Environment News
From "Maple Street Co-op News", Aug/Sep 2005
Maleny's Community Spirit
by Lori Sturtz
Protesters began to gather well before dawn on Tuesday 12 July, and
stood like sentries on the lookout for an approaching threat. Slowly
but surely their numbers increased, and they greeted newcomers and nervously
tried to lighten the mood with joking banter. Just before first light,
sirens pierced the quiet and at least 130 police officers stormed into
Maleny. "Operation Foundation" had begun.
Police officers physically removed protesters from Camp Platypus on
the supermarket site, which many had called home in the weeks leading
up to this confrontation. This exercise cost taxpayers an estimated
$140,000 (over three days) to remove and keep out concerned citizens
from the site of a future Woolworths that most Maleny residents do not
want. Since when did social activism become confused with terrorism?
This number of police is usually employed for large and potentially
violent crowds and would seem very heavy-handed for a peaceful protest
in a small town like Maleny – as has been proved with increasing
numbers of protesters and fewer numbers of police in most of the recent
weekend rallies and marches.
Some protesters referred to 12 July as "Day One" instead of
"the Final Day" or "the Last Stand" at Camp Platypus.
As the excavators moved in, it was as if the hearts of the protesters
were being ripped apart – and so was the heart of Maleny. They
stood behind an intimidating, stony-faced wall of blue and watched,
cried, screamed and bellowed for the destruction to stop, but to no
avail.
At some point, the mood of the crowd began to change. Hopelessness and
despair soon turned to defiance, strength and unity. These feelings
have persisted and the Maleny protest has gathered much strength and
support in the ensuing weeks, as many more residents and businesspeople
realise just what is at stake in our town. Yet Camp Platypus will stay
in the hearts of those who were part of it, whether physically or in
spirit, and it remains a symbol of a growing movement against corporate
power and greed.
On Thursday 14 July, Greg Quinn, MD of Hutchinson Builders and a director
of site owner Uniton Pty Ltd, said the community could have the land
for $2 million – if we could come up with the cash within 24 hours.
So an amazing fund-raising marathon was set in motion and the money
flowed in from community supporters here and farther afield. On Saturday
16 July, with hundreds of residents waiting outside the gate, community
representatives tried to present the cheque to Greg Quinn – but
he relayed the message that Woolworths would not accept the offer and
the deal was off.
As the news spread, people stood in shock and disbelief until a raised
voice declared, "Let's march". And so hundreds marched up
Maple Street and back again, chanting "We won't, we won't shop
there!" as people in cafés and shops clapped and cheered
and even rang bells. When protesters were up the street and away from
the site, Mr Quinn chose this opportunity to slip out of town quietly,
avoiding a confrontation.
Support for the Maleny protest has come from diverse parts of the community,
including the traditional owners of the land, as well as from southeast
Queensland and all over Australia. It's even been heard that several
Native American tribes are drumming and chanting for our cause.
Maleny locals are trying to protect a very special place from a huge
corporation that refuses to listen to the majority of people in the
town. A recent poll done for the Range News by an independent market
research company found that 79% of its sample of Maleny residents oppose
a Woolies on the Obi Obi site. The main reasons given were traffic chaos,
adverse local business impact and environmental concerns.
State of surveillance
Queensland's Nature Conservation Act states that the platypus must be
protected. A geological study conducted in July found eight burrows
that extend 25 to 30 metres into the footprint of the proposed supermarket.
Anyone who injures a platypus or damages its habitat can be taken to
court.
Hutchinson's Greg Quinn still seems to think there are no platypuses
at the site, even though many of the police and protesters have seen
them swimming in the adjacent creek on numerous occasions. He also seems
to make no connection between platypuses and burrows. The Range
News (28 July) had an amusing take on this with a cover photo of
Daniel Jones (bunya tree superman) in the platypus suit, trying to dodge
a policeman after jumping the site fence. He was arrested, and the suit
(named "Obi") continues to be held as evidence ahead of the
court case, though efforts are being made to have Obi returned.
This campaign has come up against camouflaged surveillance cameras,
alleged mobile phone taps, hidden agendas, false accusations, threats
and conspiracy theories. Five hidden cameras were found by protesters
and a few of them had wires leading into Maleny Hotel ("Heart of
the Hinterland") next door (rumour has it that Woolworths may now
be a part-owner). One protester made a bunch of mock cameras (covered
in lichen, like the real ones) and protesters installed them along the
site fence, much to the chagrin of one policeman who thought they were
real. (One of these mock cams can be seen in the Co-op window that Sue
Verstraten designed.)
