Burn the books! Stop the learning!

Oh noes! The people are thinking for themselves.

We have to stop it.

Oh hang on, we live in a democracy? Don’t we? Shhhhh. Maybe no one will notice.

Today we are feeling all loved, and getting all the warm fuzzies after becoming the new favourite pin ups (sorry, targets) of the Minerals Council of Australia and the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) who are having all sorts of tantrums over the fact that we provide EDUCATION and TRAINING to grassroots activists.

BURN THE WITCH. SHE IS SHARING KNOWLEDGE.

They have provided detailed evidence, including numerous snapshots of this very website in their submissions to the parliamentary enquiry into the tax deductible status of Environment groups.

In 2013-14 CounterAct earned under $15 000 in tax deductible donations via our affiliation with Friends of the Earth. It doesn’t seem at all a disproportionate response to come after a tiny affiliate group of Friends of the Earth when you receive BILLIONS in mining subsidies from your mates who called the inquiry, and tried to get the 730 report to attack us in the first place.

Oh, and incidentally the parliament website – the one our tax dollars maintains, is having trouble dealing with all the interest in this issue and isn’t able to keep up the demand. So, sorry if you can’t access it to see what all the fuss is about. They must be busy looking through all our metadata.

Please excuse the brief and irreverent nature of this post. We have other work to do today apart from being attacked by the most powerful industry in the land. We’ll let you know how to help more in future.

In the meantime, Happy World Environment Day. All our love and respect to the people who speak for the trees… and the animals… and our precious places.We have been blessed to work with and support communities defending the beautiful natural and cultural heritage of the Kimberley, with farmers who want to understand their rights and how to protect themselves from their water being poisoned…and right now we are training a wonderful contingent with the Change Course – people protecting roadside trees, working for a safe climate, for animals, and for so much more.

We will continue to stand strong in working with you to defend our environment when our government refuses to.

If you’d like to help us continue our work supporting environment groups whilst it is still tax deductible – please donate here. We need all the help we can.

Thanks

Nicola, For CounterAct, and people who love sharing knowledge everywhere