Gift of the GAB Tour Starts

Denise and Kathy - their first selfie

We are two women in our sixties, Denise and Kathy. Tomorrow we set off on a road trip to rural areas in NSW and Queensland, which rely on water from the GAB.

Many people believe that this water, the ‘Gift of the GAB’, may be under threat from pollution caused by mining. While governments say we need coal and coal seam gas (CSG), communities say they don’t want it.

The areas we will be visiting are on the south eastern part of the GAB, recharge areas, where the water is mainly used for watering stock in dry times. Bores drilled into the GAB also supply towns with water. These areas of productive farmland are where international mining companies have built infrastructure to pipe gas to nearby local markets and to export facilities.

Mining, a big water user, produces waste water which is difficult to remove salts and chemicals from. Farmers concerns include -

1. The GAB’s water may become contaminated;

2. The GAB’s water level will drop and pumping water to the surface will be too costly;

3. Waste water from mines will seep onto their farms and they will not be allowed to sell their stock.

Mining companies and governments claim that everything is safely monitored and regulations are in place to stop pollution. But we keep hearing otherwise. As we live in different areas of NSW, and both areas have CSG exploration licences over them, we want to see for ourselves the effects mining has on people, communities and the environment.

‘I am passionate about the conservation of three Australian Greats,’ said Kathy. ‘The Great Artesian Basin which provides much needed water to many Australians, including the people living where I grew up; the Great Barrier Reef where I snorkelled, dived and sailed when living in the Whitsundays; and the Greater Blue Mountains National Park which surrounds the area where I currently live. I am fortunate to have lived in some marvellous places, including cities, but I am a farmer’s daughter and I learnt the value of water when I was very young.’

‘I am also passionate about the natural environment,’ said Denise. ‘I was bought up in the quintessential English village and then became an urban dweller in London and New York. Then I eventually had a baptism of fire in Darwin in 1974 and worked in order to save money and for a few years I owned some land in North NSW. I then lived in Sydney for many years and had a very corporate career. I have returned to the Northern Rivers where I am a volunteer for the community radio station. I hope to convey a dialogue for those interested as we are, just ordinary gals with no agenda and wish to glean information on what is really happening in the areas we will visit. We hope to share that and question folk about their opinions. I trust you will share this blog with as many interested parties throughout the world. We really don’t want to leave contaminated water as a legacy to the next generations.’

We met in our early twenties in Sydney but rarely saw each other for twenty years as we lived in different parts of Australia. Since the 1990s we have seen more of each other but we have never travelled together and we are not tech savvy. We share common interests; art, sailing and travel. We discuss books, films and politics. We enjoy meeting new people, having a laugh, eating good food and drinking red wine. Apart from sailing, we hope to enjoy all these things on our trip.