The Lock the Gate Alliance is a national grassroots organisation made up of over 120,000 supporters and more than 450 local groups who are concerned about risky coal mining, coal seam gas and fracking. These groups are located in all parts of Australia and include farmers, traditional custodians, conservationists and urban residents.
https://www.lockthegate.org.au/who_we_are
Our vision is of healthy, empowered communities which have fair, democratic processes available to them to protect their land and water and deliver sustainable solutions to food and energy needs. The mission of the Lock the Gate Alliance is to protect Australia’s natural, cultural and agricultural resources from inappropriate mining and to educate and empower all Australians to demand sustainable solutions to food and energy production. Lock the Gate was formed in 2010 following community meetings in New South Wales and Queensland. All over the eastern states, people were raising concerns about the rapid expansion of coal and coal seam gas development. A declaration was made: farmers would lock their gates to these rapacious industries. Ten years on and the Alliance continues to gain momentum, with rural and urban communities all over Australia stepping up to defend our land, water, and future from the invasive coal and unconventional gas industries.
Lock the Gate (LTG) is working with local communities in the face of dozens of big new coal mines and hundreds of gasfield licences across Australia, plus new gas pipelines. Over 37% of the Australian landmass is covered in coal and petroleum licences and applications. We’re up against CSG, tight gas, shale gas and coal, wet gas, diesel. Abandoned open cut mines and pollution, and fugitive methane emissions. We’re taking on some of the biggest mining and extraction companies in Australia. We stand with locals to stop inappropriate mines and gas drilling. We call on companies to clean up their acts. We employ a team of approximately 20 staff and contractors. We all bring unique and broad skills, local connections and gutsy input to campaigns across the country. LTG staff are passionate about the work they do to protect Australian communities from coal and gas. Many of our team give up better paid jobs and their family commitments to give this work everything they have. Our staff are ably supported by the six Directors of LTG who willingly donate their time. Our team works to protect land, water and communities across WA, NT, QLD, NSW, SA, and have supported incredible community-driven work in VIC and TAS.
This Alliance is bigger than us. There are hundreds of First Nations people in the network fighting for water, culture and country. Farmers are speaking up while also having to face climate change. Tourism operators that are fighting to keep areas pristine and water clear while trying to run a business. Together, LTG and its collaborators have achieved incredible things on a shoe string budget, given the scale of these nation-wide campaigns. From the tip of the Kimberly to the far reaches of Tasmania, we have collaborated to build the capacity of regional alliances. Working together, we have empowered over 460 communities to declare themselves coal and gasfield free. More than 73 local Councils have got involved in standing up to mining projects and applications. Donations to Lock the Gate fund everything we do. We cover travel costs for remote community members to participate in decision making right across Australia. We commission expert reports that demonstrate the risks of coal and gas, plus the opportunities for clean energy and water protection.
We run BBQs at door knock days, to TV ads that show the shocking impact of coal mines and gasfields. Lock the Gate and our team of incredible staff, contractors and supporters make thousands of actions possible every month. From signs on gates, to access to legal and scientific support, Lock the Gate is on the front line across Australia. We’re in the community hall, in the council office or trying to get politicians to listen to the voices of Australians in the halls of Parliament. We are standing up for people facing the impacts of inappropriate coal and gas mining. Just in the past 12 months we have also engaged dozens of scientists, lawyers and economists to help make the case for a fairer Australia, where water is protected. Damaging projects have been stopped in their tracks or met with a far greater level of scrutiny.
We are up against incredible forces – the multi-billion-dollar coal and gas lobby. And against politicians who have their head in the sand to the damage caused by inappropriate mining and gas, including its impacts on climate. Our $2 million a year operating budget makes the enormous scale of this work possible. We know we have the support of the vast majority of the Australian community. Thank you for your support, thank you for your gutsy efforts.