In recent weeks, a surveillance camera high up on the telegraph pole
outside the Bunya Street site has been watching all pedestrian and traffic
movements, linked up to a monitor at Landsborough Police Station (one
protester saw a group of police gathered around it when he looked in
past the door). Who needs to watch Big Brother when we now have our
own reality show right here in Maleny!
A SLAPP in the face
Several protesters including Daniel Jones and also Platypus Group spokesperson
Jon Woodlands have been arrested and at least 11 have been issued with
letters from Hutchinson's solicitors, threatening writs against them
for losses and damages exceeding $4 million. Greg Quinn told ABC Radio's
JJJ (26 July), when asked if he would be issuing more writs, that he
also had data on many other protesters.
These threatened writs are examples of SLAPPs – Strategic Lawsuits
Against Public Participation – and they are increasingly being
used to prevent individuals and groups from expressing opposing points
of view. The purpose of these SLAPP lawsuits is to harass, intimidate,
punish, distract and cause financial loss, personal and emotional stress,
division and diversion. SLAPPs could deprive us of liberties such as
freedom of speech and our right to peaceful protest, which are the cornerstones
of our democracy.
The most high-profile SLAPP case in Australia is the defamation action
by forestry company Gunns against 20 environmental organisations and
activists. Justice Bongiorno adjourned the case on 18 July, describing
Gunns' writ as "unintelligible" and "embarrassing"
and stating that it would be "unfair to the defendants to require
them to plead to this…Statement of Claim". He also described
it as "at best ambiguous and at worst misleading". Gunns has
until 18 August to lodge an Amended Statement in its multimillion-dollar
case against The Wilderness Society and 19 others. (For more information
on SLAPPs, go to the website www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/sbeder/SLAPPs.html.)
However, SLAPPs are not restricted to environmentalists and activists.
They are most often used against ordinary middle-class citizens who
are concerned about their local environment and who don't have the support
or funding that expert environmentalists in large organisations may
have.
In the ACT, Greens MP Deb Foskey has introduced a bill against SLAPPs:
Amendment Bill 2005 (Protection of Public Participation). She says:
"The best way to deal with SLAPPs is to try to make sure that the
law provides an even playing field and discourages the rich and powerful
from using the law as a sledgehammer."
The campaign expands
The anti-Woolworths protest in Maleny has gone national in the media
(7.30 Report; Radio National) and with a dramatic full-page
ad headed "Don't Shop There" in the Weekend Australian
(23–24 July), authorised by Steven Lang of Rosetta Books. It lifted
morale and empowered protesters at a time when so many were feeling
discouraged. The inclusion of the MalenyVoice.com website address means
that thousands more people around Australia are now tuned in to this
issue.
At the 650-strong rally held on 30 July, Steven Lang said that we could
change Woolworths' profits by 5% just by getting 150,000 Woolies shoppers
to stop shopping there. He also noted that the Obi Obi site development
is 2,400 square metres in area and in order to be successful it must
turn over $12,500 per square metre annually, which is about $30 million.
This is more than the total of all the money spent by Maleny people
on groceries here and at the coast every year!
Maleny protesters continue to find creative ways to educate others about
this campaign, and are committed to remaining non-violent and non-destructive.
For example, people in their droves are joining the "WOT"
(Woolworths Operation Trolley) Campaign and are targeting Woolworths
stores all over the Sunshine Coast, in Brisbane and interstate. They
are filling up trolleys with non-perishable items and leaving them in
the supermarket with information about the Maleny protest. Copies of
the Range News cover story of 28 July have been photocopied
and left in Woolies trolleys and on windscreens in customer carparks.
Some critics say there are more important causes to support, but it
is important to remember that no cause is too small and that standing
up to domineering corporations, developers and governments sends a very
powerful message to them. Let's keep rocking their foundations!
Further References
• www.malenyvoice.com;
www.abc.net.au;
www.findlaw.com.au; www.wilderness.org.au
[From "Maple Street Co-op News", Aug/Sep 2005; published by
The Maple Street Co-operative Society Ltd, 37 Maple Street, Maleny,
Qld 4552, Australia, tel (07) 5494 2088, email maplest.co-op@serv
.net.au,
website http://www.maplestreetco-op.com.au]