News release: Australian campaigners visit Manchester to share secret to beating the fracking industry
Manchester Friends of the Earth, Frack Free Greater Manchester and Central Lancashire Friends of the Earth are inviting people to a special screening of ‘The Bentley Effect’ Movie – A Message of Hope, 3pm, Saturday 27th May at the Central Methodist Hall, Manchester. (1)
The film details how the idyllic Northern Rivers of New South Wales, Australia, came under threat from invasive industrial gasfields. It explores how a community came together in order to protect their land, livelihoods and futures. Masses of people from all walks of life – activists, farmers, landowners, Indigenous people, mums & dads, scientists – organised themselves to rally against the unconventional gas firms.
A series of dramatic blockades ensued, before the final battle lines were drawn in the peaceful farming valley of Bentley. What happened next was unprecedented and set a historic turning point.
Fracking is set to be a key political issue in the General Election 2017 – with the Green Party, Labour Party and Liberal Democrats all clearly opposing fracking (2) whilst the Conservative Party has announced support for fracking and changes to the planning requirements (3) that Greenpeace have argued would mean:
“Exploratory drilling for shale gas will be subject to the same level of planning permission as a boundary wall in your back-garden, or a new window on your roof.” (4)
This film will resonate with local communities in Greater Manchester where licences have been issued for shale gas exploration and in Lancashire where despite the opposition of the local community the national Government overruled the decision by Lancashire County Council to refuse the planning application by Cuadrilla to drill for shale gas at the Preston New Road site.
Simon Clough, former Deputy Mayor of Lismore City who is travelling with the film, said: “We were faced with the Coal Bed Methane industry with a licence to produce gas destroying our farmland, our stunning rural landscapes and our water and air quality. So we built a coalition of farmers, environmentalists, first nation people and average citizens to protect the region we all loved.”
Emma Ackerley, Manchester Friends of the Earth campaigner said:
“With fracking companies snapping up licences to drill across large swathes of Greater Manchester in the coming years, this is the ideal time to hear the inspiring story of how communities in Australia came together to protect their homes and the environment from the dirty and dangerous unconventional gas industry.
Over 30 local communities throughout the UK are working with award winning film Director Brendan Shoebridge to bring his motivational message of climate justice to the UK. Local community groups opposing fracking will be holding film screenings across the country including eight in the North West running between 22-28 May. The showings will include a question and answer session with campaigners involved in saving a large rural region from fracking in Australia.
Be prepared to be moved by this film. Filmed over 5 years, visually stunning “The Bentley Effect” is a new feature length documentary that will build empathy, engage audiences and prompt action like nothing else can. It has the power to not just change minds but change behaviours, legislation and build hopeful, more powerful and united communities.
The screening events in Blackburn, Preston and Manchester will also include Strategy and Community Engagement workshops (5).
ENDS
Contact for comments
Pete Abel, Manchester Friends of the Earth. Mobile: 07951 642858.
Ali Abbas, Manchester Friends of the Earth, co-ordinator. Mobile: 07786 090520
Notes for editors
1) Screening of ‘The Bentley Effect’: an Anti-fracking Success from Australia. 3pm, Saturday 27th May. Location: Methodist Hall, Central Buildings, Oldham Street, Manchester, M1 1JQ. Free tickets available.
For full North West tour schedule and booking details please visit Central Lancashire Friends of the Earth facebook page.
2) Manifesto statements from Green Party, Labour Party and Liberal Democrats.
We will introduce a ban on fracking” (Green Party).
Labour will ban fracking because it would lock us into an energy infrastructure based on fossil fuels, long after the point in 2030 when the Committee on Climate Change says gas in the UK must sharply decline.” (Labour Party).
Liberal Democrats will “Oppose ‘fracking’ because of its adverse impact on climate change, the energy mix, and the local environment.”
3) Conservative Party Manifesto 2017.
We will legislate to change planning law for shale applications. Non-fracking drilling will be treated as permitted development, expert planning functions will be established to support local councils, and, when necessary, major shale planning decisions will be made the responsibility of the National Planning Regime.”
4) Greenpeace EnergyDesk. Fracking: Drilling to require the same planning permission as wall, says Tory manifesto.
5) Community Engagement and Activism Workshop, 9.30am – 2.30pm, Saturday 27th May. Location: Methodist Hall, Central Buildings, Oldham Street, Manchester, M1 1JQ.
6) Manchester Friends of the Earth is an award-winning environmental campaign group, raising awareness and lobbying for policy changes at a local, regional, national and international level. The group consists entirely of volunteers, and its campaigns are funded by membership fees and individual donations. Up-to-date information is available on the group’s website: www.manchesterfoe.org.uk. Manchester Friends of the Earth is a Licensed Local Group of Friends of the Earth, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. www.foe.co.uk
