Agricultural Links

Wybong Weather

Statistics (ABS)
Information 

Action Groups

Anvil Hill Alliance
Website of the Anvil Hill Alliance. This site is not updated due to closure of the Anvil Hill Project Watch Association Inc as a result of court action taken by Xstrata Mining Company, nonetheless it contains useful and significant information on the unending struggle to Save Anvil Hill and now, The Wybong.
Barrington-Gloucester-Stroud Preservation Alliance
We are fighting to preserve our beautiful district - lush farmland, a popular tourist destination, and a world heritage wilderness - from the ravages of mining for gas, coal and rubies.
Bickham Coal-Mine Action Group
Many residents in our area believe - to extract coal at the very head of the Hunter Valley Catchment - is a bad idea.
Bylong Valley Protection Alliance
Bylong Valley Protection Alliance
Caroona Coal Action Group
Caroona Coal Action Group (CCAG) represents a country community concerned that subsidence longwall mining will damage the underground aquifers, the life blood of the food and fibre production, on the world class Liverpool Plains, NSW.
East End Mine Action Group Inc
a determined group of rural Australians chronically affected by mine dewatering who for over 14 years have been in dispute with Queensland Cement Ltd (now Cement Australia) and the Regulating Agencies of the Qld Government. EEMAG has fought for social justice and accountability while being forced to involuntarily subsidise the East End open cut limestone mine operated by Cement Australia, a privately owned subsidiary of Holcim Pty Ltd the World's largest cement company that lists on the London and Zurich Stock Exchanges.
Hunter-Bulga Gas Action Group
The Hunter-Bulga Gas Action Group is fighting Sydney Gas and AGL Energy in the Broke, Bulga, Milbrodale and Howes Valley area.
Lock the Gate Alliance
Lock the Gate Alliance is calling for national political intervention in similar fashion to Beyond Coal Australia and others.
Margaret River NoCoalition
The miners are at it again in Margaret River. The Usual Suspects.
Rivers SOS
Rivers SOS is an alliance of some forty environmental and community groups concerned with the wrecking of rivers in New South Wales by mining operations.
Save The Drip and Goulburn River
Help us stop the Coal industry from destroying our groundwater and rivers... Why? Mining threatens many catchments.
Wollombi Valley Against Gas Extraction
The WAGE action group is fighting Sydney Gas and AGL Energy to protect the historic Wollombi Valley

Coal Seam Methane Information

Citizens Concerned About Coal Bed Methane
Bulkley Valley, British Columbia
Citizens Concerned About Coalbed Methane
Protecting the Kootenays from Bad Gas
Coal Bed Methane Watch
Citizens resource for coalbed methane activity in British Columbia
Coalbed Methane (Wikipedia)
Coalbed methane is a form of natural gas extracted from coal beds. Australia has rich deposits where it is known as coal seam methane.
Coalbed Methane in British Columbia
A factsheet from The Pembina Institute (229 kb PDF document)
Concerns About British Columbia's Approach to Coalbed Methane Development
Pembina Institute: After the Gold Rush
Pembina CBM report
A report on Coal Bed Methane in Canada (2.81 MB PDF document)

Companies

AGL Energy
AJ Lucas (Lucas Group)
Sydney Gas

Conservation

Aust Gov Dept Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development & Local Government Grantslink
Focal point for listing of all Australian Government Grants - individuals, incorporated companies and community groups are invited to apply...
(Questionable link status - May be broken)
Greater Eastern Ranges Initiative Hunter Valley
Greater Eastern Ranges Iniative Hunter Valley
Greater Eastern Ranges Initiative Hunter Valley
Greater Eastern Ranges Coordination
Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority
Website of the Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority providing details of programs, grants and funding for agricultural and conservation purposes.
NSW Dept of Environment & Climate Change Residential Rebates
Listing of rebates available from NSW Dept of Environment & Climate Change for water saving appliances and devices.
NSW Dept of Environment and Climate Change Conservation programs
Link to the NSW Dept of Environment and Climate Change Conservation programs. This pages leads to the DECC website where information on the range of DECC 'Conservation Partner' programs are available in detail.

