Email from Lock The Gate Alliance
The Lock The Gate Forum held in Broke this past Sunday was a big success. Thank-you to all who were able to make it. And thank-you to all who have written to extend their apologies and offers to continue assisting in moving activities forward.
This is the first of a few emails I will be sending out to you all. This email provides a brief overview of the key takeaways from the meeting. I will be sending out further details in the subsequent emails, so please be sure to read through them all.
An updated copy of the powerpoint presentation used at the forum is available for download at http://lockthegate.org.au/documents/doc-262-forum2---for-distribution-ppt.pdf
Feel free to distribute this email and the subsequent emails.
Please remind everyone to demonstrate their support by signing up as a member organization or individual supporter at www.lockthegate.org.au
The forum was a call-to-action for all communities to participate in the prioritization, planning and execution of the Lock The Gate project activities.
The key goals of the forum were:
To prioritize project for the Lock The Gate alliance
To assemble teams to plan and execute the projects
To set goals and timelines for each project
The following current projects have been affirmed for the Alliance in the coming weeks:
1. Communications Campaign
- this will involve getting the message for the Alliance spread far and wide through stickers, posters, updated web activities and any other forms of direct communication we can muster. Everyone is encouraged to take advantage of the print material and the opportunity to add Lock The Gate to your existing print material.
2. GASLAND Campaign
- this is an ongoing campaign to get as many people as possible to see the movie GASLAND. Showings are scheduled at cinemas across NSW and QLD almost daily alongside many individual community groups sponsoring their own local showings.
3. 9-March-2011: Human Health Impacts of Open-Cut Coal Mining and Coal Seam Gas Mining Forum
- a panel of Australian and international experts will be presenting the evidence regarding human health impacts from these industries on Wednesday 9-March-2011 in Sydney - more details to follow.
4. 20-March-2011: Sydney Public Rally
- mark this date on your calendar - we hope to see thousands attend this important rally to take our message to our politicians, the media and the broader public.
5. 29-April through 3-May 2011: Queensland National Action
- a seminal event in Tara, Queensland, building awareness of the scale of the issues being dealt with by communities across Australia. Four days of workshops, displays, forums, entertainment and direct action. Tours of the local gas fields are scheduled, including the opportunity to get a view from overhead. Please plan to attend - the key days for those traveling from far afield will be Saturday 1-May and Sunday 2-May.
6. Case File
- a growing group of volunteers, backed by accredited legal, medical and scientific expert vollunteers, is building the Lock The Gate case file to support our call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry. The case file will provide briefs and summaries on a wide variety of topics relating to these industries referencing an incredible breadth of research and fact-based evidence. In some topic areas, teams of recognized experts have taken up the challenge of undertaking topic specific research to fill in the gaps.
7. Political Engagement
- a letter writing campaign is getting underway in order to help spread the message to politicians at all levels of government. The immediate priority is to solicit the opinions of individual candidates running in the NSW election.
In parallel to the above, the Lock The Gate strategy document is undergoing some refinement. Expect it to be ready by the end of next week. If you have further thoughts on our go-forward strategy, please email them to strategy@lockthegate.org.au
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John C Thomson
Lock The Gate Alliance
mobile: +61 (0)428 439 586
email: john.thomson@lockthegate.org.au
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