attempting to shut off the supply of coal to Hazelwood as part of Earth Hour. 22 people were arrested as part of a mass civil disobedience action attempting to slap a decommission order on the plant in September 2009. All 25 are charged with trespass and are facing court.

read an overview of the successful action on indymedia: http://indymedia.org.au/2009/09/09/switch-off-hazelwood-coverage

view the successful action on our flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hazelwood09/

Victorian Government attacks right to peaceful protest.

After the highly successful peaceful community protest at the Hazelwood coal fired power station last month, Victorian Minister for Energy and Resources, Peter Batchelor, has signalled that he intends to come down hard on the communities right to protest at electricity infrastructure such as coal fired power stations.

Friends of the Earth Climate Campaigner Louise Morris said “Last month we saw over 500 community members take action, calling for a transition to renewable energy. This included 22 people who managed to climb the many fences around the Hazelwood coal station to put a ‘Community Decommission Order’ on the station, knowing they would face arrest through such a peaceful undertaking.”

“The police numbers and resources employed was far beyond what was required. Protest organisers had liaised closely with Victoria Police about expected numbers at the protest, but clearly the state government and owners of Hazelwood decided to use a massive force of police and private security. “

"We are now seeing the Victorian ALP Government continue it’s heavy handed approach to dealing with the many people in our community who care enough to take public action about climate change. Terrorising peaceful community campaigners who may use protest tactics that put them at the chance of a planned, considered and careful arrest is over the top, and inappropriate in a democracy” said Ms Morris.

“Premier Brumby and Minister Batchelor have been lobbied for years on climate change, with petitions, letters, personal visits and rallies, and we have only seen them continue to support the coal industry, while large scale solar power enterprises like the Solar Systems plant in Abbortsford go under. It is for these reasons people are increasingly prepared to take actions of the type we saw at the Hazelwood community protest on September 13, 2009. Threatening draconian jail terms and massive financial penalties is not the way to engage with a community campaign on climate change.”

“We will be talking with legal professionals to see what this could mean for our ability to hold peaceful community protests at the many polluting coal fire power stations in our state,” concluded Louise Morris.

During the historic Switch off Hazelwood, Switch on Renewables day of community protest and civil disobedience twenty two brave souls managed to climb the fences around Hazelwood to hand over their 'Community Decommission Orders.'

In the process of doing this they were arrested and charged with tresspass. While their day in court is bound to be some way off, there is a way we can all support these people...by donating to help cover their pending fines for trespass.

The maximum penalty for tresspass is $1,000.00 not a massive amount of money, but enough to burn a hole in the pockets of many of us who do not have a lot of money - as we have spent much of it campaigning for climate protection.

Help the Hazelwood 22 by donating to cover their legal costs through the Switch off Hazelwood bank account. All proceeds will be evenly distributed to those arrested.

(Age letter to the editor) September 15, 2009

AS ONE of the organisers of the protest at Hazelwood power station on Sunday, I'd like to clarify misconceptions about the action and its message. It is possible to replace coal-fired energy with existing renewable energy technology.

Climate Camp shuts down Dendrobium coal mine.

7.05am. Currently, four people from Climate Camp 2009 have scaled and locked themselves onto the coal conveyor belt at the Dendrobium
coal mine near Helensburgh, NSW.

Spokesperson for the group Aimee Bull-McMahon said “We have shut down the conveyor from this underground polluter as part of the Climate
Camp 09 three days of action. The Dendrobium coal mine, owned by Illawarra Coal, has been disastrous for the surrounding water ways that
the local community relies on for drinking water.”