Nannabusiness

Grafton Nannas joined Nannas from across the Northern Rivers at a secret location for a weekend of sitting and knitting, plotting and knotting to save the land air and water for the kiddies /|~*

Article from the Northern Rivers Echo (see link below)

"Knitting Nannas Against Gas (KNAG) from around the Northern Rivers spent the weekend at a secret nannalocation on the far north coast knotting, and plotting ‘shenannagans’ for the year ahead.

After a successful annual conference in Narrabri in August, the Nannas came away fired up and ready for action.

On Saturday and Sunday they gathered on a rural property at Eltham to discuss ways to annoy all politicians equally. 

Photograph by Gwilym Summers

Sitting and plotting serious Nanna business

 With elections ahead in Queensland, where both major parties are pushing the unpopular Adani coal mine, to a by-election for coal-fumbler Barnaby Joyce, there are plenty of issues for the Nannas to stitch up.

Photograph by Gwilym Summers

Nannas from various loops across the NR

Never forget, pollies, that your Nannas are watching you!"

https://www.echo.net.au/…/sitting-knitting-knotting-plotti…/

Grafton Nannas Visit NARRABRI For NANNA CONFERENCE

Members of the Grafton Loop of Knitting Nannas Against Gas and Greed (KNAG) travelled to Narrabri for the third annual conference of the Knitting Nannas recently.  

Narrabri was chosen as the venue because of its proximity to Santos’ proposed gasfield in the Pilliga and adjacent farmland. 

The conference gave the Nannas an opportunity to learn more about Santos’ plans for the area.  This immense development of 850 gas wells will have a devastating  impact on the biodiverse-rich Pilliga Forest which provides habitat for a range of threatened species including Koala.  It’s not just the number of wells proposed but all the accompanying infrastructure such as roads, pipelines, vents and flares which mean that large amounts of the forest will be cleared.

So here we have land owned by the people of NSW – it’s OUR forest – which is going to be devastated so that Santos can make massive profits.

Forest clearing is not the only issue about Santos’ gasfield.  There are major concerns about contamination of the water table and impact on the recharge of the Great Artesian Basin. Santos also has a poor record in preventing and cleaning up toxic spills during operation of its pilot project. And then there’s the question of the disposal of huge volumes of produced water and salt.  Santos has not provided satisfactory answers to these and many other questions.

While final approval has not yet been given for this proposal, the Nannas are concerned about the NSW Government’s record in pushing destructive mining projects which are not in the long-term community interest.  It seems the big end of town is much more important to our politicians than the future health of our natural environment or productive farmland.   The Nannas want to see this change.

Nannas assembling for the walk through Narrabri

GRAFTON NANNAS CAST ON AGAIN

The Grafton Nannas had another long break over the hot summer. This was  a summer in which the impact of climate change was obvious to us Nannas as well as to many other community members - but apparently not to many of our political leaders. So sad, as another political leader from another nation might say in his interminable tweets on twitter!!

Today some re-energised stalwarts from the Grafton Nannas cast on outside the Grafton office of our federal member Kevin Hogan. 

Why there?   Well the Grafton Nannas are concerned that the leader of Mr Hogan's National Party - one Barnaby Joyce, the Member for New England - is pushing to have CSG and unconventional gas mining expanded throughout the nation. 

Will our local member be prepared to cross the floor to support his constituents?

Mr Joyce, unlike the Nannas, obviously does not understand what a threat this invasive industry is to the environment and the health of local communities.  He is claiming that we need more gas produced because we will soon have a domestic gas shortage.

We Nannas know only too well that the claim of a gas shortage is a furphy.  There is only a shortage because all of the plentiful gas being extracted in this country is being exported. And Mr Joyce and others in government know this but they are suddenly waking up to the issue of ENERGY SECURITY and they are claiming that gas supply is an important component of this.

We Nannas would like to know why, when they have been at the wheel (so to speak) since 2013, this important matter has only just occurred to them.  As a result we are obviously in for a period of prolonged knee-jerk reactions and boringly predictable policy-on-the-run.  Again - so sad!

Mr Joyce is proposing that farmers who have gas  wells on their land receive 10% of royalties.  He claims this will lead to acceptance of the industry and allow it to expand throughout the nation.  He seems to be forgetting that it is not only landowners who potentially have wells on their properties who oppose this invasive industry.  It also impacts on their neighbours who would not be getting the 10% bribe and others in the local community.  And what is a bribe worth when the long-term impacts are considered?

The Nannas have written to Mr Hogan about their concerns and presented their letter at his office.

After enjoying their knit-in (a great social occasion with many laughs) and chats with passers-by,  these doughty women are re-energised for further knit-ins and lobbying on gas and energy security and climate change.

An amazing Nanna accessory