Clermont community slams decision on anti-Adani protesters

A coal mining community is up in arms – with some people vowing to vote against its council at the next election – after it greenlit a controversial move by protesters.

A COAL mining community is up in arms — with some people vowing to vote against its council — after an anti-Adani convoy was given the green light to camp at the local showgrounds.

Isaac Regional Council has approved Bob Brown Foundation’s application to hire the Clermont Showgrounds for two nights, where protesters will camp.

The group will need to pay the council $25,000 in bonds, which its campaign manager Jenny Weber said was unusual.

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In a statement posted to the council’s Facebook page this week, chief executive officer Gary Stevenson PSM said council understood members of the community may have strong feelings about the decision.

The post garnered more than 60 comments, with the majority of people slamming the council for ignoring the community’s roots.

“An absolutely appalling decision. Council is elected to represent the community but in this case they have completely ignored the concerns of the overwhelming majority of the community,” one man wrote.

Another woman said it was a bad move.

“We will remember this when it’s time to elect new councillors,” she wrote.

The anti-Adani convoy is leaving Hobart on April 17 and will make its way up to Clermont by April 27.

Bob Brown in Hobart. Picture: Eddie Safarik

The convoy is expected to stay at the showgrounds for two nights, with a “special event Galilee area” planned for April 28.

Ms Weber said the group would have to fundraise for the $25,000, but was confident of paying it.

“It is an unusual situation for us, as peaceful citizens, to be providing indemnity against Adani backers’ potential destructiveness,” she said.

“Our presence in Clermont as everywhere along the way will be to celebrate nature, not least the Great Barrier Reef, and for the future security for the planet.”

Mayor Anne Baker told The Courier-Mail council respected people’s right to protest.

“But to be absolutely clear, council’s position on the broader issue of mining is firmly in step with our community, not this convoy,” she said.

“We are a proud resources region, our communities are home to proud mining families and we are absolutely proud of the role our region is playing in helping to energise the world.”

CFMEU Mining and Energy Mackay president Stephen Smyth said the convoy wanted to be met with hostility.

“That’s how they (protesters) operate best,” he said.

“You’re going into a mining community.

“I wouldn’t have open arms for them, they’re against everything that the people in mining areas stand for.

“They mightn’t be served in local shops.”

Originally published as Clermont community slams decision on anti-Adani protesters