Rocky Hill

Rocky Hill

Come listen to this tale of those who blazed a trail

To a better day

It’s the story of a town that wouldn’t take it lying down

When Big Coal came their way

When GRL moved in they put Gloucester in a spin

With their plan to mine Rocky Hill

But some townsfolk they said “no, this coal mine’s not the go

We won’t bend to their will

“This open cut they’ve planned would put a scar across our land

And a blight upon our earth

It’s the wrong place and wrong time for this Rocky Hill coal mine

It’ll cost more than it’s worth

We’ll build a groundswell, say no to GRL

We’ll shout out loud and strong

It’s the wrong place and wrong time for this Rocky Hill coal mine

Leave our town alone”

So they rolled out all their banners, roused their knitting Nanas

Took their message to the street

They called politicians, wrote petitions and submissions

Made GRL feel the heat

Then the dreaded PAC said “even we agree

Now we’ve listened to your case

We’ve clearly understood that the bad outweighs the good

This mine is out of place”

But GRL said “wait, we won’t let you lock this gate

We’re taking this to court”

So between the grey walls of Law’s hallowed halls

The battle was finally fought

When the judge had heard the facts, and considered the impacts

He said “It’s clear to me

It’s the wrong place and wrong time for this Rocky Hill coal mine

I’m not going to let it be”

So the little mouse that roared beat the Big Coal overlord

And showed it can be done

When the people use their might to fight for what is right

Our future can be won

Now that spirit carries on, from Gloucester to Bylong
As we climb our rocky slope
Let's celebrate and then let's get marching once again
Up our Rocky Hill of hope

And though that rocky road ahead might fill us all with dread

There’s an Earth that needs our care

It’s the wrong place and wrong time for any new coal mine

There’s Rocky Hills everywhere

Yeah Rocky Hill’s everywhere

Oh Rocky Hill’s everywhere

------------------------------------------------

Background:

This song was inspired by the great victory (in February 2019) of the campaign waged by the Gloucester community (led by Groundswell Gloucester) against the open cut coal mine proposed by GRL (Gloucester Resources Limited) at Rocky Hill, a short distance from the Gloucester township in the NSW Hunter Valley.

The coal mine was first rejected by the NSW Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) in December 2017 (the PAC was notorious for its previous "rubber stamp" approach to approving developments that came before it, including major coal industry developments such as the T4 development in Newcastle).

GRL appealed this decision in the NSW Land and Environment Court. In a landmark decision handed down in February 2019, Chief Justice Preston rejected GRL's appeal, stating that the Rocky Hill proposal was "in the wrong place at the wrong time".

The second last verse of the song was added to the original song after the NSW IPC (Independent Planning Commission) rejected the proposed Bylong coal mine (also in the NSW Hunter Valley) in September 2019.


Below is a condensed chronology of the Rocky Hill Coal Mine issue (the song is an even more condensed history). A more detailed history is available on the Environmental Law Australia website.


2012 (18 December): Gloucester Resources Limited (an 80% foreign owned coal company made up ) proposes an open cut coal mine about 5kms south of the town centre of Gloucester, in the NSW Hunter Valley. The proposed mine site is in a scenic area within a conservation zone, and less than 1km from residents. The estimated production of the mine would be 21 million tonnes over 16 years.

Local residents opposed to the mine form Groundswell Gloucester to organise the campaign against it (the exact date of the formation of GG is unclear).

2015 (April - June): GRL is advised by the state government that their original Rocky Hill application would be rejected and puts the proposal on hold.

2016 (11 August): GRL submits amended Rocky Hill application.

2017 (14 December): The NSW Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) rejects GRL's amended application, saying that "the possible benefits would be outweighed by the detriment to the quality of life for residents near the mine site caused by visual impacts from the project and potential risks associated with an increase in noise and air quality impacts..."

2017 (19 December): GRL lodges appeal in the NSW Land and Environment Court against the PAC decision to reject the mine.

2018 (23 April): Land and Environment Court accepts Gloucester Groundswell's application for standing as a party to the proceedings. This was very significant because the legal case was GRL v the NSW Government, and GG signalled their intention to raise climate change as one of the reasons that the court should reject GRL's proposal, which they subsequently did.

