In March a monster cyclone battered North Queensland before tracking a devastating path toward the sparkling waters of Ningaloo reef in Western Australia.
Across the country, Australians held their breath. Ningaloo reef, known for its colourful corals, majestic whale sharks and rich marine ecosystems, had barely started to recover from last year’s mass coral bleaching event.
We watched as news outlets and Exmouth locals shared clips of the brewing Cyclone Narelle, trees swaying precariously, sandbags tucked up against doorways, and an ominous wall of grey sweeping in.
The aftermath was gut-wrenching. The tiny bodies of turtle hatchlings lined up on the sand; entire nests wiped out. Houses flattened by falling trees, and dead dolphins washed up on local beaches. Teary locals shared videos on their social media platforms, showing the devastation.
Scenes like those after Cyclone Narelle are becoming all too common. While a warming climate doesn’t mean more cyclones, it does increase the severity of cyclones like Narelle. Warmer, wetter weather impacts the behaviour of cyclones, rendering them far more dangerous and destructive.
Ecosystems like Ningaloo and the Great Barrier reef are suffocating in warming oceans and being destroyed by disasters driven by climate pollution from fossil fuels like gas.
Big Gas would have us believe that gas is cleaner than coal and just ‘a part of our Aussie way of life’. The reality is that burning gas is heating our planet and fuelling more extreme weather.
Big Gas are spinning a fairytale that infiltrates our living rooms, our dinner conversations and even our local sports teams.
The reality is that burning gas is heating our planet and fuelling more extreme weather.
“Big Gas know how to spread their propaganda far and wide,” said Piper Rollins, ACF’s Climate and Energy Exports campaigner.
Woodside is even using Western Australian children as billboards, paying to put their logo on little kids’ Nippers uniforms in an attempt to make them seem family-friendly, or part of our way of life, when nothing could be further from the truth.
“The irony is that Woodside is putting these same kids’ lives at risk by pushing for massive new gas projects that will only make the climate crisis – and their lives – worse.”
For too long, Big Gas has been drilling and destroying our beautiful country for profit, threatening our precious places and wildlife and fueling climate disasters.
Australians deserve the truth, not a carefully spun story designed to distract from Big Gas greed.
The good news is together we’re cutting through the spin and exposing the truth about how harmful gas truly is, for our environment, for our wallets, and for our futures.
Over 40,000 people have already signed our petition for no new coal and gas. In March ACF joined the chorus of voices calling for a 25% war profits tax on all Australian gas exports.
Big Gas is powerful, but together we are taking them on. This fight isn’t about just one thing. It’s about protecting places like Ningaloo. It’s about protecting precious threatened species. It’s about protecting the future for our children and grandchildren.
We needed voices to save our reefs, and you responded
The Albanese government opened up public consultation on Woodside’s controversial Browse Gas Project and Australians responded.
Over 19,500 people sent a clear message to the government that the climate and environmental impacts of Woodside’s Browse Gas Project are unacceptable and we want the Albanese Government to save the Great Barrier Reef, Scott Reef and the nature we all love.
View the submissionThank you for being part of this fight. We couldn’t do it without you.