Legislation

Changes to Major Projects Assessment System
Changes to Major Projects Assessment System
Environmental Defender's Office Facts Sheets
Environmental Defender's Office
New South Wales (Ltd)
Fact Sheets
MINING ACT 1992
MINING ACT 1992 (as at 10 Dec 2008)
PETROLEUM (ONSHORE) ACT 1991
The act governing Coal Seam Methane exploration in NSW
STATE ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING POLICY (MINING, PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES) 2007
STATE ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING POLICY (MINING, PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES) 2007

Media

Australia strikes it rich as oil majors scent big potential of coal-seam gas
Paul Larter, The Times, May 31, 2008
Blots on the landscape
Communities alarmed over coalbed methane drilling.
Pete Bowler The Guardian, Wednesday April 9, 2003
How green is our valley (Nov 28 2005)
Amid a mining boom, the Gunnedah coal basin is the new frontier, but not everyone wants to go there, writes Daniel Lewis in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Kevin Rudds buck passing reply to Dr James Hansen
Read the limp wristed reply from the Rudbot.
Letter to Kevin Rudd from James Hansen (Columbia Uni & NASA)
Letter from Dr James Hansen (Columbia University & NASA) to Kevin Rudd pleading for cessation of coal for energy without carbon capture and storage
NASA tells Barack Obama Australia is destroying earth with coal emissions
AUSTRALIA'S use of coal and carbon emissions policies are guaranteeing the "destruction of much of the life on the planet". Thanks Rudbot for permitting the destruction of places like The Wybong as you cuddle up to coal to keep your pesky little gonads warm. Another loser taking all of humanity with him.
Our North West Shelf
SOARING energy prices and greenhouse gas worries could turn the Hunter Region's coal seam methane reserves into an industry the size of Western Australia's famed North West Shelf.
Risk management applies to emissions too
Malcolm Maiden, The Age, July 19, 2008
Shell seeks more input into Canberra's emissions trading scheme
Jamie Freed, The Age, 19 July 2008
The Real Dirt
Read James Woodfords Eco thoughts.. the real dirt.
Wollombi coal seam methane gas exploration
Media release on NSW Greens website

Xstrata

A Pardon to Remember - Marc Rich
The history of the Presidential Pardon provided to Marc Rich - Corporate Criminal
Aborigines win court fight against Swiss miner
The Federal Court ruled the government did not follow the proper process when it approved the 110 million Australian dollar (74 million US dollar) project to expand the McArthur River Mine in northern Australia in late 2006.

Several kilometres (miles) of the McArthur River have already been diverted and the local Aboriginal group is now demanding that it be restored to its original course

Coal outlook dim as export prices tumble
The report comes days after Xstrata Coal locked in $US80 a tonne prices for Australian coal for the 2009 calendar year, a nearly 50 per cent drop on recent contracts it signed at $US155 a tonne for the year starting October 2008.
Company Profile of Xstrata
Over the past decade, Xstrata PLC has used a series of aggressive mergers to grow from an obscure investment vehicle into one of the planet's largest mining groups, with operations on six continents. Based in Switzerland and listed on the London and Zurich stock exchanges, it is one of the top producers of resources such as chrome, coal, copper, nickel and zinc. Following in the footsteps of older mining giants such as Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, Xstrata has become embroiled in controversies over its labor, environmental and human rights practices
(Questionable link status - May be broken)
Dark talk dogs Xstrata
Xstrata starts making big deals abroad, people start mentioning words far removed from mining, or from anything having to do with Mick Davis: Saddam Hussein, CIA, international fugitives, presidential pardons.
Glencore considers debt buyback
Debt Projections put Glencore at risk.. considering buying back debt to reduce massive future losses.
Merchants of Death: Exposing Corporate-financed Holocaust in Africa
A somewhat difficult to follow but probably with a a bit of truth somewhere, diatribe, on western corporate practices in Africa. Includes a paragraph toward the end naming Glencore (40% owner of Xstrata) as a noted player and arms supplier in the Angolan genocide.
Obamas teams has links to Marc Rich
More on the otherwise hidden link between Glencore, Xstrata and the Obama administration
Pardon my exception
More on the Presidential Pardon of Marc Rich and the links to the Obama administration.
Swiss Giant on the Edge
Glencore, 35% owner of Xstrata facing credit downgrading due to massive debt burden. Xstrata and other assets may face sale between 2010-2012 to save Glencore.
The Double Life of Marc Rich
The Double Life of Marc Rich - originator of Glencore and Xstrata - corporate criminal - CIA operator - Involvement in Iran Oilgate and Iraq Oil for Food Scandals - Presidential Pardon - Linked to Obama Administration
Who is Xstrata anyway?
Glencore, which controls 38 per cent of Xstrata, has a colourful past of its own. Formerly known as Marc Rich & Co. AG, it was founded by Marc Rich, the commodities trader who was indicted in the U.S. in 1983 on charges of evading more than $48-million (U.S.) in taxes. He left the country for Switzerland and was controversially pardoned by U.S. President Bill Clinton in 2001.
Xstrata Mangoola - CCC Minutes, Newsletters etc
Xstrata Mangoola Coal Consultative Committee Minutes, Newsletters & publications.
Xstrata Suspends Australia Coking Coal Mine
Mangoola early works have started. We have never put a start date on the project proper. More proof that the Early Works are designed ONLY to destroy the ecological and biodiversity values of the site to prevent future re-evaluation while the mine proper is mothballed indefinitely. Evil Stinking Xstrata Eco Terrorists.