The Public Environment Report for TS11 is now calling for comments by December 10. This report is NOT an Enivronmental Impact Statement and has no legal standing. It is a greenwashing excercise by the military. It serves to distract the public from the fact that under Australia’s foremost environmental law, the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999), war games are exempt from usual assessment procedures.
We ask you to please write a short letter in opposition to the war games.
Important points include:
- The ‘temporary’ nature of the protection given by the GBR Marine Park
- the faulty nature of the EPBC Act regarding exemptions for military
- the important environmental values of rare seagrass beds, presence of many endangered species including dugong, green sea turtles, leatherback turtles, humpback whales and as a fish refugia; proximity to RAMSAR listed wetlands and migratory bird habitat protected by Japanese Australian Migratory Birds Agreement, the China Australia Migratory Birds Agreement
- the abysmal track record of the US DoD regarding environmental management, being exempt from a raft of US laws
- the the known chemical toxicity in the environment of commonly used munitions
- the inadequate assessment of nuclear risk
- the increased likelihood of Australian involvement in U.S. led wars as a result of increasing cooperation with U.S. forces and access to Australian military facilities and ports
- the increased risk to Australian security as a result of this tight alliance
- the ongoing travesty of human deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan as a result of the alliance
For more info on why we oppose these war games please read our environmental assessment prepared by Friends of the Earth http://www.peaceconvergence.com/environment-2/
For the entire PER and how to respond go to www.talismansabre2011.com.au/