FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Environment

I Watched Giant Homeless Marsupials Ask ANZ Bank for a Home Loan

They were protesting against a ANZ-backed coal mine at Maules Creek.

Image by Melinda Wilson.

This post originally appeared on VICE Australia.

Yesterday at 11 AM, Cranky Koala entered the North Sydney branch of the ANZ bank. The professionally dressed koala, flanked by several other native animals, was there to apply for home loans to finance a new habitat. The bank funds the Maules Creek coal mine, which was responsible for destroying the Leard State Forest—their former habit in northwestern New South Wales.

Advertisement

Startled bank staff threatened to call the police if the giant native animals—which included a kangaroo, a possum, and a parrot—didn't leave. At that point, the possum piped in, "We need a home loan because they've taken our homes." After the animals were told they'd need to make an appointment, one staff member agreed to give Cranky an on-the-spot home loan interview. He was taken into an office behind closed doors.

Emerging from the interview 20 minutes later the Koala said, "They turned down the home loan. Obviously, being a small branch they don't make those decisions." His request, a loan to fund another irreplaceable forest, one that could accommodate 396 native species of flora and fauna, had been rebuffed. He explained the staff member had been sympathetic to the plight of the animals, choosing not to alert the cops.

Image by Melinda Wilson.

Cranky Koala, also known as Mark Selmes, is no stranger to protest. In May last year, he locked himself onto a truck as part of an ongoing blockade at Maules Creek. In 2013, the renegade marsupial went on a 27-day hunger strike in front of the NSW state parliament in opposition to firewood clearing threatening native species, endangering the likes of the gang-gang cockatoo.

"I speak for the animals that have no voice: the homeless and the hungry," Mark said.

He told VICE the protest was not just about the $1.2 billion loan ANZ made to mining giant Whitehaven Coal in December 2012 funding the recently-opened Maules Creek coal mine. It was also to draw attention to the possibility that it could bankroll proposed coal mining projects in Queensland's Galilee Basin.

Advertisement

The federal government has approved several coal-mining projects in the basin over the last couple of years, including Waratah Coal's China First mine and GVK Hancock's Alpha coal project. Much of the recent focus has been on Indian mining company Adani's proposed Carmichael mine, gaining federal government approval in July last year. It's going to be one of the largest coal mines in the world, worth $16.5 billion, and include a rail link to Abbot Point coal port, which sits beside the Great Barrier Reef.

In order for the Galilee Basin coal mining projects to operate, an expansion of Abbot Point needs to take place, which would have a significant impact on the reef. The Queensland Labour government's decision to dump three million tons of dredge spoil from the port expansion onto land, rather than a previous plan to dump it into the Caley Valley wetlands or straight into the sea, has been a welcome one.

In spite of this, the actual dredging process will still adversely impact the reef's delicate ecosystem, and the increased capacity of the port will turn the area into a coal shipping superhighway.

Image by Melinda Wilson

Ben Pennings, convenor of Beyond Green, the group behind the protest, said, "We're targeting ANZ because they financed the last big coal mine in Leard State Forest and we want to make sure they don't finance the next." It's the group's second action in four weeks, the last involving a number of zombie koalas visiting an ANZ branch in Brisbane.

Advertisement

"If ANZ is the first big four Australian banks not to commit to funding coal expansion in central Queensland, that would make a significant statement and pressure the other three," Pennings explained. None of Australia's big four banks—which includes Commonwealth, NAB, and Westpac—have ruled out investing in the Galilee Basin mines. This is despite 11 international banks having declared they won't finance them.

Maules Creek mine produces thermal coal, as would the proposed Galilee Basin mines, which according to Pennings is completely unnecessary, "because there's better and cleaner ways of producing electricity these days."

Pennings pointed to an Essential Research poll released last month that found 63 percent of respondents disapproved of their bank helping to finance coal port expansions on the Great Barrier Reef, while 82 percent think that banks should consider the social and environmental impacts of the projects they fund.

A spokesperson for ANZ told VICE that while they don't comment on specific projects, their involvement depends on government approvals, as well as social and environmental policies and standards being met. "ANZ has a balanced energy portfolio that includes renewables, gas and coal, and we have a stated goal to increase the proportion of project funding to lower-carbon gas and renewables," the spokesperson said, adding, "Our energy policy states that we will support our customers in the transition to a lower-carbon economy."

Leard Forest Alliance spokesperson Murray Drechsler said the proposed Galilee Basin mines were "a continuation of the madness we've seen here at Maules Creek." In his opinion, investing in more coal mines is ridiculous. Due to climate change "the whole world's talking about moving away from fossil fuels" and "the other thing is they're not profitable." Over the last year, the price of coal has halved, demand is down and there's a glut on the market.

Drechsler, who founded the three-year-long Leard Blockade protesting the Maules Creek mine, warned that things could get worse in NSW with the proposed Shenhua Watermark mine and others planned like it near Gunnedah. "It's going to turn into another Hunter," he said, referring to the state's major coal mining region, where there's been a recent downturn in the industry.

As Cranky Koala left the ANZ branch without a loan, he joined his fellow native animals, busking with a guitar. They were trying to raise funds in order to finance a new habitat without the backing of the bank. Pennings says these light-hearted protests are only the beginning, and that they're preparing to keep it up with ANZ, adding, "over time we're definitely going to escalate."

Follow Paul on Twitter.