2019 (8 February): Chief Justice Brian Preston rejects GRL's appeal, saying that the mine proposal is in "the wrong place (because of its local impacts) at the wrong time (due to climate change). In his judgement, Judge Preston CJ said: 

'In short, an open cut coal mine in this part of the Gloucester valley would be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Wrong place because an open cut coal mine in this scenic and cultural landscape, proximate to many people’s homes and farms, will cause significant planning, amenity, visual and social impacts. Wrong time because the GHG emissions of the coal mine and its coal product will increase global total concentrations of GHGs at a time when what is now urgently needed, in order to meet generally agreed climate targets, is a rapid and deep decrease in GHG emissions. These dire consequences should be avoided. The Project should be refused.'

The judgement is regarded as a landmark one because - for the first time in an Australian court - climate change impacts formed part of the reason for refusing a coal mine development.

2019 (18 September): The NSW Independent Planning Commission (which replaced the PAC in 2018) refuses the proposed Bylong coal mine (a much bigger mine than Rocky Hill), referring extensively to Chief Justice Preston's Rocky Hill judgement in their statement of reasons for their decision.

The Curse of the May Poll

The Curse of the May Poll

A light satirical piece on Morris Dancing, composed as an entry in the Chorus Cup challenge at the 2019 St Albans Folk Festival (25-28 April).
Competition organisers set the Morris Dancing theme at the festival, and the song had to be composed and performed during the festival in accordance with various competition rules.
The song was performed on the Sunday of the festival by "The Merry May Pollsters", who formed for the performance from the members of "Sweet Songs and Soft Guitar" (Kathy and Matt Clark) and "Tripple Effect" (Carrie and Lynden Jacobi, and Len McCarthy).
Their performance won the 2019 Chorus Cup.
The tune to which it was sung was based on Bob Dylan's "Song to Woody", though the tune to the traditional folk song "One Morning in May" also works well.
The reference to "a Fossickers' song" is to a moment during a performance the previous day by The Fossickers in the main venue of the St Albans festival, when the members of the Fossickers suddenly broke from singing and leapt from the stage to Morris dance with their friends.

1

The Devil hates folkies, we all know it well

But there’s devilry hidden that this song will tell

How he sent forth a demon, Morris his name,

To torture all folkies and bring them all pain

CHORUS: (Clap, clap, ....)

2

Morris he pondered, he looked and he saw

“Those folkies are singing and having a ball

The rack and the screw, the lash and the choke

They’re all too soft for these people of folk

The pain they must suffer, it has to be worse

I’ll have to invent the ultimate curse.”

CHORUS: (Clap, clap....)

3

So a maypole he planted in the midst of a green

And about it he wove his diabolical scheme

“I’ll make up a dance that looks like a game

I’ll make folkies prance and give it my name

CHORUS: (Clap, clap...)

4

I’ll make them dress up and wave flags in the air

And they’ll weave a curse to make others stare.

And to make sure I cover all possible hells

I’ll make them bang clap sticks and jingle their bells”

CHORUS: To make sure he covered all possible hells

He made them bang clap sticks and jingle their bells

5

So they pranced and they danced, they kicked and they twirled

Till their evil engulfed the whole Folkie world

Till one day at St Albans the whole thing went wrong

When they tried to take over a Fossickers’ song.

CHORUS: (Clap, clap, bang clapsticks and jingle our bells)

That day at St Albans we saw through the scheme

That day at St Albans when they made it The Theme.

(Clap, clap, bang clapsticks and jingle their bells)

6

So the curse has now eased, but it happens perchance

That Morris left a curse even worse than his dance

The last fiendish curse that May poll has spun

Is the spawn of old Morris: Scotty, his son.

CHORUS: (Clap, clap, bang clapsticks and jingle their bells)

7

So from clapsticks to claptrap that curse has now swung

And for every good Folkie there’s a cause to be won

For the curse of the May poll can be finally undone

If we use the next May poll {on the 18th of May} to scotch Morris’ son

CHORUS:

Let’s use that next May poll to scotch Morrison.

(Clap, clap, bang clapsticks and jingle their bells)