About 100 Tasmanians have so far signed up to join an anti-Adani coal mine road convoy which organisers say will be bigger than the protest to stop the damming of the Franklin River.
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Environmentalist and former Australian Greens leader Bob Brown says if the Adani coal mine goes ahead a peaceful protest convoy will leave Hobart on April 17 bound for Queensland’s Galilee Basin and then back to Canberra ahead of the federal election.
“In the run to the 1983 election, the Franklin blockade and a change of mind by Labor, saw Bob Hawke elected and the dam stopped,” Dr Brown said.
“Now that’s an economic, employment and environmental win for Tasmania and Australia.
“Stopping Adani is the same.”
Dr Brown said thousands of people joined the Franklin blockade and hundreds were arrested and he expected many Australians would join the convoy which would travel through Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
He said the Federal and Queensland governments should not tick off the mine and Labor would be foolish to support it.
“Bloomberg says this is the most contentious coal mine on earth,” Dr Brown said.
“Climate change is the big vote changer.
“Adani is a litmus test for common sense in this age of global heating.”
Dr Brown said 1100 people,including 100 Tasmanians, had already expressed interest in joining the convoy which will be led by electric cars and other vehicles.
“We’re well aware that we’re going to cop it from people saying ‘look they’re burning fossil fuels’ well we can’t stop breathing either.”
Adani Mining says 14,500 people have registered to work for the mine.
“We ask activists from interstate to respect the thousands of people across regional Queensland who want the Carmichael Project to proceed because they need a job and understand the contribution that mining makes to both the state and national economy," an Adani spokeswoman said.
“After more than eight years of rigorous scientific assessment, regulatory approvals and legal reviews, the community can be confident that the project stacks up environmentally."