I'm in Perth at the moment, at the end of the Australian tour of a new documentary 'Mine Your Own Business'. In the film, British journalist Phelim McAleer meets up with an unemployed 23-year-old Romanian miner Gheorge Lucian and together they explore a mine site in Rosia Montana before travelling together to Madagascar and Chile where environmental campaigining by western activists has prevented other mines going ahead. An underlying theme is that misguided environmental activism has stopped mining projects that would have brought jobs and opportunity to impoverished communities.
The film, produced by New Bera media in conjunction with the Moving Picture Institute in New York (a not for profit dedicated to advancing liberty through the medium of film), will go to film festivals next year and then hopefully into the cinemas. But this last week the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) sponsored the film's Australian preview with one-off screenings in Melbourne, Hobart, Sydney and Perth.
After each screening there has been time for questions and discussion with Phelim and also Ann McElhinney, his partner and the film's executive producer. In every city there have been some angry environmentalists in the audience letting us know that they disapproved of the documentary.
In Sydney a woman said that mining was a 200 year old technology that should be abandoned. Phelim followed up with comment that it was actually atleast a 2,000 year old activity and that mining technologies had changed and improved dramatically including over the last 20 years.
Ann followed on with comment that any one who lives in Sydney and is against mining is "living a lie". She explained how mining provides the infrastructure and energy that we all use everyday.
Was the woman, who clearly stated as part of the discussion that she was "against mining", living a lie or plain ignorant?
I know educated Australian women who are against logging, but use paper. I know women who are against mining, but couldn't live without their gold jewellery. I know women who are against irrigation but expect an abundance of fruits, vegetables and affordable wine.
While in Sydney Phelim McAleer caught a bus, watched a movie and logged onto the internet. All activities that couldn't happen without mining.
Here's Phelim in front of the Sydney Harbor Bridge - another product of mining.
Pinxi, sitting in lotus position states,
“but you better be careful what you say if you're gunna boast about sticking to the 'facts'”.
The Australian Conservation Foundation stated around 1989, when referring to logging in East Gippsland, that,
“If we do not stop logging at the current rate there will be no trees left in 10 years.” Facts?
At this point the ACF was close to membership collapse.
Kirner provided them with community funding worth around $250,000 (for ‘educational’ purposes) and ‘saved’ them.
Not long after that, one of their campaigns involved encouraging the public to get involved in choosing the color of the trams in Melbourne, as a community involvement type of thingy. Facts?
At around this time I was in touch with the ACF over the issue of eductor gold dredging (of which they were totally opposed) trying to reach a collaborative relationship. I tried to educate them with facts on the issue. It was impossible.
Oddly, they wouldn’t listen, however they did take everything that was presented to them and inverted the argument/fact to negative spin. Regardless.
When I later pointed out to them that they had not put a submission forward to the Parlimentary Inquiry into EGDing, with a wry smile I was told “They did not have the time” but “we did send a letter of thank you to the ALP (Kirner)”. Facts?
And also, after getting a little more aquainted with there water spokesman, I asked “when are you going to stop exaggerating so many of the issues you raise or elements within the issue because in the longer run it’s probably going to have the opposite effect on the environment? It’s obvious to me that you are doing this for publicity”
His reply was to acknowledge that a lot of their methodology revolved around ‘ramping up the threat’ and that, yes, we would stop it one day………..they haven’t. It’s got worse. (That was 1991).
Now Pinxi I’m just a redneck from the bush with a little life experience, whereis groups like the ACF have stuck their collective hands up to be an ‘official’ save our environment representative. So I would say you should get in contact with the ACF, understand their ‘duty of care’ compared to a redneck like myself and see if they (like myself) know everything.
Now Pinxi, I suppose you have to take my word (at this stage) for what I just typed (and I suggest you won’t) but it is a fact.
Pinky promise you won’t tell anybody though?